Trish Bromley Rides Post Office

The first time Trish Bromley saw the Post Office dirt jumps, she ran onto the first berm, raised her kinked arms and proclaimed, “I found Heaven!” We didn’t even have a bike with us. Furthermore, Trish hadn’t ridden dirt jumps in three months, as she was nursing an injury that required bilateral elbow surgery. (Hence the kink as she lifted her arms above her head). That image is burned into my memory. From that moment, I knew I wanted to be there when Trish went back with her bike.

Everything fell into place this past April, and we found our way back to California with bikes.


As Trish sat on the drop-in with the boys, she’d shift between chatting with them and being in a place of deep focus. You could watch as she went through the motions in her head before she dropped in. She said the biggest thing she had to overcome was the psychological effect of the gaps in the jumps, as she had been riding the rollable wooden jumps at Joyride150 all winter. She’d often look at me right before she dropped in and shake a hang-loose in my direction. I’d toss her a nod and a smile in return. We didn’t plan this little interaction. Although it helped me take better photos, it was more of an unspoken “you got this”.


The evening wouldn’t have been the same without the out-pouring of support from the local riders and the members of the riding community who were setting up for the Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival. Everyone was stoked that Trish was riding the big jumps.

“You’re the first girl to hit these!” one of the groms told Trish after she hit just the squirrel catcher. I’m not sure if that is true, but watching a girl ride the big jumps at Post Office is certainly a rare event.



The high-fives were flying; there were spectators standing behind the top fence, camera-phones switched to video mode; and the sun was setting over the Pacific Ocean in the distance. The night held all of the qualities that make the Aptos dirt jumps such a special place.

We spent a few days at Post Office: Trish riding while I was shooting. It became quite systematic, the way she’d nod at me before she dropped in. We captured a few good photos, but really, that’s not difficult when the athlete in the photos is as bad-ass as Trish Bromley.