Women & Gender Expansive Beginner Mountain Bike Skills Clinic with NCC

Join Western Mass NEMBA partnering with the Northampton Cycling Club to learn the basics of mountain biking and put them to practice on a group ride in a supportive environment.

FAQ

Who is this skills clinic for? We’ll be covering beginner and core mountain bike skills. All skill levels are welcome, including those who have never been on a trail before.

What topics will be included or what will I learn? We’ll start with an equipment and safety check, and then we’ll cover skills and fundamentals such as Body Position, Braking, Shifting, Bike/Body separation, Climbing and Negotiating trail obstacles. We’ll spend half the time covering and practicing skills and then we’ll put those in practice on the trails at Bear Hole.

What does gender expansive mean? Every person should be able to thrive in mountain biking. ‘Gender-Expansive‘ includes those whose gender identity and/or gender expression expands beyond, actively resists, and/or does not conform to the current cultural or social expectations of gender, particularly in relation to male or female.

How much does this cost? The clinic is free. Please register through Eventbrite.

What do I need to bring? Bike, helmet, water bottle, snacks. Also consider bug spray and sun screen.

I attended a clinic before, can I attend this one too? Yes! Practicing skills is the foundation for learning how to mountain bike. We cover a lot of topics so you may hear something this time that didn’t sink in last time.

I don’t have a bike or I’m not sure which bike to bring. Can you help? Any bike that is sized to fit your body with some kind of grippy tires will work for this clinic and ride. Really, anything but a road bike works! But feel free to reach out to Lisa at [email protected] if you need a bike to ride and we can see what is available to lend.

Who is leading the clinic? Amy Stephens (she/her), Western Mass NEMBA volunteer and coach of the Northampton Cycling Club Youth Program Trail Blasters, and Lisa Abrams (she/her) Western Mass NEMBA volunteer and coach of the Northampton Cycling Club Youth Program Trail Blasters. Both Amy and Lisa are CORI background checked, SafeSport Certified, and First Aid trained through the American Red Cross.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Bear Hole Reservoir Parking, 325 Great Plains Road, West Springfield, United States