World’s First Women’s-Only Enduro Race Series Announced
The Sturdy Dirty Enduro, presented by Liv, is expanding from a single event in Washington State to a 3-state series in 2017, becoming the world’s only enduro mountain bike race series focused on women.
Sturdy B*tch Racing, a Seattle-based mountain bike team dedicated to promoting women in mountain biking through racing, trail building and race organizing, has announced the 4th annual Sturdy Dirty Enduro mountain bike race will now include races in Washington, Oregon and California as part of its new series for 2017. Registration opens February 14th.
Joined by partner Roam Events to help with expansion efforts, and by returning title sponsor Liv—now Series Title Sponsor—Sturdy B*tch Racing is seeking participants, sponsors and volunteers to be part of a women’s event series that’s the only one of its kind in the world.
2017 Sturdy Dirty Enduro Race Series:
June 17 -- Seattle, WA
Aug. 19 -- Oakridge, OR
Oct. 14 -- Big Bear Lake, CA
The Event: The Sturdy Dirty Enduro, now a 3-race series, brings women racers together to experience timed downhill-orientated course sections, uphill transition trail riding and fun-filled aid stations. Racers can expect a serious race in a festive environment, with costumed volunteers and themed aid stations. (Aid stations in the past have involved bacon hand-ups, waffle s’mores, a Mexican cantina, and a limbo station.) After each race the party will continue with food, beverages, awards, and a raffle.
Says Ady Bee Lane, one of six Sturdy Dirty Enduro organizers: “We’re thrilled not only to put on this fun event for the fourth year in a row but also to bring the Sturdy Dirty down the Pacific Coast to its two new locations. We’re spreading the awesome, so everyone has a chance to experience the challenge, the camaraderie, and the fun that is the Sturdy Dirty. We are especially excited to be working with Liv again, who have been great supporters of the Sturdy Dirty.”
More information about the race series and the new venues will be available on the event website in early February. Course details will be announced closer to each race date. The courses will be designed to appeal to the majority of racers, though riders should be aware that certain sections of trail may pose some difficulty for beginner riders. Racers can expect around 3,000 feet of elevation gain and 15 miles of riding. (Elevation and mileage will vary from venue to venue.)
Registration: Race registration will be available on www.sturdydirty.com starting February 14, 2017. Early sign-up for the full series or for individual races is encouraged, as last year the Washington race sold out within 28 hours.
For more information and future updates, visit www.sturdydirty.com. For sponsorship donations or volunteer opportunities, contact info@sturdydirty.com.
MENTIONS: @GiantBicycle
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This is a three race series... but its really just one race per state; WA, OR, CA. Let’s assume that anyone who takes contest to the women only races is mad that they can’t participate. We could infer that they would be willing to drive to any, or all of these events.
For those that may fit into this category I’ve quickly made a race schedule for all West Coast races that occur within an 8-hour drive radius of the the Sturdy Dirty Enduro events.
Included series are: BC Enduro Series, Cascadia Dirt Cup, California Enduro Series respectively. (I can’t find any 2017 info for Oregon Enduro Series but we can assume another 4-5 races added to this list)
Apr 29 - Cascadia Dirt Cup
Apr 30 - BC Enduro
May 6 - CA Enduro
May 7 - CAN Nat Enduro
May 14 - BC Enduro
May 20 - Cascadia Dirt Cup
May 21 - BC Enduro
May 27 - CA Enduro
June 4 - BC Enduro
—JUNE 17 — STURDY DIRTY
June 17 - CA Enduro
June 24 - Cascadia Dirt Cup
July 1 - CA Enduro
July 21 - CA Enduro
July 22 - Cascadia Dirt Cup
—AUG 19 — STURDY DIRTY
Aug 26 - CA Enduro
Aug 27 - CAN Nat Enduro
Aug 27 - Cascadia Dirt Cup
Sept 14 - CA Enduro
Sept 16 - CAN Nat Enduro
Sept 16 - Cascadia Dirt Cup
Oct 7 - CA Enduro
—OCT 14 — STUDRY DIRTY
Yeah, 24 Enduros, three of them for women. If you tackle all 21 West Coast enduros, I will personally dress you up like a woman and get you into at least one of the Sturdy Dirty events. Shit, if you pull it off I’ll dress myself up like a woman, join you, and pay your race fee.
