Are You A Lady? Wanna Race Bikes? Here's Your Chance!

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Marzocchi-USA (Oct 31, 2014 at 15:34)

Count us in to help. I will provide discounted Grassroots deals to any woman on this program! just hit me up directly! marketing@marzocchiusa.com
-DM

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ambatt (Nov 1, 2014 at 10:12)

David, that's insanely generous of you! Thank you so much for supporting this effort!

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the11firm (Nov 1, 2014 at 15:24)

thats awesome

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lsmillie (Nov 2, 2014 at 18:49)

So good to see this support everyone can gain from it!

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Marzocchi-USA (Nov 3, 2014 at 9:47)

I'ts the least I can do, I wish I could do more. -DM

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Mtbguy87 (Nov 2, 2014 at 11:35)

I should definitely show this to my mom! My entire family rides dh but only me and my brother race. Maybe this will convince her to try one race haha

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sgeatsemos (Nov 2, 2014 at 14:11)

Would anyone like to comment on how ridiculously expensive women's clinics are? I have been at mountains where they're hosted conveniently on the same weekend I'm there, and I love getting together to ride with a bunch of women, but the cost was absolutely insane. Maybe another way to help is get sponsors to pay those clinics directly and lower the cost for all the women (and new potential customers) so that some more of us can actually afford them! I'm sure I was not the only one who skipped out because of the price.

This happens at Keystone, CO during the summers, probably the best opportunity for women I've seen (although I wish it were longer than 1.5 hours):

Women's Wednesday Mountain Bike Clinics
Come shred Keystone Bike Park with other girls every Wednesday from June 18 - August 27. For $30 you can get a lift ticket, bike, helmet and protective gear rental from 3:30 - 5 p.m. at Keystone Sports, and guided riding down the mountain with a coach from the Beti AllRide Clinic. This is the perfect opportunity to give lift-accessed riding a try and meet other women to ride with. To reserve a spot call Activities and Dining 970-496-4fun.

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ambatt (Nov 2, 2014 at 14:29)

The greatest thing about this is that the race-specific clinics I'm offering are free of charge to anyone interested -- because of this, it'll be more of a jam style clinic with some detailed race work.

Clinics can be expensive and semi-cost prohibitive, which is why beginners without ties to the racing scene may be hesitant to try them, but hopefully we can change that with a bit more understanding about the value that lies in clinic attendance and learning from people who know how to teach.

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veggiecyclist (Nov 3, 2014 at 4:03)

Good work Amanda and thank you for your voice, efforts and passion DH in itself is expensive, add gear and parts replacement. season passes, or daily lift passes, training, clinics and race fees.... it's a big investment for the return.

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ThirtyBucks (Oct 16, 2015 at 22:10)

On a side note it really is a shame that Amanda Batty promoted women getting into the sport so heavily and then failed to hold up her agreement with so many women. She really isn't making a great impression on me or my wife regarding women in the sport. This comment is totally aside from the pink bike issue as I do not condone any type of harassment or inequality. My disgust is that Amanda lied to people that looked up to her. In 2014 my wife read an article about Batty willing to cover the tab for women entering their first downhill race. My wife was ecstatic, so she put her name into the 'hat' to be selected as one of the women that Batty would cover the entry fee. My wife and I were both elated to find out she was one of the women selected. Come race day at the Sundance Showdown in Utah, my wife met Amanda and had an amazing time at the race in which she placed 1st in her category. Once the race was over and my wife inquired about the reimbursement for the race as promised, it was nothing but excuses from Batty every time we asked. She told us at one point that her account was frozen because someone hacked it, then she stated that she was so sorry and she would personally drive to our house to deliver the money the following day. We have never heard from her since. This in my mind is no way to represent women in the sport. My wife was extremely excited about racing downhill, but after this personal experience with Amanda Batty, she would rather not be involved with downhill racing if it means dealing with people like Batty. Shame on you Amanda, this is no way to promote building the sport for women if you are going to give those women false hope. $30 and still waiting for payment over six months later.

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ripinitup (Nov 2, 2014 at 6:36)

I think this a great idea as well. Ambatt,is there a website or place where the clinics are being held and which race venues are selected?

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ambatt (Nov 2, 2014 at 7:49)

We don't have a firm date yet as not all of the North American race dates will be released until January, but there should be a 'hot map' graphic and a full page on my website by mid- to end of February with race and clinic locations, a full list of registered racers and their events (so local folks can get out and support) and a few other awesome highlights. Hopefully by the end of this week, we'll have the full page and submission form set up so it's more than an informal email process; the response has been so incredible and so inspiring -- it has shown not only the incredible need for this sort of outreach, but the support, demand and excitement for clinics geared towards female racing.

