Diva Descent Women's DH race and Coaching weekend

Gingie

Hey guys!

Anybody here interested in entering the UK's first all-women DH race.

Its on May 7th + 8th in Perth Scotland.

There will be coaching on the Saturday from some top ladies in the DH scene- coaches will be announced over the next few weeks!! But they are definitely the ladies you want to be learning about DH from- trust me! :-D

There's going to be prizes across the weekend too, and not just for the winners...

The weekend is really aimed to encourage more girls to get into DH and experience what a 'real' DH race might be like.

It's a bargain £40 for the whole weekend! this includes the coaching and the racing!

If any of you have been to airmaiden then the setup is going to be pretty similar, focus on fun and informal, a chance to hang out with other ladies and a chance to learn from some pros.


For more information check out http://www.divadescent.com Or check out http://www.girlmtnbiker.com where there'll shortly be a Diva Descent dedicated page in run up to the event.

So... who's in??

Feel free to buzz me with any questions/queries/concerns and i'll try answer them best i can!

Hope to see some of you guys there

suzyb

Sounds like my kind fo sport (no uphills ) but not got the right gear and the date is wrong for me.

kathg

I'd love to come.. it sounds great! I haven't got a DH bike but hopefully that'll be ok? It's an Orange 5 and I'm riding it in the Mega Avalanche this year so gotta learn to throw it down almost anything...
Will check out the details and see if I can pursuade some of my riding buddies to come along.

Kathg

Gingie

Hey Kath,
Your Orange 5 should be fine!
You don't need a DH specific bike for the event, we'll be using a Trek Remedy for it.
The coaching on the Saturday should be perfect for getting some skills honed for the MegaAvalanche too.

Shame you can't make it Sue! I think this event would be right up your street.

miss notax

Good luck to all the girlies who are taking part in this! I think it's a great idea and I can't wait to hear about it all

As for me - I think I am a little bit too old (36 that weekend actually!), too happy in my little xc world, and with an in-built phobia of anything requiring body-armour!

Or maybe i could be persuaded....... :shock: :?

I think i'll be watching with awe, birthday bubbly in my hand!

kathg

Right... time for some pursuading Miss Notax, course you can do it ! Too old..no way, I'm 43 in May this year and most of my fellow girlie riding mates are a bit older than me and are awesome. A mate of mine rode the MegaAvalanche on her 50th birthday in fine style!
Seriously, don't think you have to go really fast or do anything you don't fancy, that's the beauty of being a bit older - you tend to put less pressure on yourself to perform and it sounds like this event will be really supportive and a way to experience some new stuff in a friendly atmosphere!

So c'mon junior sign up

KathG

Where are my stabilisers?

I can't make it either - WORK :evil:

I wanted to try the 661mini downhill this year too, same problem - WORK!

I'm never off when the fun stuff's on!

For future reference though, is it aimed at people who regularly do downhill or for anyone? I think it would probably be too hard for me anyway

Gingie

Hear hear!

The coaching on the weekend could help your technical XC skills enormously!
You should come along just to get over your body-armour phobia... it's actually really fun to wear, in a really weird 'transformer-esque' kinda way!

It's going to be a really supportive fun weekend, with focus on having a good time and learning new skills, with the added bonus of getting to experience race conditions in an all-female environment... be preapared for lots of woops and excited squeals!

remeber 2011, the year to lose the fear....

suzyb

Gingie wrote:

remeber 2011, the year to lose the fear....

Because the world will be ending next year

Where are my stabilisers?

suzyb wrote:

Gingie wrote:

remeber 2011, the year to lose the fear....

Because the world will be ending next year

Good point that!

Gingie

Where are my stabilisers? wrote:

I can't make it either - WORK :evil:

I wanted to try the 661mini downhill this year too, same problem - WORK!

I'm never off when the fun stuff's on!

For future reference though, is it aimed at people who regularly do downhill or for " rel="nofollow">anyone? I think it would probably be too hard for me anyway

The event is aimed at anyone wanting to give DH a go. Whether you've done DH tracks before or whether you're a complete DH virgin. It's a great chance to 'try' downhilling in a supportive environment and get the opportunity to experience a DH race, in race conditions. And you get to receive coaching from some very cool (soon to be announced ) coaches!!

Talking about fun stuff there are some more women specific DH camps (in the pipeline at the moment) But if you Join the GirlMTNbiker Facey-B page we'll post more updates on them as soon as we get news- hopefully it wont clash with any of your plans :-D

Where are my stabilisers?

Cool, I'm on the fb page already so I'll keep a look out coz it sounds excellent!

I had a go at Cwmcarn uplift a few months back and I could definitely do with some coaching and the race thing would be a bit of fun too!

DanielleT

This sounds fantastic, I think its is exactly what its needed .

