On May 18, the UO Outdoor Program (OP) hosted an inclusive biking event with the support of Dirt Maidens, an intersectional biking and trail stewardship organization. Dirt Maidens is led by and for femme, trans, women and non-binary identifying individuals.
The OP worked with Dirt Maidens to create a special opportunity for UO BIPOC students to have access to bikes and transportation for a mountain biking session at Carpenter Bypass, 40 minutes outside of Eugene.
Dirt Maidens makes it part of their mission to create opportunities for BIPOC, FTWN-B and LGBTQ+ individuals — groups that have historically been excluded from recreational outdoor sports.
“Mountain biking can be intimidating for anyone, but research shows the sport is particularly not accessible or welcoming to FWTN-B and BIPOC folx,” Anya Vollstedt, a co-founder of the Dirt Maidens, said.
Vollstedt has a passion for the sport now but recalls a time when she thought she would never mountain bike again. Her second time on a bike, she went out on a downhill expedition with her partner at the time and remembers feeling like a stranger to those she was surrounded by.
“I was the only lady on the shuttle, and quickly felt like I had no business being there,” Vollstedt said.
After her third ride ended with a big crash, Vollstedt temporarily gave up the sport.
“I thought, ‘ok, maybe this is a men’s sport’… I just gave the bike away,” Vollstedt said.
It wasn’t until about five years later when she got back into mountain biking. Vollstedt’s good friend, Lucy Sholz, a frequent mountain biker, helped her get back into the sport through more gentle experiences than the ones Vollstedt had previously endured.
After one of Sholz and Vollstedt’s sessions, they found themselves in a conversation about the lack of inclusive biking groups in Eugene. They figured there must be other women out there looking for an opportunity to practice biking without the pressures of being expected to do it perfectly on the first try.
Sholz created a Facebook group later that night and together, she and Vollstedt invited every femme, trans, woman and non-binary individual they knew who had a bike to join them on rides.
“I certainly didn’t think that a Facebook group would be what Dirt Maidens has become,” Vollstedt said. “Each member, rider and idea-sharer has contributed so much to what it is.”
Vollstedt notes that the organization has grown to become a very strong community of people who support and uplift one another. A strong component of the Dirt Maidens organization is being kind and encouraging to everyone in the group or anyone who shows out for a ride.
“There might be people getting on a mountain bike for the first time ever, or this is their first time trying an outdoor sport,” Vollstedt said. “This can be a very vulnerable moment, and even more so if culturally or historically you’ve been told that outdoor spaces aren’t safe for you or you haven’t been exposed to outdoor recreation in the past.”
Jenny Schrock, a long-term rider with the Dirt Maidens and a new addition to the group’s leadership team, is very fond of the accessibility that comes along with the pressure-free zone the Dirt Maidens make an effort to foster.
Schrock has several memories of the group stopping to collectively help new riders navigate obstacles or features in the path. In one particular instance, Schrock remembers the group stopping to help out a new rider going over a wooden feature on a path.
“It was her first big feature, and she was so excited and so scared about it,” Schrock said.
After a few attempts and help from the more experienced riders showing her how to approach the feature, she successfully went over it. “Everyone cheered her on,” Schrock said. “To have that be part of our day was awesome.”
The Dirt Maidens make it a goal to honor everyone’s different experience levels and aim to make it an inclusive experience, and not one where people are left behind.
Presently, the Dirt Maidens meet once a week on rotating weeks (you can check their Facebook for upcoming rides), and their BIPOC rides happen once a month; they hope to expand more upon these meetings in the future after seeing the impact those rides have. They hope to acquire more gear in the future and work toward a fleet of bicycles reserved for BIPOC rides to make the sport more accessible.
“[Providing gear] can be the difference of someone being curious, but feeling like they can’t, and actually getting to go out on the trail and having the gear for it,” Schrock said.
Schrock leads the weekly BIPOC rides with the Dirt Maidens and finds it vital to be in a group that understands your past experiences. Schrock also stated she values one that is welcoming to those of all experience levels and identities.
“People really care who you are,” Schrock said. “It’s not just a group, it’s an entire community at this point.
[editor’s note: this piece has been corrected to correct the spelling of Lucy Scholz’s last name, and to correct the schedule of the Dirt Maidens’ BIPOC rides]
