BettyGoHard Women Action Sports Blog

Rossland BC

January 24-27th, dom dom dom.....Winter Carnival!!!

What an awesome time, as usual!  Almost two weeks ago, yet seems like yesterday.  Rossland hosted their, 116th Winter carnival celebrations this year.

Winter Carnival, what can I say, Its about being in thee MOST amazing fantasy for any outdoor enthusiast.  Happening in town are events and gatherings all weekend long.  Friends hanging with friends, watching races and bobsledding down the streets.  Take a walk a block further and you'll find random igloos filled with more friends and warm fires.  Really!?..Whats better?

Red Mountain had it going on too, fun parties, night skiing and of course more bonfires.

Rossvegas (Rosslands trusty boardshop) takes the reigns and organizes massive amounts of snow to dump on the streets.  Volunteers gather and work super hard to bury rails, build jumps and just dominate at bringing us an amazing riding course for competitors to play in.

"THE GAME" has different riding and skiing level categories and anyone is able to sign on to compete.  There are tons of features planted downtown on the  course built to allow the town to gather round and cheer on the riders and skiers as they lay down their best tricks for prizes from Rossvegas and a placement in the Finals.

There is seriously zero exaggeration about the amount of town spirit you're going to find the second you step outdoors - and it last all weekend!  The only thing you'll miss on a weekend like this is sleep. And who needs it anyway!

This year was as beautiful as any other.  Everyone in town, and I mean EVERYONE, was out, proud and loud!!  The sun was shining, the DJs were awesome, as were the announcers that kept us laughing all day!   LOL, such a fun day!

Players were out in full force and game well played by everyone.

The results are in and turned out to be an awesome game played by all.

I've found the Snowboarding results, but please accept my apologies on any misspelled names.

Ladies Pro Riding~~

1st- #63 Sabrina Gauthier - Sabrina rides for Someone Collective

2nd- #2 Hanna Bilodeau - 2nd time winner, Rider for Ripping Girrafe

3rd- #114 Bella Beahrrel-  Rider for Ripping Girrafe

4th- #87 Amella Olafson

5th- #107 Kezia Bahlmanm

Awesome awesome play Ladies! Thanks for showing us some amazing talent and representing for all of us out there cheering you on!

Guys Pro Riding

1st- Tyy Clark - Rides for Ripping Giragge

2nd- Brad Hesson

3rd- Hugo Chartier - Rides for Ripping Giraffe

4th- Alex Beaucage - Rides for Ripping Giraffe

Advance Riding

1st- #126 - Pele Kremple

2nd - #142 - Dan Brett

3rd - #116 - Sam Butler

4th - #149 - Noah Delfiner

Beginner winner

Neko Reimer  ~~  Absolutely amazing stuff coming from this young guy.  He's been working hard and it shows! At 6 years old and into his 3rd winter riding, Neko is doing so well.  Keep it up little buddy, show us how it's done!!  Here's a video of Neko at Big White this year, enjoy...so cute and only 6!!    Go NEKO Go!!

Thanks to Blow-up Photography for sharing some awesome moments of the day!  Check out more photos from the Carnival at http://www.blowupblog.info/

See You Next year!!!  Can't wait!

WOoT wOoT

My name is Kat! , I'm so excited to have found Bettygohard, and I'm really hoping it will give me the push I need to get my butt in gear and get out with you wonderful woman out there.

Cross Country Skiing Kootenay Style; Julie shares her recent experience 'off piste' at the Nancy Green Summit.

Last Sunday I listened to an interesting program on CBC Radio One – an edition of Cross Country Checkup that talked about social media and its effect on society. The question - is social media making us antisocial?

Many of the points raised in the program echoed my own thoughts on the topic. It seems that social media – Facebook, twitter, foursquare and all the mobile technology that goes along with it are pretty much ubiquitous these days.

I wonder – without the ability to connect to people though the internet, would I be living the same healthy, action packed life? Would I be enjoying the sports I do, to the level that I do?

The honest truth is – probably not. The only reason I ended up living in Squamish instead of a resort town was through a Facebook message from a friend. I can only contemplate living away from family in Australia because we can keep in contact, cheaply, through Skype and email. When it comes to each of my sports and other interests, I constantly use various platforms to retrieve and share information. It blows my mind to think that my riding, running, snowboarding and writing community extends around the globe. That is a helluva lot of people sharing the stoke!

The internet is a useful tool, and I believe it is playing a crucial role in the rising numbers of women participating in action sports. It allows you to organise rides to new places with new friends at a level that suits. You can get advice on skills, clothes, and equipment. You can be inspired by photos, video and stories of women excelling in their chosen field, and you can share your own journey.

