Me and my GIRLZZZ
My mom is the reason I learned to ride my mountain bike fast. As a teenager, the Irmiger’s often went on family trips to Moab, Winter Park and all over Colorado. Playing on singletrack was a totally normal experience for me. Spoiled, so spoiled.
It’s strange though, even with a female role model, I always found myself playing with the boys. As a kid, I had my girl friends, but I mostly loved playing “Top Gun” on my “boys” bike (a BMX Diamondback), shooting squirt guns and jumping out of trees. Even as I grew older I was always surrounded by guys – riding bridges and teeter totters in Nederland, Colorado, working at a bike shop in high school and eventually trying to keep up with the guys on the CU Cycling Team. My sense of humor even became quite boyish – catching me laughing at any sentence with the number “69” in it or chuckling when someone said “wood” is still not a rare occasion….admit it, I am SO cool!
With such sophisticated humor around who even needs females? After years of being surrounded by such masculine energy I think I had become convinced that hanging with the guys was all I needed – they pushed my limits on the bike and were fun enough to hang out with, so I was all set, right? Wrong. I’m not sure how it happened, but thankfully, in the past few years, I’ve rediscovered how AMAZING us women really are. Women are kind, supportive and have some sort of secret camaraderie that only we can understand. This strength and loving network allows us to push each other in ways that no guy could ever understand.
In the last couple of weeks I’ve had two amazing opportunities to hang out with my girls. First, I was invited to stay in Germany after the third World Cup in Offenburg, Germany to mentor a group of junior and U23 women girls. This program was in it’s second year and was started by two incredible Boulder-based parents: Connie Carpenter and Drew Geer who realized there are many young women who love to ride and race their bikes but are pretty much left to the wolves when it comes to racing development. The second opportunity was the Beti Bike Bash, here in Colorado. This event was put together by Amy Thomas and the Betis of the Yeti Beti women’s mountain bike team – they thought women might want a day all to themselves and they were right. In it’s second year, it turns out that women really do want to race their bikes. Both years saw more beginner women entrants than any coed race in the state. This race isn’t about leaving the men out, it’s about creating an environment of female strength, power, and inspiration. Mission accomplished.
So, here I am, full circle. In the beginning, it was my mom who got me on my bike. I was invited to the junior camp and the Beti Bike Bash to share my knowledge and hopefully inspire some girls and women to push themselves, learn new skills, and help expose females to our incredible sport. I even got to watch my mom race…and WIN! I’m not sure what my impact was on all these ladies – I certainly hope I offered some helpful advice and encouraging words. What I AM sure of, however, is the impact that these ladies all had on me. I could not have predicted it, but both experiences left me buzzing with happiness and inspiration. I watched girls and women have major “holy sh*t, I CAN DO THIS” moments after believing for far too long that they couldn’t do it. I saw frowns and looks of self-doubt turn into bright eyes and satisfied grins. And when you might have expected tears from crashes or mistakes, I saw determination, drive, and renewed passion for achieving a goal.
These few days surrounded by incredible females were just what I needed. I still love and appreciate the company of men (especially those who shave their legs) and can’t deny that they push me to new levels when it comes to riding. In fact, I encourage all women to put themselves out there and challenge their skills with the boys. But, I will never again forget the way riding with my girls makes me feel. I started riding and racing to see what I could do, to see how amazing I can be. At times, however, I get caught up in the false meaning behind race results and training performance. This is NOT what it’s about and I needed that reminder. Ladies…all the ladies, louder now, come on all the ladies! Ahem. Ladies. Thank you all for inspiring ME, making me laugh, reminding me that I CAN do it and that we are all better than we think we are. If I taught you even half of what you taught me…we need each other more than we know.
Huge thanks to:
SRAM for the support and great demos
Rebecca Rusch, Lindsey Voreis, Yeti Beti’s, Connie and Drew for amazing leadership and forward thinking
All the amazing volunteers and event sponsors who have all made these events possible!
These girls are the future - thanks to Connie and Drew for getting them all together and giving them the experience of racing in Europe!
Kirchzarten Germany - my birthday dinner with the junior/U23 girls. Thanks for being amazing ladies!
Everyone gathered for a clinic with the pros the day before the Beti Bike Bash
Lots of girls and their mom's came out to test themselves...and maybe even have a little fun
Post race glory
This looks innocent, but that's my mom in the green...she is about 5 seconds away from a wickedly bad-ass pass through the grassy rocks NEXT to the singletrack
VICTORY! She's still inspiring me....