You would have to be beastly machine of a human to hit all of these races; and certainly ignorant, at the very least, if you’d believe there to be a lack of racing anywhere on the West Coast. And that just the Enduro schedule, no XC or endurance XC. If you are that serious of a racer, you probably have the 5-6 races picked out for the season that you’re periodizing your training around them as you read this. That is, unless you’re considering a “race” a guided ride into the woods on unfamiliar trails.
The biggest bike race in the world, Tour de France (sorry I’m also roadie), is a men’s only race. Sometimes they throw together a half-assed women’s Tour, which is why you’ve never seen it. You (me, we, guys) are not a marginalized class or victim in any respect within the cycling world. On the contrary, gentlemen, we run this shit. Maybe it’s time to be more inclusive in the world of cycling. Instead of arguing over the little lines drawn in sand. More butts on bikes, ANY BIKES, ultimately results in greater lobbying power for more trails, more parks, more access, AHEM..morebikelanes…AHEM… At least it’s not a “Women Against Bikes on trails” constituency. Or worse, “Women Who Ride Horses on MTN Bike Trails and Hate bikes” group.
Guys, this is a WIN. But I digress.
An anecdotal inclusion, I’ve attempted to get my fiancee to try out a race. Her “excuses”… I don’t want guys laughing at me if I crash, I don’t think I’m good enough to have everyone watching me, my ass might look fat in the shorts, I don’t want all the creepy old guys staring at me. Hmm… all valid points, and yes we do stare. Last season, I mentioned to her some of the growing popularity of women only bike events in WA state; her response, “That sounds like fun! We should go!”
#freedomtoThearmidillos
I don't understand two points that you argue. Your main argument is that "women cited the intimidating nature of co-ed rides/events" therefore if you remove men from the event they are now comfortable....right? Your argument completely supports that men are the exclusive reason women are uncomfortable and that is okay! Its just a matter of calling it what it is.
Second, the industry has listened to men for " a very long time" because they were the consumer. The woman market has grown immensely in the past couple years and smart people capitalize on emerging markets.
Again, Im not trying to bash on the program. I think it is more than appropriate that women have a larger voice as they develop an interest in the sport. I am a huge proponent of getting everyone to get on the bike and give it a try. I look forward to seeing the coverage of these events and the rad stuff people are doing on the bike.
It took brave souls like yourself to be the odd one out to get on the bike at places like whistler prior to these events. I think it's fair to say that the market largely does follow these events.
Keep doing what you do!
That said, I worry a bit that this seems to be a kind of self segregation. It instills a sense of community and support for those in the minority group that are coming together, but does it hamper integration in to the larger community? If not, awesome! But I guess it's probably too early to tell one way or the other.
But since we're on the topic...
I am probably the last woman who really wants to attend women's only events, as I think I learn better in a co-ed situation, and they're just not my cup of tea. That being said, I know many women who thrive in women-only settings and then go on to participate in co-ed events and races. I am in full support of getting more women in the sport and groups like the Dirt Series, Sweetlines, All Ride, and Bell Joy Ride are bringing women into mountain biking in droves. As far as I'm concerned more people riding bikes (men or women) is better for the growth of our bike culture. If this is what it takes to get women involved, then more power to them.
Nice work Ady and fellow bitches!
That's excellent to hear. I'm obviously ignorant on the subject; I had no idea how long these things had been going on for. I wish you guys the best of luck with the races.
Say your wife or girlfriend or sister is going out for drinks with her girl friends. Girls' night out and all that. Or you do the same thing with your guy friends - boys' night out. That's not self-segregation, that's freely associating. So you can decide whom you want to include in that group, and so can they. There's no external authority authorizing or prohibiting participation.
Women's MTB events, then, can't be self-segregation, as women aren't discriminating against themselves by depriving themselves of the participation of men in those events. For it to be self-segregation, the women would have to be the ones doing the enforcing (keeping the men out) and the ones suffering the ill effect. And since the whole thing is voluntary (and those same women are free to choose NOT to be confined to women's only events), that doesn't really logically flow.
