Kristen Smith – Co-Founder of The Elevated Alpine – and Brooke Goudy – Co-Leader of Black Girls Do Bike Denver – recently organized a trail-building retreat for women, non-binary, and femme individuals in Nederland, Colorado. She Digs brought over fifty riders together to shape new trails and become advocates for trail building.

We’re pleased to share a wonderful video and photos recapping the event. Check it out below!

The purpose of the retreat was to give thanks to some of the most influential women in mountain biking on Colorado’s Front Range for all the work they do to amplify women in the outdoors and to give back to the trails they ride daily. Kristen and Brooke strived to create a space where participants could have a good time, make connections, and amplify their reach within the broader mountain bike community.

This inspiring community spent the weekend building trails under the blazing sun, riding single track on a diverse range of bikes for all abilities, and making long-lasting connections under the stars. The weekend was a chance to appreciate all of the work that goes into maintaining trails and to take a step back to appreciate everyone’s accomplishments in advancing women in mountain biking.

Kristen and Brooke believe representation matters and aimed to create an inclusive space for female-identifying mountain bike riders – no matter their body type, ability, race, or gender. And this retreat was no exception. In addition, this event honored and acknowledged that it took place on the traditional territories and ancestral homelands of the Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Ute, and Sioux Nations. To acknowledge also the painful history of genocide and forced removal from this territory and pay respect to the Tribal Nations still connected to this land, She Digs gave a percentage of sponsorship funds back to the Indigenous community.