Going to Morzine this summer? Did you know Dirty Girls Ride Downhill?
So you like riding your downhill bike and you want to ride every day, but going out with your boyfriend and his mates all the time isn’t so appealing? We hear you.
One of my first downhill experiences was with my husband, Jason Marsh – Race Mechanic for Transition Bikes,which involved me chasing him and a few other notoriously fast men down the Pleney in Morzine. The result…one broken hand and a lot of bruises. Admittedly I was thrown in at the deep end but this wasn’t the sort of improvement method I was looking for.
After my hand had fixed I was on a quest to find some new friends who were not so difficult to keep up with. I got introduced to a couple of local women who i started to ride with. This was great but we all agreed that our team of 3 was not acceptable and Dirty Girls Ride was created.
After starting the website www.dirtygirlsride.com, which is aimed at getting more girls on their bikes, the Dirty Girls Ride word got around Morzine and a handful of other women started riding with us. For me, this made riding more fun. I had a new group of friends that I could girl talk with on the chair lift, as well as some realistic competition.
Since the lifts opened in June we have had a busy summer! Our first meet of the season was a beginners day and over 10 girls showed up, most of whom had never really been downhilling before. Since then each week there have been a keen team taking to the hills and over 20 different girls regularly riding with the group.
The highlight of the season so far, apart from the riding, is having mechanics classes with Morzine Mountain Bike Mechanics. I am quite proud to say that we can all now do some basic bike maintenance ourselves!
Since starting the group, we have successfully managed to drum up some local support and started to organize some events. Apart from mechanics classes, we have got great discounts on bike rentals & test days from Alpine Sports Warehouse, mechanic discounts and free coaching sessions from Shred Coaching.
We’ve managed to get a couple of well know riders who will be in Zine this august to take an afternoon out of their training to take us on a race coaching afternoon and show us how its meant to be done. Keep an eye on the site and our facebook page to find out more details nearer the time!
Local photographer Damian McArthur (www.damianmcarthur.com) will be taking some snaps for us during the season as well as a few more treats which you can view on the website over the coming weeks.
Several local MTB friendly chalets have also given Dirty Girls Ride and great discount on their summer prices, meaning that all you guys can bring your wives and girlfriends with you on that ‘lads’ holiday they keep nagging you about. Check out the MTB holidays section on the site for more info.
There is an ongoing photo competition on our Facebook page. Upload a photo of yourself riding and looking awesome and win prizes from Gamut USA, Transition Bikes, Crank Bros and some of our local supporters & race teams.
We are always on the hunt for more ideas and support so please get in contact with your suggestions!
If you are in Morzine this summer and want to join us, or ditch your mrs for a couple of days, then get in touch at info@dirtygirlsride.com or check out our website & facebook page.
Words: Amie Marsh
Photos: dirtygirlsride.com
If you liked this post why not check out these?
