Since this was my first Women's Weekend at Ray's I wasn't sure what to expect and was completely blown away by the everything - the unbelievable number of ladies in attendance, the pro coaches, the various disciplines of all the riders, and the fun factor!
The whole weekend was full of smiles, women helping women, good times, old friends uniting and new friends made... in addition to all the ladies and coaches progressing their riding skills and having a blast doing so!
To kick things off the event organizers had a pre-meeting to get all the coaches and volunteers on the same page to ensure a successful event for all. Then an open ride rip session broke out for the pro riders and coaches....they took over the TLD deck and went off. It was so cool to have the women out number the men on the deck and out ride many of the men on the rhythm room line.
Friday started (early) at 9am where all the pro riders where introduced to the 150 riders that were there wide eyed full of excitement and a bit of fear from the unknown.
Riders got to select coaching stations based on skill and/or ability level and were able to ride around and work on their skills at which ever stations they wanted. As the day wore on the riding levels progressed, comfort zones were stretched and fun was maximized!
As the riding wrapped up the closing ceremony kicked off with a Sierra Nevada happy hour, group photo, Ray's Angels Awards and Sponsor raffle. The line for beer was long as the girls were thirsty and charged up. The Coaches recognized 5 ladies that embodied the spirit of the event for the newly coveted Ray's Angels Women's Weekend Award then quickly moved into the sponsor raffle. Lots of really good stuff was raffled off including 2 bike frames and an entire bike!
As if that wasn't enough, the ladies wrapped it up and headed back to the Holiday Inn for the PBR after party. The coaches stepped it up and dressed up, and all the ladies transformed from riders to divas in no time and then the party really got started. Drinking, dancing and all around debauchery....I'd tell you more about it but then I'd have to change my name to protect my innocence. However I can tell you that it was the perfect way to end such and incredible day for the ladies and for female mountain biking!
Again, way to go event organizers, volunteers and attendees - I'm glad Mad March was able to sponsor and support such an important event for female cycling.
I have a feeling this is going to be the biggest female bike event of the year and I couldn't think of a better way to kick off the Mad March 2010 season! Way to go ladies!