Days of the Old West Rodeo (4th of July)
To continue my post from the 4th of July, the day ended with the Hailey Days of the Old West Rodeo. The Rodeo lasts for three days and features mutton bustin’ with the kids, hometown bull riding, wild horse riding, barrel racing, cattle roping, and professional bull riding. I wasn’t sure I was going to like the Rodeo and went in with the “Well, it’s a cultural experience” attitude. Turns out I had an amazing time. The skill and dedication of even amateur riders was impressive to watch. The crowd-watching was almost as entertaining as the show. There were families, drunk teenagers, old-time cowboys in their pearl snaps, and Sun Valley tourists in ‘would-be’ cowboy garb. I wouldn’t miss it next year for the world.
Wildflower and Mountain Biking
Upon my return from New Hampshire, Mike announced that we must go mountain biking at Corral Creek. I hadn’t biked in a week and was antsy to do so, so I didn’t need much convincing to head out. We brought a camera and were able to capture some of the amazing wildflowers that are in bloom.
The northern Rockies has a wildflower season that’s quite unlike any other I’ve seen. Wildflowers, here, are often an all-or-nothing proposition. While we don’t have the wildflower diversity of some other locations, the ones we have certainly know how to put on a pretty spectacular show. The images below were taken on the Corral Creek Trail, on the bench above Trail Creek.
www.sarasheehy.com
Hailey 4th of July
The 4th of July was a whirlwind of good old-fashioned western fun. The day began with the Hailey Old West Shootout in downtown Hailey. This involves a sheriff, some “bad guys”, Indians, bible pushers, and whores. Seriously. Which, apparently, is an accurate representation of the Wood River Valley at it’s inception. While there is still a lot of gun-toting here, the clientele has certainly changed.
After the shootout was the 4th of July Parade. The 4th of July in Hailey is a really big deal, it’s said to attract tourists in the thousands. There were certainly a lot of people packed in the streets with the beautiful weather.
Lunch at the Wicked Spud was next, followed by an afternoon of watching the Hailey Criterium. A criterium, or crit, is a short course road cycling race usually held on city streets. There are many different groups of participants, but I was most interested to watch the Elite category, who raced last. The field included at least one Olympic Time Trial cyclist who now calls the Wood River Valley home. It was an exciting race to watch, because the two leaders actually lapped the field, which is a relatively rare occasion. Usually, when a racer gets lapped by the leaders, they are out of the race. But apparently you can’t disqualify the whole field. It was spectacular to watch.
The day ended at the Days of the Old West Rodeo at the Hailey Rodeo Grounds, but that deserves it’s own blog post. Below are a few images from my 4th!
The Dirt Series
Candace Shadley, founder and director of the Dirt Series, was attempting to round up the attention of thirty excited women. Radiating confidence, humor, and business, Candace managed to direct attention to her beaming smile. She started by introducing the coaches – Lu, Julie, Penny, Angela and Jennifer. While learning a bit about them, I thought to myself “If anyone can teach me to mountain bike, it’s these women.” Boy was I right.
In June I received an email from a promoter of the Dirt Series. Having seen the blog post about my first ever mountain bike ride she wondered if I might want to participate as a blogger. First, I didn’t know blogging could get me into such cool places. Second, heck yes I wanted to learn to mountain bike. And in the company of thirty women? Even better. My fiancée has unsuccessfully tried to teach me various sports and it can be safely assumed that he was just as excited about the Dirt Series as I was.
In 2000 the Dirt Series was founded as a way to introduce and engage women in mountain biking. Originally part of British Columbia, Canada’s Provincial Recreation program, the Dirt Series has now grown and is offered in seven states and provinces. Candace Shadley has been with the Dirt Series since its inception. In speaking to why the camps are all-women, she explains “Women’s clinics offer a different environment than co-ed camps, one where everyone is encouraged to give their best and push their limits in a responsible way, where the support between participants is more incredible than anything you’d ever imagine, and where there are great role models no matter what your riding level. There’s something about seeing another girl get over an obstacle, clean a climb, or manual off a drop that is easy to identify with and fully motivating.”
