My dad had bought me a hardtail mountain bike for transportation in college, so on a whim, I dusted off the cobwebs and began racing cross-country. As I lined up with the other women at the staging area while we waited to race our hearts out, I knew: There was something special about this community.
Over the next decade, I traveled to national and world cup races with my pro mountain biker husband. During this time I found my true calling: I wanted to encourage more women to join this awesome club. So in 2013, I founded a coaching business called Ladies AllRide. We run women’s mountain bike skills camps around the world to introduce more women to the joys of mountain biking. We want to show them how it can enhance their lives, and to help them find a place to belong. My ride tribe is my solace, so helping them find theirs is wonderful.
With the help of my team of coaches, I always pulled it together because I knew I had an important message to share. I would dry my eyes, step out of the van, and welcome everyone with a genuine smile and heartfelt speech. Our camps are designed to help women realize what they’re capable of, and I knew that if I was asking these riders to be open and vulnerable to the challenges of the weekend, I could let my guard down too. I spoke openly about what I was dealing with, and I think this openness helped set the stage for events filled with emotional connection, support, and challenge.
As I pushed through the pain of divorce, my mountain bike community was there to remind me to look ahead and keep the wheels rolling forward. My tribe of women was there to cheer me on while I suffered through some of the hardest years of my life.
Divorce made me feel like a failure and filled me with fears of being alone forever, but this community I’m a part of reminds me every day that I belong to something, and I am not alone. I can say with great relief that I’m on the other side of the long climb through a divorce. I am more passionate than ever about my mission to show women around the globe that this lifestyle can exist for them, and that despite what dark times they go through, the bike and community of female mountain bikers can help make each day flow a little sweeter.