It was one of the best girls riding weekends I’ve ever had! The first ever Dirt Rag Women’s Weekend at Ray’s Indoor Mountain Bike Park in Cleveland, OH was a great success. From cross country riders to jumpers to bmx’ers, women of all bike disciplines from all over the US came to Ray’s for some fantastic winter riding.
If you have never been to Ray’s, you are missing out. It is an indoor mountain bike park built inside an old factory building. Instead of the usual dirt trails, everything is built out of wood – ladders, ramps, jumps, log pile crossings, even rock gardens (not built out of wood) create a plethora of trails, stunts and obstacles to improve your biking skills. There is a pump track to practice working the terrain for momentum, a cross country loop with tight turns and short climbs into the rafters, several short trails with a variety of challenges, a beginner room with skills sections low to the ground, a stunt section with a variety of teeter-totters, drops and interesting bridges, 4 different sized box jump rhythm lines with up to 6 jumps in a row, 2 skate park sections, and a foam pit to practice your tricks before trying them on hard ground. No matter what your skill level or preferred type of riding, there is something for you at Ray’s!
The Dirt Rag Women’s Weekend gave us women a chance to have all of this to ourselves. Friday was open to women only from 10-4. Trek, Gary Fisher and GT had women’s demo bikes for anyone to try throughout the weekend. Pro cross country rider Sue Haywood gave a 2hr free skills clinic in the morning, showing the women how to ride different types of obstacles that will translate into riding outdoor trails better. Free lunch and snacks were provided along with a huge picnic table full of great swag that was raffled off or given away. Everyone walked away with several prizes. The afternoon had all of the pro riders present taking a different section of the park to offer free skills clinics. With the likes of world champion 4-cross and world champion BMX racer Jill Kitner, national downhill champion Kathy Pruitt, top downhill racer Lisa Myklak, freeriders Emily Johnston, Tammy Donahugh and myself, and park riders Nadia Steinbrecher and Nina B all helped the women learn to jump, pump, drop and flow. It was amazing to see how quickly all of the women improved their skills with a few pointers! At 4 o’clock the boys were allowed to ride, but it was clear that the women were still the stars. So many men were thrilled and amazed to see so many women ripping it up. It was inspirational for both sexes, and the energy in the place was so uplifting. The evening finished up with a band that played with free Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and swag while some riders continued to jam until 10pm. It was a great venue listening to fun music while watching pro bmx team Division and others session on the jumps.
The rest of the weekend was full of women riding together, learning from each other, and sessioning the jumps. The entire weekend was free entry for all women. Canadian Stephanie Nychka, the organizer of the only women’s slopestyle event Slope Sistair, and pro racer/jumper Tara Johnson added to the pro contingency for Saturday and Sunday. It was a real treat to have so many accomplished female jumpers in one place just to ride! Women of all levels were riding, teaching and pushing others to achieve new personal heights. There were several girls under the age of 18 as well giving us hope that the new generation of female rippers will take our sport to new levels. For some riders it was the first time jumping since major injuries, and for most of us it was the first time on our bikes in awhile, but we all rode and jumped until we couldn’t pedal any more. And of course anytime there is a gathering of women on bikes, there will be men close behind. The amount of support, respect and compliments given to all of us women by the men proved that men are inspired by and appreciate women out showing what we can do on bikes. It certainly makes you wonder why so much of the media is so slow to grasp this and cover female freeride events. Huge props go out to Dirt Rag for putting on this event. Without their support, it would not have happened.
Dirt Rag and Ray’s are already planning next year’s event for the same weekend – the weekend after President’s Day. I can’t emphasize enough what a worth-while event this was. I strongly suggest to ALL women, no matter what your level or type of riding preference, that you make plans to attend next year’s women’s weekend. It will be an even bigger, better event that should not be missed!
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