After a run-down of the weekend we geared up and headed to Hemingway Elementary School in Ketchum for morning skill sessions. Julie had placed us in four separate groups with like-skilled individuals, based on our skills assessments filled out prior to the weekend. As a mountain biking newbie I quickly gravitated toward Group A. Through the rain-filled morning we rotated through three skill sessions. In a few quick hours, I began to grasp the concepts of riding a straight line, tight turning, front wheel lifts, and wheel drops. Early in the first session, Candace handed out a wise piece of advice. “You’re going to learn a lot in the next two days,” she explained. “Your best bet is to grab onto the little tidbits of knowledge that seem most crucial to you, and let the others fall to the side.” Taking this to heart I worked to commit big picture items to memory and let the finer points sift through.
During the morning I interacted with and observed each of the six instructors. They were engaging, knowledgeable, and above all, patient. Their lessons were so non-confrontational that I found myself, a sometimes reluctant student, willingly engaged in each step of the learning process. Each woman’s passion for the sport was evident through their teaching – perhaps no one more than Julie, a native Quebecois with a quiver of extreme sports to her name and a penchant for enthusiastic yelling.
Unbelievably, before lunch, this mountain bike novice had ridden a teeter-totter, done a quarter punch, and front-wheel dropped off a 1.5 foot high box. Feeling a million feet tall, I settled down for lunch and looked forward to an afternoon of riding in the field.
During lunch I had the opportunity to interact with a handful of the incredible participants. While there were local Wood River Valley-ites in the mix, there were also participants from as far away as Pennsylvania and Houston. The group had landscape architects, physical therapists, lawyers, baristas and grandmothers. There were women in their early 20’s and those in retirement. There were also newbies, like myself, and serious mountain bikers looking to pick up new tricks. The common thread running through us all was a desire to feel more comfortable, be more skilled, and gain confidence on a mountain bike. I quickly realized that a concurrent thread ran through the group – I was surrounded by strong, adventurous, daring women. Many of them wouldn’t admit to being all those things but, in my observations, they were radiant.
After lunch we again broke into groups and headed to the trails. It turns out that I’m a bit of a quick learner (blame it on the road biking) and was bumped up to a higher level group for the afternoon ride. The rain fell steadily as my group prepared to tackle the Oregon Gulch Trail. After Candace checked with the Forest Service to be assured we were clear to ride on the wet (but not muddy) trail, we began our climb.
The afternoon ride was designed to put the morning skill sessions into practice. As such, we climbed and descended through tight switchbacks, contended with sideslopes, and worked on our downhill technique. Another participant, Jamie, and I became quick riding buddies. At one point, as we pestered Penny about a specific technique, the rest of the group continued riding with Angela. As such, Jamie and I basked in a good chunk of one-on-one time with Penny, who was nothing if not a fantastic teacher. Penny is technical and straight-forward. She helped me improve my non-existent downhill stance, and in an effort to keep my back table-straight, rode behind me yelling “Sara, I want to see your tail-feathers in the air!” I stifled back a laugh as I attempted to twist my body into the proper position.
That evening, after riding was done for the day, all the ladies gathered at Sturtevants in Ketchum (the Dirt Series’ local sponsor) for drinks, food, and lessons on bike maintenance. At this point I had a little begging to do. Originally I had signed up only for Saturday, hoping to keep one weekend day open. I sought out Candace and got to work. “Please,” I said, “May I come back tomorrow?” She smiled that big smile, and asked Sturtevants to order another burrito for Sunday’s lunch.
Sunday’s skill sessions and riding took place in Hailey. After a quick meetup at Sturtevants in Ketchum, we headed to the dirt park in Croy Canyon. Sunday morning’s skill sessions were slightly different in that participants picked which two skills they wanted to learn. Having developed a liking for the jumps on Saturday I signed up for manuals, to be followed by a session to work on my downhill confidence.
I had been keeping a wary eye on Julie’s enthusiastic yelling ways throughout Saturday. After taking her manuals skill session I appreciated every whoop and yell that she mustered. When you’re doing something you find scary, or thrilling, or both, a little (loud) positive reinforcement goes a long way. After practicing manuals on flat ground, we moved to the 6 inch box. Then the 12 inch box. Then, at the very end, Julie brought out the ramp. It was at this point that I learned one of the most important lessons of the weekend. “If you can’t visualize yourself jumping off this ramp and making a straight landing, then you aren’t quite ready for it,” she explained. “Visualization is key to everything in mountain biking.” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. To my surprise, I could envision hucking myself off this ramp. And when I did the four foot drop, and landed it, it felt incredible.