What's more to the point is whether having an event on public resources that's restricted to women is segregation, as in keeping the guys out. And that, given the fact that there's no shortage of racing, how under-represented women are in the sport, etc., is probably not a viable argument (and I don't think that's where you're going with this). But to think that somehow the poor women are inadvertently harming themselves by depriving themselves of the company and participation of us dudes at their enduros or clinics - I think that's a bit of a stretch...
That certainly wasn't where I was going with that.
I guess I was looking at it from the standpoint of a lot of the high profile races being co-ed. So if these events were only able to draw women in to the sport at a women's only level, but not further, it's would have been a good effort, but not ultimately leading to women being fully represented in the sport. courtneywylie set me straight on this above, however, so it seems I was making a fuss about nothing.
I think that these races are important for women to find comfort in racing - since most of us didn't start riding till late teens and beyond - I don't think the new generations of girls riding, won't have that comfort issue. I think right now, it's necessary - and regardless of that - they are super fun events!
Game on 2017!!!!!
There were also some great pre-ride shuttle days for participants. Hopefully they're still doing those…
I'm psyched for the next one! Congrats on the expansion @adybee7. We'll see you in Oakridge!
Just really like when everyone is invited....if the table was turned and no women allowed it would be a outrage in the current build community theme around the world
However when any human is riding a bike it is a good thing for all.
Have fun racing!!
I see a "step backwards" every time I read the comments under articles that feature female athletes / female riding events.
The reality is, women are still the minority when it comes to XC, enduro or DH races, and it is hard to get yourself amped up to train and race seriously when you know there will be only a handful of competitors to race against...if you are lucky!
Events like this make it possible and worthwhile for women to come out and try out racing for the first time (and be more likely to participate in traditional races in the future) and also for more seasoned racers to have some real competition. So you aren't standing on the podium alone. Because I've been there, and the 'win' is certainly not as sweet.
How is excluding 90% of the racers at any other event going to bring MORE competitors to the event? How many women choose not to attend a race because men would be there? How many couples attend races together, that this will prohibit? Who cares if its guys or girls at the event, more people is good, removing 90% of your entry fees makes for an underfunded event.
This event sold out last year in a day, so they are obviously doing something right and there is a demand for a supportive, all-level, friendly race without being intimidated by men riding your ass and yelling at you to get out of the way in practice.
From what I can tell, organizers are trying to put on a great event and introduce more people into racing and have no problems getting sponsorship, or turning a profit enough to donate to local charities or other trail organizations with the event proceeds.
This wome only and men only is getting a bit much. We are all one and the same and all enjoy riding and socializing. We all supported the march this past weekend and we are all for getting the message out there that we're all equal. Therefore, it would be great to have an event where everyone can ride and all prize monies are the same. Time for us all ot make a change and become accepting of each other and uniting in everything we do. I loved watching the women race in Squamish last year and it was fantastic. I'd love to see them do all events together. The Epic races (e.g. BC BikeRace) and others around the world are open to everyone and to be honest, those women in the event are so strong and really enjoy the ride. It is only by competing together where one gets an understanding on how strong women a=really are and I am an advocate to that end.
I have seen and experienced it and not ashamed to say that I have been beaten on many occasions by women in epic events. These evnts would not have me continuing if it was a mens only event.
I have raced DH and enduro, at community level, provincial & national level, in several countries; it is a sad reality that not enough women race. No matter how you promote the race, including a "fun" race series such as the Fivers, many women are intimidated to attend. These women's only events, of which I've attended HOYH and Sturdy Dirty, appeal to so many more riders. They have lots of categories, with different courses for those with less confidence in their technical skills or endurance to cover certain distances. They also release the courses very early and/or provide "preview" rides so people can get a taste of what they are up against before race day. There is also plenty of competition for women in all the categories. There is something cool about racing against 15-30 women in your category vs 3 or 5 others. These events do something special about creating an environment that makes all the women feel like they can thrive and whatever this magic formula is, it is missing from most other races. Hopefully, these events get more women hooked on racing and then we can have this festival atmosphere, with both men and women challenging themselves and having fun at all races.
I'm sure after this clever backpedal (pun intended) the ladies will be lining up at your store.