• For starters, when did you first start mountain biking and where were your trails of choice for fun in the great outdoors?
I bought my first MTB off of Craigslist in February 2016. It was very heavy and I had to work very hard to make it up any hill! I was still smoking at the time and this was finally the thing that forced me to stop. I learned very quickly that I couldn’t do both. I loved the sense of accomplishment that I felt after pushing myself on the bike and getting a hard work-out. Also, the sensation of zipping through the woods was very freeing for me. I had a coworker that also liked to MTB so we rode at Poca a few times, and eventually I was led to Women’s Multisports of Richmond and started joining in on the social Tuesday evening rides, which I loved. I quickly grew to love the fun community and looked forward to exploring the Richmond trails on these Tuesday rides.


  • How long after starting to ride mountain bikes did you think about mountain bike racing? Was it your idea or did all your buddies start racing?
After finding that much of my free time was being spent on the bike, I traded the heavy bike for a very light carbon hard tail around Christmas. A few months prior, I had broken my wrist on Gillies Creek during my first ride being clipped-in, which made me very scared to ride trails. I began sticking to smooth and flowy trails, and also started spending a lot of time doing Poca Fireroads. I found that I was able to keep up with some of the faster men which propelled me to do a 50-mile Monstercross in February 2017 as my first “race.” I knew several others who were signing up and honestly the deciding factor for my registration was that we received a free jersey for participating! Bike clothes are so expensive. I trained for it and enjoyed the challenge of pushing myself to go such a long distance. Most of all I loved the after-party, and the energy of everyone feeling so happy and proud of their accomplishments. I was (and still am) so grateful to be a part of something like that. It was a brand-new experience for me. For some random reason, on a whim I signed up for Urban Assault two days before the race and had never even set foot on Buttermilk. In fact, during the race while I was walking my bike I asked someone passing me, “Is this Buttermilk?” He probably thought I was on drugs. I began riding more of JRPS after that until I began getting comfortable riding trails again and my only other race last year was Scout Camp. Again, I loved the afterglow and sense of accomplishment from giving something my best effort.


• But are there other sports that you take part in? We know some of you are ultra-trail runners and such. So…. What else do you do?
I really love running and have started playing around with trail-running for something different. It’s very zen for me to be able to slow down on these local trails in a way that I’ve never done. And I know exactly how to get out of a mountain biker’s way! Hah!


• Where is your favorite place to ride/train?
Anywhere. Especially if it’s good company I don’t have a preference where I ride. Each trail/route brings something different. I’m partial to Walnut Creek because I am from Charlottesville and always get a deep sense of peace when I ride out there.


• What’s your favorite mountain bike race or adventure story?
Doing the SM100 this year and completing it. I still can’t believe I was able to do that. I was literally DFL. The minute I went under the finish line at around 10:50 PM they deflated it so there was this loud HISS sound and I couldn’t stop laughing. I even still got to ring the Gong (and probably woke everyone up)! It was a very spiritual experience for me to get to see so much different terrain throughout the day. It was like The Odyssey on wheels. The race and almost every person in it was completely supportive and fun. It was the experience of a lifetime. 


• Do you have any other race accolades, podiums or standouts?
No, this was my first year participating in any kind of bike series as a whole. I also participated in the Bryan Park training races on Tuesday nights this season, which really helped my endurance and handling skills on the MTB, along with the ability to ride very closely with people and not become unnerved.

• Are there any bike shops or other businesses you would like to give a shout out to?
I’m a big fan of Outpost and Coqui.


• Do you have any big plans for 2019
I want to race VORS again for sure. I hope to hit some of the races that I couldn’t this go around. The best part is getting to travel and ride on trails that are well-marked, so you don’t have to worry about getting lost. You basically just follow the arrows and get to enjoy. The social atmosphere afterward is always the best. I would also love to do a few other long adventure-style supported rides where you get to camp before and after.