How were you brought into the sport?

[Chunk]

I have a couple of friends who happen to be girls, and i would love try and get them into mountain biking. I dont want to push them too hard though. Ive been into it for about 5 years now, and i know for a fact that they are VERY intimidated by that little fact (they know mountain biking is my life, and that scares them i think). I tell them, its ok, we all started out some time, but they insist they will just embarrass themselves (which they will, but we all did). Im a pretty nice guy though. As in, they know i am not the type to make fun of them for making mistakes or falling.

Whats the best way to bring some more ladies into the sport? I figure this forum would be the best to consult.

Thanks!

[kalisto]

Cross-Country!

I have a few friends I'm trying to get into mountain biking also (also girls). I usually take them on cross country trails. Trails with really easy woodwork, bumps, and little hills just to get them used to riding in general.

SFU trails just off of North road are a good start. They're not long, really easy to ride back up along the road, and a very small decline, for walkers and rippers. You can go as fast or as slow as you want.

[Chunk]

Cross-Country!

I have a few friends I'm trying to get into mountain biking also (also girls). I usually take them on cross country trails. Trails with really easy woodwork, bumps, and little hills just to get them used to riding in general.

SFU trails just off of North road are a good start. They're not long, really easy to ride back up along the road, and a very small decline, for walkers and rippers. You can go as fast or as slow as you want.
Oh, i know XC is the way to start, but they dont want to even get on a bike. I have riden around the road with one girl, and she has good balance, and she likes to ride around but she is afraid of the dirt. She assumes right away that she is gonna fall, and kill herself.

[Tajana]

Tell them about the various women's mountain biking clubs because they are less intimidating for the first time rider and once they build confidence I'm sure they'll go MTB with you. I started mountain biking when I lost a bet to one of my guy friends and they took me out to Squamish with them for my first try at MTB, now that is what I call painfull intimidation :-) Even though it was scary the adrenalin keeps me coming back. Anyways good luck with it.

[DARTHYOGA]

I have always loved biking, and fell in love with downhill after trying it. I rode the road all the time and snuck into Delta watershed on my crappy $50.00, all steel framed Candian Tire bike. The kind that people abandon. A guy I was seeing took me to Whistler and put every possible piece of armour available on me and got me the biggest suspension bike there was and we went riding. We started on the green runs and that was fun, little by little we went bigger and bigger and it was THE BEST DAY OF THE SUMMER ! Ever since Ive been hooked.
The way to get women to ride is to pick the girl who says " fuck yeah , I wanna have some fun!", then pack her fully of confidence building armour and a bike that will forgive every newbie tendency to look at the stuff you don't want to hit.
After the ride, brag to all your friend how great she is.

[kalisto]

If you have access to alot of protection, get them to wear it! Leg pads, arm pads and a full face!

Honestly, who wasn't obsessed with wearing a fullface helmet the first time they got one?

That much more of a confidence booster...

[bunny]

i think you have to know what personality type they are before guessing what will get them into riding.

personally giving me a big bike and lots of armour would have spoiled it for me. if i didn't get suffer and crash as much as i did the first few rides i doubt i would have thought it was fun. :P i know lots of other girls would rather learn/progress slower and getting hurt would put them off.

and you have to know a lot of girls (and guys) are never going to like it no matter what you do.

[rowdy01]

and you have to know a lot of girls (and guys) are never going to like it no matter what you do.


WHAT?!!!.......that`s total BS! Impossible! No way! Load of shit! UH UHH!

[RiotGirl587]

...easy trails...or whistler is the way to go..i kinda jumped into biking..on my own...

[BeggarsBanquet]

deja view.
the guy who got me into mountain biking (also, his life) tried so hard and i wouldn't budge for the same reasons. Ironically, i got into it myself after we stopped hanging out.
But just try to start with anything that would be less intimidating for them, even a ride on the seawall. LOTS OF POSITIVE ENCOURAGEMENT. :)

[GeoffG]

A lot of my friends dont really seem to care. Lately, one has been asking about riding and wanting to go ride some beginner trails. The problem with getting anyone into the sport is trying to get them to buy a bike. For a person to ride with me on the trails I ride, they would need to spend at least $1000 on a decent bike. My friend wants to come out on his $500 bike. It will hold up for the trails that I will take him on, but if he wants to continue and go onto some harder trails, he will need a new bike and Im not sure if he will go for that.
At least one of my friends is interested and willing to try:P.