Huge thanks to Pinkbike for putting this out there and helping pull together all of these women. 2015 is going to be a stellar year for female racing and riding!

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ambatt (Nov 2, 2014 at 11:47)

@ripinitup We have a rough site up now with a submission form and a few details; if you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve the process, I'm all ears!

www.amandabatty.com/#!provingpossible/cdaj

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TheMastodon (Nov 2, 2014 at 12:05)

I feel like we need to get more people racing in general.

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ambatt (Nov 2, 2014 at 13:45)

I completely agree.

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kamsbry (Nov 6, 2014 at 10:14)

Come to the PNW. My 12 yo daughter started racing girls Cat 3 in the NW Cup this season. My 10 yo is chomping at the bit to race her sister in the spring. We're starting to build a field of young women racing DH in the Northwest. Hope to have a few more out next season.

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BikinSon (Nov 2, 2014 at 12:05)

gonna nominate my little sis...need a Strider category..my dad & I are working on her skills, check little session at our back yard on my page..sorry for the sideways shot, no idea what happend.

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JediKnight (Nov 4, 2014 at 19:13)

This is such a fantastic idea. My daughter started riding last year and I would love to see what would be available for beginners in the Eastern PA region.

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meSSican (Nov 2, 2014 at 20:26)

Really want to get my wife on board. Will there be any northern California clinics? Think attending clinic would be the only way she would be comfortable doing a race.

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ambatt (Nov 3, 2014 at 11:36)

I'm hoping to get out to one of the Northstar series races, but I'll also be at Sea Otter in the spring as well as any ProGRT stops in CA. We're also looking at doing a free clinic series during the fall of 2015 to continue the efforts of getting more ladies into DH.

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meSSican (Nov 4, 2014 at 13:47)

That would be awesome as we ride Northstar in the summers and have been seeing more women riding there. Is there a way we could get updates via email subscription?
Thank you for doing this...it's pretty amazing of you.

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burghbike (Nov 2, 2014 at 7:53)

How can people contribute to the fund?

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ambatt (Nov 2, 2014 at 9:19)

@burghbike, right now we're not accepting charitable contributions as this isn't a 501(c)3 organization or fund. However, we're looking to change that this winter as we move forward and we'll keep everyone updated via my athlete page and the race submission page, which can (now) be found at www.amandabatty.com/#!provingpossible/cdaj

Thanks for being so rad and supporting this effort!

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skibumsierra (Nov 2, 2014 at 13:02)

So many of my friends are stoked on this! I'm so pumped to race against them

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shredsONyou (Oct 31, 2014 at 13:04)

@SteezeQueen Right up your alley!

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LaXcarp (Nov 2, 2014 at 5:50)

This should be rolled out in the spring, or the beginning of the race season....

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ambatt (Nov 2, 2014 at 7:53)

We're rolling it out right now so we can fully prepare for the financial scope of what's about to happen; thousands of race entries aren't cheap, and a few months of planning is required to pull this and a full clinic schedule off, as well as a complete pro race season.

I also wanted to give women who are fresh off of a season of DH, trail riding or just spectating a chance to capitalize on their post-season excitement and get them looking forward to a great year in 2015, as well as offer the women in the Southern Hemisphere a chance to get out there during their summer (which is fast approaching).

We'll announce this again throughout the NA winter and again in the spring as a last-minute opportunity for women who have decided they want to race, but the goal is to go into this with as much planning and preparation as possible.

Thanks for the support!

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kickstand1 (Nov 2, 2014 at 11:48)

Awesome stuff! Glad to see efforts to increase women participating in riding. Dh chicks are super duper cool

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vw4ever (Nov 2, 2014 at 19:27)

Yeah. Amanda FTW. We need more like ya! If I knew a gal interested in DH, I'd be psyched to send her your way. Props!!

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hailstorm99 (Nov 26, 2014 at 16:34)

this is a great idea!!! i hope more women are encouraged by this and come out and race!

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dirtyjanedotcom (Dec 26, 2014 at 10:01)

100% to support how we can. AB reach out to us at info@dirtyane.com and we'd LOVE to help contribute!!

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hgrenade (Oct 31, 2014 at 18:24)

MTB needs more of this - excellent work!

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ambatt (Nov 2, 2014 at 7:53)

Thanks for the excitement and the support! Hopefully we'll see you out at a few of the races!

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ibishreddin (Nov 2, 2014 at 20:58)

All I could think of is becoming a drag queen for free races

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gtrguy FL (Oct 31, 2014 at 15:56)

Nice! Great way to promote the sport.

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ambatt (Nov 2, 2014 at 7:54)

Thanks! If you know of any women interested in this, please link to it and send 'em our way.