Found this in the local paper this morning about a friend of mines efforts
to grow the sport for women. Very cool...
Getting women to hit the trail
Program offers rides for female mountain bikers without the competition
BY BRANDON PARKER
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jul 1, 2005
Richmond, VA
ON THE WEB
RIDE LIKE A GIRL: www.richmond-more.org
When Anne Morgan decided to take her bike off the pavement and onto the
rugged forest trail for a mountain biking experience, she didn't know what
to expect.
Along the way, she encountered numerous bumps, various creatures of the wild
and a few nasty spills. One element she failed to meet up with during her
first four years in the sport was mountain bikers of her own gender.
Now that Morgan has made it cool to "ride like a girl" in this
male-dominated sport, the local mountain biking trail looks a little
different.
With the inspiration from Austin Ridge Riders, a women's biking group in
Texas, Morgan decided to make light of the common playground jeer and
develop Ride Like A Girl, a program consisting of five annual rides for
women mountain bikers to take part in without the demands of competition.
"I started the program to get more women out there on the trails and meeting
other women who rode," Morgan said. "Women usually tend to get into mountain
biking through their husbands or significant others, but they often get
frustrated after always being left behind or struggling with the sport, so
my hope was to give women the opportunity to ride outside the racing
situation, especially since women like to talk and chat."
In just 10 months, RLAG has created a network of 70 female riders from
Virginia who share the same desire for the challenges of the sport. The
average field of 18 participants per ride is broken down into three groups
based on experience before taking on a trail that is suitable for all levels
to ride. In the end, the program enables women to gain insight, encounter
new trails, build confidence and meet other women to ride with in the
future.
Not only does RLAG allow Morgan to see her dream come to fruition, but it
also gives her a reason to practice, as she has recently started taking part
in actual races. Tomorrow, Morgan, who resides in Ashland, will compete in
the XTERRA MTB Urban Assault event at this weekend's James River Adventure
Games.
"I ride downtown on a normal basis and so many people are doing things on
the [James] River, so I'm glad that these games have been created," Morgan
said. "It gives people a chance to participate in mountain biking and other
extreme sports in an organized manner."
Ironically, it was the wheels on Morgan's Xterra truck that influenced her
to make her debut in this weekend's Urban Assault. XTERRA awarded Morgan
with a free entry pass after she submitted her vehicle for use in the car
show at last year's Xterra East Championship in Richmond, so she figured
that she might as well take advantage of the opportunity.
With her vast experience in mountain biking, Morgan should have a good
performance, especially if she can overcome the two aspects of the sport
that she despises the most: the nerves and the hills.
"I just started racing competitively, so I sometimes get nervous, but once I
get through the start, which is the most challenging part, and the field
thins out, I take it like I'm riding by myself," Morgan said. "As for the
hills, I hate climbing, so I sometimes start chanting, 'I hate to climb. I
hate to climb' and that helps me get through it."
Although she may hate the uphill battle, it is her love and grassroots
efforts within mountain biking that have helped change the face of this
sport