[DARTHYOGA]

The bike doesnt make the fun.
I rode an ultra crap bike before I got my swanky hardtail before i got my dualy and I always had a great time. Long flowy runs with small drops and low bridges and rides are great on any bike. Start at a small park, get use to what its about and most people will enjoy it and want more.
I took Ducati out for a day at Mt Wash, rented all the gear and squishy bikes and had a blast! It was worth the big money day because we knew we loved the sport and set our sights on better bikes.
We also have better skills on the suspension bikes because we spent so much time on hardtails. ( it was also fun to poke each others bruises !)
Besides, steel frames are almost impossible to break. I tried.

[heckler]

...easy trails...or whistler is the way to go..


Easy trails - DEFINITELY YES!

Whistler - hell no, not for the first while. Unless you mean the loops around the lake.

And if you think the trail you're planning on is easy, think again. Don't go anywhere near the north shore with a complete newb unless you never want to see her again.

Start with UBC endowment lands and work up to SFU. It takes a lot of time and patience, but it's worth it. And professional lessons REALLY help.

[Fluid]

I wholeheartedly recommend Womens Only (www.womensonly.com) to bring them gradually into the sport - all the while being surrounded by super supportive and encouraging women. The courses are weekly over a number of weeks, with the trails starting out easy and gradually progressing. It builds SO much confidence. From personal experience, it builds way more confidence than just getting out and riding with guys if you're brand new to it all. A lot of women just have an easier time trying things if they see other women doing it too. A lot of times (don't ask me why) if we see a guy clean something we don't automatically feel that we would be able to clean it. But if we see a woman do it, then we're a lot more inclined to give it a shot.

While it is true that there is a percentage of women who prefer to just get thrown in head first and deal with all the scrapes and bruises with a smile on their face, it's hard to know who is going to prefer what.

Better to play it safe rather than scare her off, I think.

[enduramil]

Sadly here in TO there isn't much women's only type stuff. Plus if you don't have a car it kind of limits travel.

My fiance Joely 2 weeks ago got a MTB and has ridden 3 times. first time was around the neighbourhood. Primarily to get her a feel for it plus to check that she was comfortable. Her 2nd ride was a easy trail in the Don. She loved it, plus learned how to get her front wheel over a little creek.

Last ride was in the neighbourhood to do errands plus learn some balance when standing. And she is learning fairly well.

I'm pretty much doing the same thing I remember as a kid in Whistler. Remembering how much I learned from those I rode with and how patient they where in passing on what they knew. Thanks Skid, for showing me how to pass it on to others.

Plus Joely is pretty happy knowing that I'm a MTB coach as well. On top of this I have spent the last 2 weeks resurrecting an easy trail near my house for her to ride.

[Fluid]

That's RIGHT! Still being relatively new to these forums, I keep forgetting that not everyone is local to Vancouver on here.

In that case, I second the suggestions on just whatever you do, start out on EASY rides. If they want to perfect lifting the front wheel, I would suggest going to an empty parking lot and practicing the timing by riding through the parking spots and popping the front wheel when you ride across a line.
This helped a lot of the women in my Womens Only class. Then move onto curbs. All of this helps them become more and more comfortable on their bikes. To become one with the bike is possibly the most important thing when getting into riding. So getting a good solid feel for the movement of their bike and how it will react in different terrain and different situations is key. And for that you don't really need dirt trails for starters.

[GeoffG]

I think I just converted one:eek:.
I took out the friend I talked about earlier in this thread to the local trails. I took him on the easiest one I knew of that at least had a few challenges. It was only a 2 minute run, but we did it 5 times:lol:. First time he bailed a few times and he picked it up from there. By the 5th run, he cleaned the trail:P. He wants to go again soon so it was a positive experience for him even though he bailed a few times.
Anyways, happy trails:).

[heckler's better 1/2]

[QUOTE=enduramil]Sadly here in TO there isn't much women's only type stuff. Plus if you don't have a car it kind of limits travel.


http://www.hardwoodhills.ca/mtb/womenscamp.htm

I think my sister in law did this one, or one similar to it. They are out there...

A weekend camp might just be perfect if you don't have a car.

I've done some weekend camps and you definitely come home completely exhausted but with so much excitement about riding and a new group of riders to hang with! Most of the girls I ride with regularly, I met on a Whistler weekend. We've all advanced and helped each other over the years. It was the best birthday present ever!!