Ride Like A Girl Weekend Wrap Up!

This year’s Ride Like A Girl Winter weekend was filled with so much joy and progression. The best part about the park being closed is the echoes of cheers going on in almost every room of the park. Each day ended with riders sharing the best parts of their day for us all to embrace. Everyone was filled with emotions, happy tears, goosebumps, laughter or cheering was how we ended each story. The energy we collectively bring to The Wheel Mill is so inspiring for everyone. The amount of high fives and smiles ladies were sharing as they supported each other throughout the event was amazing.

We have not had this event for two years due to Covid and it was great to get the coaches back together for another successful event. Our coaching lineup this year was Carley Young – BMX, Karen Brooks – MTB, Nina Buitrago – BMX, Kathi Krause – MTB, Shealen Reno – BMX, Shanta Harsa – MTB, Cory Coffee – BMX, Angelica Pietranton – MTB, Sally Sherman – MTB & Yoga. We organized 3 MTB and 3 BMX Classes for the riders to choose from. We designed the classes this year to allow you to stay with the same coach throughout the day so you could make the most progression. We lowered the class sizes to 10 riders per class and loved it so much that we want to keep that for the future! After a long day of riding skill classes, we had an amazing yoga class to stretch our bodies. Then Karen taught a bicycle maintenance class to everyone in the lounge. After that, we filled the Woods Room with all the riders from the day and had a Jump Jam! It was amazing to see how many people learned to ride that room for the first time that day and were brave enough to jump into the massive lady train we had. As the general public was let back into The Wheel Mill, they were greeted with the sign of 60 women riding the biggest room in the park and most for the very first time.

The reason these events are so important for women and non-binary riders is that they allow us to be vulnerable around each other. Having the freedom to try things without being judged, not feeling like we are in the way or just being able to walk the park before riding is huge. This one simple change allows riders to truly see what they are going to ride on while having a coach walk them through the entire line. Having coaches who truly care about the progression of the riders in their class is why we picked the team we did. As coaches, we want to share the knowledge we have with others to help the community grow and help build the confidence and skill within the BMX and MTB community. Giving riders the correct terms and fundamentals they can take what they learn back into their community and help new riders get started off on the right foot. We also hope as coaches, we can inspire other riders to become certified coaches to help keep the education going in the cycling community. Filling the confidence bucket of women in our community also allows for so much growth in the sport.

Looking into the stats of the event, it was so incredible to read that almost half of riders registered for the weekend were 40 and over. This proves that age is just a number when it comes to cycling! This weekend, we met so many women with so many different stories about how they got into riding. Ladies told us how they ride road bikes, ride cross country, ride or race downhill, race bmx, ride bmx freestyle and even commute to work. Whatever the discipline they all shared the same disappointment, that they are doing it often alone. Having these events build the cycling community and make it so women and non-binary riders don’t have to ride alone. We are thankful for Harry and Mike at The Wheel Mill for helping us put together this event. Their support shows others what real men look like in the sport who care about the empowerment we build from hosting these events. Excited to see what the event will bring next year!

Words by: Carley Young (Founder of Ride Like A Girl)

Photos by: Murphy Moschetta

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