The ones that will open trails to mountain bikes

I wanted to share this video clip from ABC Channel about high school mountain bike teams and clubs in Marin County. These kids and their parents could be the ones that accelerate the impossible to stop process of legalizing singletracks (real trails) in Marin and in the US!!!!

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=6525250

December Hot Mama Clinics

The Hot Mamas skill clinics are special events taught by women for women who want to excel in mountain biking while having fun and networking with other women riders. We are offering special small groups intensive clinics limited to only 4 women at a time on different technical levels from beginner to advance based on your skills and fitness.

Clinic levels and dates:

1. SKILL Level II - SATURDAY DEC 6th from 9-11 am at Tamarancho
2. SKILL Level TBD - SATURDAY DEC 20th from 9-11 am at TBD (based on who signs up)

These clinics will take advantage of the features trails and fire roads in Marin County offer to beginner, intermediate and advance riders that facilitate the teaching of balance, launching, dropping, switchbacks riding, cornering, climbing, descending and other techniques.

Two Steps to Register:

Registration fee is $85 per person. We will take registration on a first come first serve basis.

1) Fill out an assessment form to determine your appropriate clinic skill level. It gathers information about your technical ability, current fitness level, and riding preferences. Please click here to open the assessment form, you can print it, fill it up and fax it to 415-871-2241 or you can email it to celiag@mountainbikingmarin.com with your name and skill level you desire to be in.
2) If there is still space available you will receive a PayPal invoice and more details about the clinic.

Pictures & Thank yous - Hot Mama Bike Skill Clinic (Saturday August 17, 2008)

Finally! pictures from the first annual Hot Mama Bike Skill Clinic that Mountain Biking Marin organized on Saturday August 17, 2008 at China Camp State Park.

First class instructors (click here for pictures and bios) worked very hard to bring the best teaching methods for the many techniques this clinic covered.

A big thank you to Sally Kuhlman from Virtual Simplicity for all her help and support before, during and after the event. Thanks to Corienne Bannier for helping out during the clinic. Also to Joy from Gioia Boutique, Dolores from Dol Active Wear, and Jackie Baker from Freeride Foundation for donating clothing items to the Breast Cancer Fund raffle. Many thanks to Chris and Scott from BikeRx for making the Ellsworth demo bikes possible. And last but not least, thank to the many bike stores and bike advocacy groups that helped with the promotion: Access 4 Bikes, Bicycle Odyssey, Bicycle Trails Council of Marin, Bike Rx, Friends of Tamarancho, Girls Learn to Ride, Gioia Boutique, Marin County Bicycle Coalition, Mike's Bikes, Mt. Tam Bikes, Sunshine Bicycles, and Virtual Simplicity.

But what made this event a big success were the Hot Mamas participants themselves. Yes!, women of all ages and technical/fitness levels came together to learn and practice bike skills, to network, to ride and yes to have fun!
CLICK HERE FOR HOT MAMAS PICTURES READ THE CAPTIONS!

Here is a very nice comment from Joy, a good friend and clinic participant:
"Celia's mountain biking clinic was so much fun, that I would do it again. I learned a couple of very useful skills that will stay with me. The instructors were so helpful. The food was awesome, and the gals were so much fun to ride with. There was so much heart in the clinic. The planning and everything rocked! Thanks so much. We are building a jump ramp at our home now."

If you are interested on learning and practicing more bike skills through small groups (up to 4 women per group):
* Skill Level I Newbies - Sat. Oct 4 from 9-11 am at China Camp
* Skill Level II Beginners - Sat. Oct 4 from 2-4 pm at China Camp
* Skill Level II Intermediates - Sat Oct 11 from 9-11 am China Camp
* Skill Level II Advance - Sat. Oct 11 from 2-4 pm at China Camp
Get in touch with Celia (celiag@mountainbikingmarin.com) to check for availability. Click here for more information about these October 08 bike clinics.

Hot Mamas Mountain Biking Skills Clinic

Mountain Biking Marin (MBM) presents its first annual Hot Mamas Bike Skill Clinic on Sunday, August 17, 2008 at China Camp State Park.

The Hot Mamas Skill Clinic is a special event taught by women for women who want to excel in mountain biking (cross country, free riding and downhill) and learn bike maintenance and mechanics while having fun. We will be offering teaching on different technical levels from beginner to advance based on your skills and fitness.

We will take advantage of the many features the China Camp State Park offers to beginner, intermediate and advance riders that facilitate the teaching of balance, launching, switchbacks, bunny hops, wheelies, and other techniques. Some of the China Camp features include: wider singletracks with easy switchbacks, narrower singletracks with challenging switchbacks; easy to strenuous drops and jumps; technical downhill sections; easy to moderate climbs and descents; and more.

Sign up now and save $25!

Advance registration is $95 per participant if you sign up before Wednesday August 13, 2008.

Advance registration is $95 (before August 13)
On-site registration is $120 (on August 17)

Register today at www.mountainbikingmarin.com
Space is limited!

Clinic Activities
A morning clinic session, an afternoon ride to practice what participants have learned while providing final tips and tricks.

