Ride with women on Silver Mountain

KELLOGG—Last Friday, women of all ages and skill levels joined at Silver Mountain Bike Park in Kellogg for a beautiful day of camaraderie and epic bike riding. Local athlete Ella Erikson led the event, sponsored by the bike part company E*Thirteen, which also provided swag to the ladies who rode.

Erikson started racing BMX, then transitioned into downhill racing at 11, biking the National Championships for the first time in 2018 and then competing internationally in 2020.

“The ride was so much fun, it was put on by Ella Erikson, one of our top local professional riders,” said Danica Gilbert, who took part in the women’s ride.

Because this was the first time the event was put on, Erikson wasn’t sure how many women would first attend the inaugural event.

“When I got to the mountain, I asked Erikson how many she expected. She really wasn’t sure, and said it could be five or it could be fifty,” Gilbert said. “We ended up having a really good group of about thirty women, which is awesome for the first time.”

The riders had different skill levels and were split into two groups: beginner and intermediate/expert. The group leaders then broke down proper bike positioning, cornering, and how to approach steep ladders. The ladies also mastered switchbacks (a flat, 180-degree turn in a trail) and jumps on the more challenging blue and black tracks.

“They held drills with the group, taught us cornering, and braking techniques, and different positioning. There was riders of all skill levels, so we split into two different groups and learned the skills we needed to become a more confident rider on the trail,” Gilbert explained.

The women then trekked three laps of the mountain, with a big top-to-bottom lap, descending over 3,400 vertical feet. After the excursion, the group was tired, but excited about everything they had learned and the new friends that they had made.

A second women’s only ride will be hosted on August 19 at 12:00 p.m., starting in the Silver Mountain Parking Lot. For more information on this event, and more put on by Silver Mountain please visit https://www.silvermt.com/events/calendar