2010 Recap

The Midwest Women's Mountain Bike Clinic is quickly becoming one of the most popular non-competitive, women's mountain biking events in the U.S. For the second year in a row the clinic was sold out, and despite the rain and daily thunderstorms, over 80 women from across the country participated in this unique and exciting event. The clinic, now in its fifth year, is setting the standard for mountain bike instruction at clinics and camps across the U.S.

The 2010 event debuted the teaching techniques and guidelines of the International Mountainbike Instructor Certification (IMIC) program. www.beimic.com IMIC Master Coach and 2-time World Masters Downhill Champion Shaums March led his team of Mad March coaches, Gale Dahlager and Derrick Maready, in the first U.S. public offered IMIC Ride Leader and IMIC Instructor training at Brown County State Park on the days leading up to the 2010 Midwest Women's Mountain Bike Clinic. The 2-day IMIC Instructor certification was designed to train and prepare individuals to lead group rides and conduct beginner level coaching, while the 1-day IMIC Ride Leader program prepares individuals to lead groups and tours and support IMIC Instructors and Coaches.

The Brown County event certified ten new IMIC Instructors and seven IMIC Ride Leaders. These newly certified individuals, along with the Mad March coaches, were the core group of instructors for the Midwest Women's Clinic on Sunday, June 13, 2010. Using the standardized IMIC method of teaching, every participant had the opportunity to learn proven techniques for improving their mountain bike skills.

In addition to the IMIC certification, a Men's Intermediate/Advanced XC Skills Clinic was offered as part of the event. Sixteen men participated in this clinic led by Shaums March with support from Mad March coaches Derrick Maready and Matt Peloquin, along with newly certified IMIC Instructor Charles Schindler. Although the trails at Brown County were closed due to heavy rains the night before, participants were able to gain new mountain bike knowledge and practice hands-on skills that can later be applied to the trail.

The rain also had an impact on the Saturday bike and product demo. Event officials worked with the Hoosier Mountain Bike Association (HMBA) to close the mountain bike trails on Saturday in an effort to have them ridable for the Sunday women's clinic. Even though the trails were closed on Saturday, demo participants were still able to test ride bikes, enter drawings, get messages and even give trials riding a try! A big thank you goes out to all our demo participants for enduring the heat and post-rain humidity through out the day. Demo participants included Trek ~ Fit for Women, Kona, Scott/Mavic/Magura, FlexFitt, Friends of Brown County State Park, Mad March Inc. and the Hoosier Mountain Bike Association. The Saturday evening cookout sponsored by HMBA, along with the movie showing of Awesome Land: Women of Dirt, was cut short due to another approaching storm, this time with 70+ mile per hour winds! Campers spent the remainder of the evening under shelter and out of the storms. Some even headed into town for the comforts and security of local hotels.

Despite the rain and storms however, the 2010 Midwest Women's Mountain Bike Clinic on Sunday, June 13 was a huge success! Participants began the morning with a continental breakfast provided by Subway while local mechanics from Nebo Ridge Bicycles, Bicycle Garage Indy, Indy Cycle Specialist and A1 Cyclery were on hand to safety check every participant bike.

During the morning session riders of all ages and skill levels were taught the basic fundamentals of mountain biking and learned new techniques for braking, cornering, shifting and more. IMIC coaches and instructors were able to break down each of the skills to make them easy to learn and understand. For the first time at the Midwest Women's Clinic, coaches and instructors were able to provide consistent instruction throughout each of the groups and every person showed immediate improvement in their confidence and bike handling skills.

After spending the morning working on new skills and building up an appetite, participants, volunteers and coaches were ready for the Subway lunch along with the 3rd Annual Naked Lady Party and sponsor raffle! We had plenty to give away for the fun clothing exchange and even more to give away for the raffle. Congratulations to our big winners of the Fox fork donated by Mad March Inc, a great Mavic wheelset provided by Mavic (courtesy of Nebo Ridge) and the Brown County "Let Us Entertain You (for two)" visitors packaged from the Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Everyone was excited to get the free swag, but the most exciting part of the day was the announcement that trails had drained and were ready to ride! Participants and coaches gathered one last time before heading off to put their new skills to the test. Groups were able to spend the remainder of the afternoon practicing their skills and gaining new confidence on the beautiful Brown County mountain bike trail system. It was the perfect way to end the day!

A big thank you to our 2010 Supporting Sponsors and Event Partners for their continued support of the Midwest Women's Mountain Bike Clinic and the women's cycling industry. We would also like to thank local trail volunteers for walking the entire mountain bike trail system before the event making sure every puddle was drained and debris was cleared in time for the clinic. Finally, a huge thanks goes to our event photographer, Michelle Craig, for capturing the spirit and pure joy of the event. Photos can be purchased online at www.chellecraig.zenfolio.com.

Supporting Sponsors

~ Hoosier Mountain Bike Association www.hmba.org

~ Headsweats www.headsweats.com

~ Trek www.fitforwomentour.com

~ Kona www.konaworld.com

~ Nebo Ridge Bicycles www.neboridge.com

~ Bicycle Garage Indy www.bgindy.com

~ Matthews Bikes www.mathewsbikes.com

Event Partners

~ Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau www.browncounty.com

~ Tricky Wicks Candle Werks www.trickywicks.com

Sundance SalonSpa www.sundancesalonspa.com

~ Indy Cycle Specialist www.indycyclespecialist.com