Thirty four women descended on the Boer Mountain Recreation Site June 27-29 to attend Burns Lake Mountain Bike Association’s (BLMBA) first Babes In Balance Mountain Bike Retreat.
Beginner, intermediate and advanced level entrants enjoyed coaching from certified coaches, including Audrey Duval from Canmore, Alberta. Women were taught many skills, including proper body position for riding both upslope and downslope, cornering, riding berms, riding technical features and braking, as well as bike maintenance.
Comments such as ‘spectacular setting’, ‘amazing coaching’, ‘cool, great riders to play on the trails with’, ‘relaxing, fun weekend’, ‘awesome trails’ were heard throughout the weekend.
Mornings started with a session of yoga to get the muscles and mind ready, a skills session, and the afternoons were filled with both cross-country and downhill rides to put the new skills into practice.
Women conquered sections of the trail they have never been able to ride before, and it was very rewarding for both the coaches, riders and organizers to see the women having so much fun learning and applying mountain bike skills so quickly.
Coach Lynda Foreman summed up the weekend, “The best part of coaching is watching people accomplish something they did not think they could do, or have not been able to do in the past, and everyone of you did that this weekend.”
For more information on upcoming events email Susan at burnslakemountainbiking@gmail.com