Fi writes:
I’ve returned home from Sheffield today after a night of in a pub with good beer in the company of folk from the mountain biking community.
Supported by Cotic Bikes, we came together to celebrate the launch of a new mountain bike film. For me, this film, and some others I’ve seen cropping up recently, represents the new curation of mountain bike culture, with women fully at the helm.
The film that premiered last night, all 15 gloriously crafted minutes of it, is about Kelly. Kelly-Jane Collinge herself embodies the future of mountain biking and action sports cultures. She rides for adrenaline and sheer fun; for mindfulness, to be connected with others, and to spend time with her little son. She rides with her partner, with their friends. She rides to explore and to be alone. The way she lives and rides embodies a different story of mountain biking. As one participant in my research put it, “mountain biking can be everything”. Maybe we are beginning to rework the culture of the sport. Maybe we can open it up and invite people in who aren’t white, male and (only) rad.
Last night in Sheffield there was an atmosphere of attentive listening to the women dominating the stage. We shared experiences of motherhood, pregnancy, bikepacking with children, riding to feel the absolute abject joy and childishness of squirming tyres and mild peril. And everyone was there to listen, think and celebrate this new kind of story. It’s certainly time.
Thank you Kelly, and the other panellists Vicky Balfour, Phoebe and Bron. Thank you Aoife Glass for always being ready to professionally guide these incredibly important moments of storytelling that shape the future of our sport. Thank you to Cotic Bikes, Rich, Cy and Hannah for supporting our research on Project FIAS from day 1 (https://lnkd.in/eR_qr2xj).