'Should have checked the trail conditions online...' Whistler Bike Park. Rider: Pip Gardiner. Photo: Ryan Gardiner

There is a downside to all this connection. Free services like Facebook are not really free - you need to hand over a little bit of your privacy in order to get the full benefit of the service. That information can be shared with the corporation that runs the network as well as third party advertisers so you need to be careful with what you broadcast and what you allow access to your information. A balance between real and virtual is also important. Spending all your time online living other people experiences is not healthy but it is an easy trap to fall into, particularly when the weather is bad.

In my opinion, social media is another step in human evolution. Just as microscopes and telescopes have enhanced our ability to see, the internet has expanded our ability to connect. If we take the time to understand how each program works and use it to our advantage, we can augment our social life immensely. The key is to use the technology, rather than letting the technology use you.

The reality is there is no substitute for the real thing. If you spend an hour online watching other people ride bikes, or ride bikes for an hour, which will leaving you feeling amazing?

I thought so. Now get out there!

Day in the life of a modern Action Woman:

8.00 Get up, eat breakfast. Delicious new recipe from Bettygohard, energy for the day!  Om nom nom…

8.30 Draft and publish new Bettygohard blog post.

9.30 Broadcast post on Twitter, Linked in, and Facebook. Update website portfolio.

10.00 Plan next long trail run using GPS map from Squamish50 race

10.15 Browse through Girl Parkour photos – those girls are strong AND sexy. Resolve to do more core strength work. How do they balance on those rails??

10.35 Check next DH race route with SORCA – it’s a steep and gnarly one. Hmmm…

10.40 Get some tips from Fabian Barel on riding steep and gnarly tracks. Thanks Fabian!

11.00 Research lighter tires for freeride bike. Need it to do the Hot on Your Heels race – is there something as grippy as a Maxxis Minion but lighter?

11.30 Update Facebook status– Heading to bike park!

11.35 Download new music, a little Hilltop Hoods and some Crystal Method to get the riding party started. Blast some tunes while packing the truck.

11.40 Get two texts from friends already at the park – sweet!

11.45 Drive to Whistler. Ride, ride, talk, ride until the park closes. Meet up with a random crew and go for beers to cut the dust.

10.00 Drive home, update status to ‘best day ever! ‘

10.00 Go to sleep, dream of riding again.

'Having a lovely time - wish you were here' - Whistler Bike Park. Photo: Pip Gardiner

After being on the island for the past three weeks it was time to escape to the 'big city', which for us is Campbell River and Courtney.  We needed food and supplies for the lodge and a few other bits and pieces mainly for the kayak.  Which is still waiting to be equipped and launched sadly,  soon though.

It seemed a waste to me to finally get off the island and not go exploring on our bikes while we were out and about. Judging by the past few weeks I don't think we'll have many of these opportunities till late August when things slow down.  I did some research into biking in the Campbell River/Courtney area and figured we needed to go to a bike shop to get pointed in the right direction.  Spokes in Campbell River gave us some advice and sent us off to the Snowden Demonstration  Forest just a few clicks out of town.  Home to over 100kms of trails, the 50km bike race held each year in September and a stop on the BC BikeRace, coincidentally this weekend, this is the Mecca for technical xc biking on this end of the island.

As it started to rain we suited up, got our bearings and headed off on our ride.  The trails are pretty well marked out there until as we found out you really need them.  We were suggested the Riley Lake Trail dropping onto Cheshire Cat and looping back to the start for a good hour, hour and half ride.  It took us just over an hour, we took a slightly different route to the one we had planned but had fun all the same.  I think we rode Aunty Nancy which seemed like we were going the wrong way as going down the trail we were going up seemed like it would be fun.  The trails were technical, well maintained, lots of roots that we have come to expect out here, rock drops and rock rolls, ups and downs and up and overs.  Really a cross section of many trails i have ridden over the years.  Using all our skills and staying focused was the key to our enjoyment, no lapses of  concentration wanted here.  As it turned out we were going the right way and we popped out back at the car.  It was a great ride and I am looking forward to coming back and exploring some more.  I might even consider racing in the 50km bike race but we will see, I am not in the shape to take that on right now!

A little soggy but happy, we were in the right frame of mind to attack the real purpose of our mission and head home.  I write this as we get back on the last ferry home, back to island life nota moment too soon!

The Second Ride – Alert Bay

To be honest I hope that nobody is reading this - it is the long weekend after all, and you should all be out playing!

I posted a link on the Betty facebook site to a recent article on Pinkbike entitled 'Why no Y?', another article lamenting the lack of ladies in MTB. You can read the full article on Pinkbike, and look at the pretty girl riding pictures.

I was motivated to write a response to this article because I believe it is time that we all admit that the MTB industry is changing, and changing for the better. MTB is no longer struggling in the backwater, it is gaining traction and becoming a sport that is gaining participation from men women and children from all walks of life.

I know I live in a bike-mad part of the world, but I started out in places where biking was a minority and girls even more so. I have traveled around and seen what works, and I want Pinkbike to share the success stories, not just the sob stories.

