In The News – Women pave the way: Inclusivity in mountain biking, blazing the trail for women leaders
August 22, 2024 | Member Submitted
Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 08/22/2024, Madison Schultz
With the summer season bringing an entirely new set of outdoor recreation activities to Lake Tahoe, mountain biking is a highly frequented, adventurous activity that’s beloved by many Tahoe locals and visitors to the area alike. Like many action-based recreational activities, mountain biking is presumed by many as a male-dominated sport, but unlike the blanket assumption, women have been avidly making proactive strides in dominating Tahoe’s local mountain biking landscape.
According to a study conducted in 2018 by the Outdoor Industry Association, 46% of bikers across the nation were female. While the male gender still encompasses over half the amount of bikers in the nation, when analyzing a smaller, highly-active area such as the communities around Lake Tahoe, the involvement from both genders is head-and-shoulders above other areas in the nation.
Given the treacherous involvement, and hefty upfront investment, that getting into mountain biking brings to active participants, it can oftentimes be overwhelming being introduced into the sport – especially when factoring in being a woman in a statistically male-led industry.
Photo provided from Tahoe Daily Tribune