After a great session of improving my downhill confidence (which I sorely needed) we ate lunch before heading on our afternoon rides. The whole weekend by this point was getting to be a bit bittersweet. My time so far had been so incredible that, though I still had an afternoon ride to enjoy, I knew it was coming to a close. As I listened to the other participants excitedly discussing the skills they had learned during the morning, I got swept up in the enormity of the entire weekend. I marveled at how Candace and her team could pull off making so many diverse women happy and increasingly confident.
My afternoon ride was a tough one and I basked in how far I could push my limits on only my second true day on a mountain bike. I did have to “hike-a-bike” more than once but was proud of my accomplishments. The ride was cut short by a thunderstorm that rolled in the canyon. After returning to my car, sadly saying goodbye to the amazing demo bike I rode all weekend, and filling out evaluations, I said a few farewells and started home. One evaluation question stuck in my head on the drive back to Ketchum. “What was the best part of camp?” it asked. The question had stumped me. Then I smiled. If I couldn’t pick out the best part, that’s a pretty good sign.
This story isn’t quite over. Having fallen in love with mountain biking under the tutelage of such inspiring instructors, I tormented myself for an entire week before heading to Sturtevants and buying the same bike I had demoed all weekend – a Rocky Mountain Element LO. Rocky Mountain is the title sponsor of the Dirt Series and the more I rode the Element the more I knew I had to have it. It’s geometry is very conducive to a woman’s frame size, and the high end components made getting any other bike impossible.
It was after I began going on regular rides with my new bike that I realized the true power of what the weekend had provided. Candace, Lu, Julie, Penny, Angela and Jennifer now accompany me on every ride that I take. If I’m doing a tough climb I hear Jennifer instruct “Keep your elbows in, weight forward, look ahead!” Every time I ride downhill I hear Penny yell “Stick out your tail-feathers!” and Candace say “Cowboy knees!” and Julie cheer “Elbows out, back like a table!” I have even caught myself bursting out with a loud “Whoop!” when completing a maneuver I wasn’t sure I could handle. That’s Julie talking.
The Dirt Series was a phenomenal experience and I highly recommend it for any woman who has ever thought of, ridden, fell off of, or dreamed about mountain biking. The instructors were top-notch, the logistics smooth, and the experience worth every minute. So, go get it!
To learn more about the Dirt Series, visit their website at www.dirtseries.com. To read more women’s experiences, check out http://www.dirtseries.com/in_the_media.htm. Think my new bike sounds pretty incredible (oh boy, it is…), visit Rocky Mountain at www.bikes.com then go see Todd at Sturtevants in Ketchum. To see a list of the Dirt Series’ other incredible sponsors, check out http://www.dirtseries.com/sponsors.php. And lastly, if it’s more pictures you’re after, look here http://www.dirtseries.com/photo_galleries.php
www.sarasheehy.com
Images by Duncan MacKenzie
Citizen and Norton Lakes
Sunday, Mike and I started the day right by heading to Adams Gulch and tackling the Citizens-Lanes-Sunnyside Trail loop on our mountain bikes. Mike, being the gentleman that he is, is indulging my need to start small so I don’t get frustrated. He is the type who will attack any challenge head-on, no matter how tricky. In some aspects of my life I can be like that – but not new sports. If I get too frustrated I run the risk of shying away. So, I play tricks on myself to keep it light and fun – which includes gradually adding difficulty. That’s all to say that Sunday morning we did the loop, which isn’t insanely hard, but has a few technical and climbing elements that challenged me.
After mountain biking, we packed up the dogs and headed to the Norton Lakes Trail. Norton Lakes Trail is in the Baker Creek Drainage about 12 miles north of Ketchum. We forsook the more popular Baker Lake Trail to take a chance on Norton Lakes. We weren’t disappointed! There were a handful of people out on such a beautiful afternoon, and both lakes were stunning. The dogs were happy to stretch their legs, and when we finally arrived back home, I was knackered. What a busy weekend (images from Saturday forthcoming – hold your horses – literally!).
Mike on Citizen's Trail, Adams Gulch.
Climbing, Citizen's Trail.
Upper Norton Lake.
Mike and the dogs at upper Norton Lake.
Norton Lake.
