How do you get female dirt bike enthusiasts to ride hard enduro? Put on a hard enduro skills clinic for women!
Together with SEER Series Racer Ashlie Peterson we spread the word and over 30 eagerly motivated riders showed up!
Experienced SEER hard enduro racers offered quality technique tips and provided a welcoming and safe environment to practice. And in case anybody fell, no worries. We had them covered. They simply got up and tried it again!
Tire Service
Thanks to sponsors Kenda and Shinko, the weekend started Friday evening with a tire changing service.
Many of the participants chose to try out one of the soft nobby tires. With the hand-on assistance of several helpers, the SEER team worked late into the night to take care of all riders. It turned into a relaxed joint tire-changing and socializing session ;o)
Meet’n’Greet
Those who didn’t already happen to be there on Friday showed up Saturday morning to meet the other participants.
Each rider got a HUGE goodie bag filled with stuff from SRT, Wooly’s, MotoVateRacing, KLIM, Task Racing, RevDesigns, 100%, BPD, Enduro Engineering and Fly Racing. A name tag with a letter made it easier to recognize each other’s name and their designated group.
Warm-Up Field Drills
After a short intro group session all riders started with field drills. Each small group made of 7-8 females practiced various basic drills like figure-8, lifting the front wheel, riding over small obstacles and proper body position.
The SEER instructors made sure everybody got their heart rate up and ready to take on the more advanced sections in the woods.
Station Rotation
The previous day the team laid out four different hard enduro sections – an easy and hard creek bed, an uphill loop, and a downhill loop.
Each group got multiple attempts to practice each segment, before rotating to the next one. Getting a variety of input based on their current skills got them various ideas how to manage the trail obstacles in the woods.
All instructors were advanced and accomplished hard enduro racers themselves. Two were SEER’s race directors Gary Barr and Derek Bratcher.
Some drills were pretty doable for everyone, some were more demanding. All partakers worked on pushing themselves to their limits and maybe try something what they have never done before.
Since the morning training was not split by skill level the attendants got the chance to learn from more advanced riders and help each other with tips.
Proper Nutrition & Fitness Off-The-Bike
During the lunch break SEER team member and coach Lisi Bratcher talked how to fuel hard enduro training sessions. Choosing quality carbs, lean protein and proper hydration can help all riders to delay fatigue.
She also addressed fitness training off-the-bike. Implementing short weight- and cardio training sessions into your daily routine is an effective way to make you are stronger rider!
Trail Riding
In the afternoon the riders were split into groups based on riding experience. This ensured they tackled trails which were challenging, but still doable to them.
All SEER instructors were super impressed by the overall riding skills. Most riders felt really comfortable on their bikes and were eager to improve their skills.
Would YOU Benefit From A Skills Clinic?
Working on your technique is something no rider ever does often enough. You might have learned some riding technique before, but those tips are not not always specific for hard enduro riding.
A safe environment might provide the opportunity to practice obstacles you might not have tried on your own. You might realize that you have the ability to ride over a large log in an uphill section or manage a slick downhill turn without crashing.
This was the best day!!
All the girls I talked with were saying how sweet and encouraging the SEER trainers were. All the guys I talked to were blown away by the progress the ladies made throughout the day! Love it!
SEER Racer Ashlie Peterson
Besides improving your technique – networking and having fun with a large group of like-minded female riders is hard to beat!
So in case you missed this one, join us next year! We will be back!
Written by Lisi Bratcher
Photo Courtesy of Hunter Williams and Kristina Zmuda