Learning to Mountain Bike — Falling, Freedom, and Female Mentors
I learned how to mountain bike at a summer camp in Colorado when I was fifteen years old. I chose mountain biking as my activity of focus for the two week session and spent almost every day with the same group of campers and counselors riding throughout the Rocky Mountains. Our first day together, I mounted my hard tail rental bike with a handful of boys who were all relatively experienced mountain bikers already and we set out — everyone else with the cocky confidence possessed by many high school boys and me with an awkward, hesitant, though open-minded attitude.
Within the first four minutes I flipped over my handlebars….being launched out of my saddle and over the bars would become a natural event for me that summer.
The first couple of miles of that first ride, I felt waves of regret for my decision to commit to the mountain biking program each time my pedal slammed against a rock and knocked me off my rhythm. When I would get my momentum going that first climb, it was to the mantra of “I hate this” and some profanities, but since I was so frequently thrown off by the trail, the mantra never could last long.
But, I kept riding.
With the leadership, guidance, and cheers from the one female counselor, I made it to the top of our first out and back ride. Then came the downhill that sent me over the bars a few more times in the day, but oh man….. that freedom! Instead of bewilderment and frustration at each fall, I started responding with laughter and humility. I toppled off my bicycle onto boulders, awkwardly launched myself into scraggly bushes, and frequently had moments where I promise you time stopped as I consciously thought, “welp, here I go over the bars again.”
My tendency to crash 4–10 times per day had the benefit of removing a fear of falling. This fearlessness allowed me to test my abilities and lay a foundation for humble confidence — definitely not a confidence in my skills, but in my capacity to overcome the tough stuff and laugh at myself while doing it. Pushing past my initial feelings of discomfort, anxiety, and frustration on a mountain bike led me to discover the sense of exploration and freedom biking brings. Plus, I was in the most hard core program the camp had to offer and was the only girl doing it! I felt so badass!
Learning to mountain bike was challenging enough as I introduced my body to intense quad soreness, chain ring teeth eating my calves, and everyone’s favorite….piercing sit bone pain (the technical way to say that my vag and butt area hurt daily). Learning to normalize these pains and embrace mountain biking for all its glory amidst a male dominated group added a whole other element to learning a new sport. I felt it was my responsibility to represent and defend my own dignity, while also making a statement for my entire gender.
Ultimately, I don’t think I would have stuck with mountain biking if it wasn’t for the female leadership at my side throughout my first and subsequent rides. I was lucky enough to continue to have spectacular women guiding me in the program as I continued to go back to that summer camp as a camper, counselor, and eventually the head of the mountain biking program. Those female leaders were my teachers, confidants (who else was going to tell me not to wear underwear with bike shorts!), pals, advocates, and inspirations. They made my introduction to riding more fun, more meaningful, and more free.
