Hayward/Cable Women’s MTB Weekend Highlights
Every fall, as a coach and trip leader, I look forward to leading the women’s fall mountain bike trip in Hayward. As always, we had a fantastic group of women eager to build their mountain bike skills and ride with other like-minded women. Below are some of the highlights from this fall’s Dirt Shredder weekend!
Peak Fall Colors
The women enjoyed peak fall colors while mountain biking the CAMBA single-track trails in the Hayward/Cable trail cluster systems. Different areas of the Hayward/Cable trail system offer a variety of trees, creating a rainbow of colors that contrast with the green pines. At times, it felt like we were following the “yellow brick road” leading to some hidden paradise.
Building Confidence in MTB Skills
At the start of each trip, the coaches assess riders’ mountain bike skills to make sure everyone can execute the fundamentals. Most riders had attended previous clinics, so we moved into more intermediate skills such as riding raised skinnies, high-speed cornering, front/rear wheel lift, and techniques for going over drops. Nothing is better than building skills in an encouraging atmosphere where women inspire each other to step out of their comfort zone.
New Moon Mountain Bike Maintenance Clinic
After Friday afternoon’s skills and ride session at Hatchery Trailhead, the group enjoyed healthy post-workout appetizers and beverages inside the park pavilion while New Moon Bike Shop mechanic Hannah Burch shared excellent bike-maintenance tips. Hannah covered everything from changing a broken chain to what you need in your emergency bike toolkit. Hannah let the group get hands-on experience doing a thorough bike safety check.
Volunteer Trailwork with CAMBA on The Namakagon Trail
Saturday morning, the participants and trip leaders met in Cable for the CAMBA Work2Ride volunteer trailwork session on the Namakagon Trail. TJ Barnes, one of CAMBA’s full-time trail maintenance staff, gave instructions on using the various tools to improve water drainage on different sections of the trail.
Our group worked on a section of the Namakagon single-track surrounded by amazing solitude and a sea of colorful trees. Following our morning trail work, we enjoyed lunch with the CAMBA crew at Lakewoods Resort. The group left feeling proud to give back to the trails we enjoy riding!
Trek Trail Riding and Yoga at Mt. Telemark Village
After the morning trail work, the women practiced descending berms and explored the Trek trails in Cable. We climbed to the top of Telemark hill and enjoyed the colorful landscape from the observation tower. We ended the day with post-workout snacks and yoga inside the Telemark Village trailhead.
Switchback Skills & Seeley Pass Trail Ride
Sunday morning started with a short wake-up yoga session followed by a skills session focusing on climbing and descending switchbacks. The group applied their new skills riding on the Seeley Pass Trail, and enjoying conversation along the colorful single-track. We finished the afternoon with lunch inside the 00 Trailhead.
On this year’s trip, I had one very low point Friday evening when I crashed my van into a deer. Thankfully, I was not hurt (only some whiplash), but my van ended up being totaled. I left the weekend feeling grateful for the opportunity to connect with other women and experience solitude in the northern woods of Wisconsin. I hope you can join me for future women’s mountain bike trips!
Kim Rudd