Forgive me, but I have published my response directly with Pinkbike in the hope that they put it on the front page and get some real dialogue going.

Please visit my response 'XX or XY? Bikes don't care', leave a comment and help me build something positive into our fantastic MTB community!

I hope your long weekend is full of sunshine and action!!

Pip

I have never considered myself a very competitive person. In primary school I stayed clear of anything that involved sports and a prize preferring to stick to book learnin' which I was far more comfortable with. High school and university I played some basketball and soccer and started running by myself for fitness. In university I met my future husband who allowed me to tag along when he went bike riding and for the last 10 years I have been slowly catching on to this biking thing.

Last year to beat the winter blues I entered mself in a running group that was training for the Whistler half marathon. I got a lot out of the training and race prep - improved fitness, better eating habits, new running skills. It really got me thinking how having goals in our sports can help push us to new skill levels - and through that new levels of enjoyment.

This year, I decided to lady up and race in the local downhill MTB series. I live in Squamish, BC so the toonie races are run by the amazing Squamish Off Road Cycling Association. Every two weeks, they pick a different local trail to race, and have a BBQ social afterwards. Not a high stress race environment, but some of the tracks they race are deliciously gnarly. It has taken me a couple of years to muster the courage to give it a go.

So why chose this year to race? Number one - bucket list. I am turning the bg 3-0 this year, and I am trying to celebrate all year long by doing fun and challenging new things. Racing DH fits right in to that category! Number two - I had a great riding season last year and I finally feel I am confident enough on my bike to give it a go. Number three - I got my first ever DH bike. Everything is falling into place!

Of course, everytime I point my bike downhill over challenging terrain there is the potential for injury, and adding the need for speed into the mix can increase it. I choose to accept that risk, and to do everything I can to minimize the chance of something happening - I will ride within my limits, take time to look at the tracks beforehand, keep fit, wear appropriate protection and make sure the bike is always in good working order.

My goals this season are to ride smooth and ride in all the races, even the more challenging tracks at the end of the season. We are now two races in, and already I am kicking myself for waiting so long. We have a great group of girls turning up to race, everyone friendly and there to have fun no matter what bike they are riding or what their skill level is.

What I am really enjoying is spending time getting to know one track really well. For the first two races I have I have spent time pushing up, observing sections and riding them over and over. I think analysing the track, trying different lines and practising tricky sections over and over are going to improve my riding in the long run. It also gives the opportunity to watch other people ride and learn from how they tackle technical sections.

So far my results are pretty good  -  second and third place. I even find myself thinking 'I could have shaved a second here, could have added a pedal there!'. I am certainly no Ann Caro - but I am really enjoying racing DH. I encourage you to get out and have a go at a race in whatever your chosen sport is. You might not win, but you may push your skills to a new level. And remember to have fun- social racing is , after all, an excuse to hang out in a beautiful forest, talk with friends and play bikes. Everybody wins!

The only way down is down - what will I learn about myself on the way?

Here I am at 2000m, sitting on my behind on Whistler Peak. It is a stunning bluebird day and in front of me is an untracked powder field. The catch? To get there I have to navigate a gnarly entrance which I have never done before. I have to edge down an icy, exposed chute and halfway down I will have to let go and slide over a rock slab - no edge engaged, nothing to hold on to.

Just quietly, being exposed on the side of a mountain like this freaks the hell out of me. I grew up in outback Queensland, Australia where the ground is FLAT. Stick me on the side of a snow covered cliff and I feel like I am going to fall into space. It is a hard fear to overcome and I have had a few horrible experiences in the past on steep sections.

But today there are people lining up behind me - I don't have time to think about freaking out, only to act. I focus on getting down that chute then riding the heck out of the powder before anyone else can. For those few precious minutes I am completely in the moment, whooping with delight the whole way down. At the bottom I turn and look back up to the peak I have just come from and feel an immense sense of achievement. Today, I overcame that fear!

This story is a neat metaphor for how I want to live my life - I want to live in the moment, face my fears and achieve my full potential at everything I do. Participating in actions sports has taught me valuable life lessons and is one of the reasons I feel as strong and healthy as I do today.

Taking up mountain biking and snowboarding in my 20s has been a huge challenge. Physically I have had to become much fitter, and much more aware of how my brain and body work together.  Mentally, I have had to learn how to de-stress, how to overcome my internal dialogue and really focus what is important (I can either worry about money and life choices and world peace in my head OR bomb a technical section of trail well - not both!). Socially, it has helped me connect to new communities that value healthy minds and bodies and worship the great outdoors over the almighty dollar.

I support women’s involvement in actions sports because every girl, lass and lady out there deserves to be all that they can be.

Ladies, what has participating in action sports taught you? How would you persuade other women to get involved?