You're not out of your comfort zone unless a waiver is required

Back in January I blogged about putting on my big girl shorts, getting out of my comfort zone, and signing up for a Women's MTB clinic at Ray's MTB Park. Well, this past Friday I attended the clinic. It was amazing to see over 100 women and one very young girl show up for the event.

Upon walking in the front door there definitely was a vibe, one of encouragement, respect and let's have fun. I got into the line to sign in and immediately several women turned around, one handed me her pen and said to grab the waivers to sign. Yes, multiple waivers. The first one was the standard "you wont sue them if you get injured or die, blah blah blah." The second made me chuckle. It was a combination of "you can use images of me" plus "permission to provide medical treatment." Wasn't sure if this meant I gave them permission to take pictures of me with my head split open bleeding and then call 911 or what. But I signed it, checked in and got my bike plate with my name printed on it and a set of elbow and knee pads.

Just one of the many rooms at Ray's MTB Park

From there I headed to the main meeting area where everyone was enjoying breakfast, checking out the vendor tables and getting situated. It was weird to watch people zip by on their bikes indoors. Just not used to riding my bike inside except on a trainer. But that soon would change. I also felt a little out of place being one of the older women there, plus I lacked tats. But everyone was welcoming.

The first order of business was to all meet in this large room that had crazy ramps throughout. Reminded me of a skate park on steroids. The ramps were 2 stories high and all I planned to do in that room was stay on level ground. Leigh Donovan was the head coach and she took us through what the day would be like, introduced herself, and provided a very impressive bio. All ten coaches introduced themselves and talked about the individual clinic they'd be leading. It was set up as a rotation so you went from one section of the park to the other depending on what skill you wanted to develop. There was a consistent theme from all the coaches; they grew up learning to MTB from the boys and didn't have this type of environment to learn. They are all strong athletes, business women and advocates for getting more women cycling. They were truly giving back to the sport.

I decided that Leigh's clinic would be a good place to start. Separation of body and bike. Her session was being held in that ramp room and I truly was hoping we literally weren't going to separate my body from my bike using these ramps. Luckily it was all on the flat ground and she taught us proper position standing over the saddle, and shifting our weight forward and back. All the sessions stressed not sitting on the saddle and keeping peddles in the 3/9 o'clock position. Very different from road biking.

Once I mastered Leigh's session I moved on to Karen's clinic. She was teaching cornering and "pumping". At the start of the session she had us go around the group to introduce ourselves and how long we'd been MTB. When I said I was a roadie new to MTB, you'd think I said I drown kittens for fun. I was definitely a minority, but was still the cool kid being on one of two women there on a fat tire bike. Chris made everyone smile.

Cornering and pump clinic

The section of the park we were in was set up with four "moguls" and a steep berm for practicing cornering (see image above). You'd go down this steep ramp, over two moguls and then negotiate the berm without slamming into the wall and back over two more hills. All this without pedaling, just using body position to pump up and down the hills. I struggled on the cornering because in road riding you put your outside foot down so you can corner sharper and faster. But in MTB you keep your feet parallel to the ground. Too many objects on a trail to catch your pedal. Makes total sense but try to get your brain to change what you've been doing for 30 years. On my 3rd attempt I made it and all the group applauded, encouraging me to try it again.

It was time for lunch and swapping stories with some of the other women. I wasn't sure which clinics to try after lunch so I found Leigh. I told her I was a beginner and which sessions I had taken. She said try the Sports Center next. I questioned her if I should do the foam pit room as I thought there was a beginner session there too. She laughed and said it was a vertical wall and you fly into a foam pit. Yeah, not a beginner room.

I had befriended a woman Liz during the morning sessions and we decided to ride the "yellow brick road" around the park and check out the other areas. A little recon. There's this yellow road that winds through the park and allows you to get from one place to the next easily. We followed the signs up to the second floor and located the Sports Center. At the top of the ramp all I saw were 8 jumps. Crap, Okay, I said "Shit. I'm going to die and they are going to take pictures of me before calling 911."

I looked around to see if I could ride the yellow trail safely back to the first floor. Nope. It was these 8 jumps in front of me or some even more terrifying options. I thought about walking my bike, but the ramps were so steep I wouldn't make it lugging a 30 pound bike. So I pulled up my big girl pants, secured my knee and elbow pads, and went for it. I think I was screaming in my head, but I made it down alive.

All in all, the clinic was a great experience. I picked up some valuable bike handling skills, met some awesome women, and I didn't die. I can't say enough about how great the coaches were, as well as the staff at Ray's. It's definitely a different vibe when you have all women and it provides a "safe", nurturing, and empowering atmosphere to learn.

I'm glad I did it. I really was pushed outside my comfort zone (okay way outside my comfort zone) and that's okay. If you don't have to sign a waiver, it's probably not worth doing. Right?

Enjoy the ride,
Sheri