Schedule
9:30 am - 11:00 am on-site registration & fitness/technical level assessment to divide into groups
11:00 am - 1:00 pm clinic instruction at China Camp
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm gathering to review techniques (lunch is not included)
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm riding time to practice and master what was learned

6 Hot Mamas in China Camp

The Hot Mamas decided to climb to the very top of China Camp last Sunday May 11. All 6 of us agreed on doing the whole loop so we all went climbing that steep semi-paved road to the top of the Nike site. We wanted to practice climbing, new switchbacks and some drops from the very top.

The 6 hotties were (from left to ride): Celia, Suzie, Leigh, Christina, Kristy, and Jessica.

I noticed about a month ago that Jessica first came riding her new bike with running clothes , and this time she came showing off her new bike outfit. She already came convinced that she is a real mountain biker!


I hope to see everyone next Sunday May 25 at 10:00 am near the guard booth in San Pedro Rd, China Camp. The Hot Mamas will roll at 10:30 am for another fun ride!

Sunday April 27th Hot Mama Ride Report

9 Hot Mamas showed up last Sunday ride! From left to right, the hotties were (click on the pictures to enlarge and better appreciate our beauty): Janet, Suzie, Veronica, Christina, Jessica, Jennifer and Celia. Dana was taking the picture. And Leslie..., well showed up a little later to ride by herself and meet up with us mid point.

Since Jessica was a mountain bike first timer, Dana stayed with her for some basic instructions and the rest of us went on to ride the trails. We thought we were not going to see them again but Jessica turned out to be a natural so they catched up with us while we were practicing the switchbacks.

Here is Dana showing the switchbacks moves.
Here is Jessica making the switchback!

Here is Christina and Janet on one of the climbs. Christina was meditating about the climb and Janet was pushing hard to make it. And here is Veronica showing some power as well!

Followed by Jennifer! look at her style!

Leslie got a late start but did the loop the opposite way to make sure she said hi!

And we even got some blood running down on Christina's leg

And here is our Hot Mamas Singletrack Chu Chu Train video!

Hot Mama Ride China Camp April 13th, 2008

Last Sunday's Hot Mamas that came to the China Camp ride were (from left to right): Leigh, Hannah, Celia and first timer Debra. Leslie also came but she comes later in the ride...

The four of us decided to ride the loop clockwise for a change. Although for about half of the loop we stayed together, Leigh was riding with Debra in the back and I was riding with Hannah in the front. Debra was a trooper. She rode half of the loop on her rigid cruiser bike. And Hannah was determined to clear all the switchbacks, which she did! all of them!

At about half way through the loop we found Hot Mama Leslie who was running a little late and missed the ride start. Cool that she rode the loop counterclockwise so we were able to see her and say hi. Leslie continue the ride on her own, Leigh and Debra bailed to get to the cars early, and Hannah and I finished the loop. It was another fun ride on a warm sunny day!

Stay tune for the next rides on Sunday April 27th!

Hot Mamas Resumes in 2008

Last Sunday March 30th, the Hot Mamas gathered again for a super fun loop around China Camp. From left to right, the Hot Mamas this weekend were Susann, Dolores, Leslie, Celia, Suzie, Kristy, Leigh and Dana.
Leslie, Suzie, Leigh and Dana went for a switchback practice loop while Susann, Dolores, Kristy and Celia went for a rocks, drops and more switchback sections practice loop. Dolores and Kristy cleared the creek drop with the sharp right turn switchback at the end. They were pros! Susann was taking it very easy because she is leaving town to visit Belice and didn't want to hurt herself before her vacation. Kristy was looking great on her new Specialize full suspension bike! She cleared one of the tight switchbacks of Jt Hall. And then when she was going to try the next one, well... she didn't quite make it and instead she decided to spill down the hill rolling down trying to catch her new bike to protect it from scratches. Both were okay so we continued our ride.


At the top of the camp we rendezvoused with the Hot Boys who were riding around some of the same trails waiting for their turn at 2:00 pm. Below are (Left to Right) Susann, Celia, Joe, Mike, Tom, Mario and Kristy.(Dolores was taking the picture).

And here is the Hot Mamas and Boys (coed group): Dan, Steve, Mike, Mario, Joe, Dana, Dolores, Julio, Tom and Eugene. (Celia was taking the picture). If you want to know what happened in this ride click here

Stay tuned for the next Hot Mama ride on Sunday April 13th at 10:00 am at China Camp. For more information visit Mike's Bikes website.

Hot Mama Ride Started in Spring 08!!!

Last Sunday March 16th, Dana, Celia and Dao did the first Hot Mama ride of 2008 at China Camp. Since nobody else showed up, we all went for a nice slow pace ride to hang with Dao who was riding Dana's bike for the first time. Dao got some basic skill lessons and was able to make several of the switchbacks. Dao was a trooper and she is committed to train and get in shape to then come back to the Hot Mama rides.

After we say goodbye to Dao at her car, Dana and I went for a fast loop while chatting about kids and friends. I was on my single speed and I have to say the front loop of China Camp is perfect for it! not too technical and without steep climbs. If you are starting to ride a single speed, China Camp is perfect to get used to riding wihtout gears.

Here is the schedule of the Hot Mama Rides sponsored by Mike's Bikes and Mountain Biking Marin. Girls! time to come out and ride!

Sundays: March 30th; April 13th; April 27th; May 11th, May 25th

Ride levels: beginner and intermediate/advance

Meeting Place: San Pedro Rd by the guard booth

Meeting time: 10:00 am

Rolling time: 10:30 am