I know this isn't directly related to this race in particular but - I know i've done a couple of races but i've been put off doing more for the fact that women, what ever your ability, all get put in the same group so you have no chance winning within your ability range if you're up against elites and the likes. I know there aren't enough ladies entering races and thats the organisers justifcation to lumping us all into one group, but if other girls think like me and are put off by being put in a group against people waaaaaaaay better, then more women aren't going to give it a go. I'd feel much more comfortable knowing that i'm up against women that are of a similar ability to me, makes it a much fairer competition with less pressure and hence more fun!

I'd say the mini DH I did at Hamilton Hill in Lincolnshire was the most fun race I entered, I was up against two other ladies who were of a similar ability and it was great fun! It was so close between us to where we were placed

I think an event like this will give women who think along the same lines to get out and give it a go without the worry of having to race against and be placed along with the elites etc.

Unfortunately I don't think i'll be attending, its a bit out of range for me to get there cheaply with stupid fuel prices!! Boo!

miss notax

You are all very bad ladies! I can't believe that I am actually considering this now.... :shock:

I am rubbish at downhill, not to mention that I live about as geographically far away as it's possible to get in the UK!

I don't like to miss out on things though.....!!

Gingie

Danielle, its a shame you can't make it up, i think it's be right up your street (tbh it is quite far up in that there Scotland)
Is there any other people on here not able to make it due to the location??? It might affect where the next events will be held...

Don't worry about being rubbish at DH, thats the whole point about the coaching. We're sending Gingie along, and trust us, she's far from a DH demon!

This weekend is going to be the start of something very big ;-)
get ready to push your riding and your skills, learn from Pros, win prizes, lots of prizes and have good banter!

kathg

Cripes.. just realised where Perth is...! A loong way north, that'll be a big drive after work on friday night. Are you planning any of these events a bit further south? Even 7 Stanes area is more do-able than Perth!!
Let us know whats in pipeline for later this spring Gingie.
May still go up for Perth event if I can find someone to share petrol/driving with. Anyone who I could pick-up and share transport with up the M6? I'll be coming from North Wales, so let me know, I'd be able to fit another bike and bag in back of my car?

Kathg

DanielleT

Thats a great idea kathg, lift sharing might get more of us from more southern northern areas going.

My other half has offered to take me up, i'm still not 100% sure myself yet (blooming skint as!) but if anyone wants to jump on board for a lift (A1 from Hull onwards) we've got a WV T4 with a room for a few bikes.

Ginge - yea if this one is a sucess, it's be great if you could arrange one for a little further down. I'm sure lovely ladies really down south would love to have a go too

Gingie

yea Perth is really far north... even for us northern folk! lol.

GMB aren't actually part of the organisers- we're just helping to promote the event- but there may be plans for future collaborations and the location of the event will definitely be a consideration as we realise how inaccessible it is to some people (especially with the rise in fuel :-( Boo!)

But you guys have the right idea with lift sharing! Feel free to use here/ the GMB FB page/ the Diva Descent FB page to try and find people to lift share with.

Be great to see you ladies there- the outcome of this event will certainly be a factor in the future of the events :-)

Gingie

So Diva Descent has announced one of the first coaches to be providing instruction at the Diva Descent weekend.

Pro 4X and DH rider Katy Curd (she's even missing one of her races to come up for the weekend and help out!)

Get yaself there girlies it's gonna be a cracker!

DanielleT

Aww thats awesome!

Bad news for me though, I defo can't make it. Found out yesterday i've got my presentation for my dissertation on Monday 9th, so I can not sacrifice the weekend for fun I tell you I can't wait for it all to be over, doing a degree part-time over 5 years whilst working full time is an endurance race with a lot of fun sacrificed.

Will have to try and make it to the next one, if there is going to be one?

miss notax

Sorry ladies, this is just too far away for me i'm afraid

Have fun everyone

desmojen

Same for me, would absolutely LOVE to go, but it's too far, and I am starting a course I can't miss straight after.
Would deffo be interested in similar events in the future though

Jen.

smallred

Argh it sucks being a (very mature) student!!! Timing & a gas guzzler of a car make it a no for me in May, although I'd LOVE to come along. I did Fort Bill last year and want to be able to ride down the whole WC run next time - there were a few sections I had to walk the bike around, just waaay too big drops for my ability! Need more skillz

Very jealous of you guys going along - looks like a great weekend. Want pics after you get back

Gingie

Yea gas prices certainly don't help at the moment!!

I know some people are trying to organise lift sharing via the Diva Descent FB page- so it could maybe be an option for your guys travelling from the same area??

smallred: have you seen the DH camp going on in May- where you get coached to ride the Fort bill track???

Check out the GirlMTNbiker FB page http://www.facebook.com/pages/GirlMTNbiker/132984866766026

an if you scroll down to the April 1st post there's the info on it :-D

Alternatively you can just hit me up with questions

smallred

Yep, I saw that one, thanks Timing's the other problem - I've got exams from mid-may right through to 24th June though, so I'll be going nowhere til after that I'm afraid!