Pemberton women forge connections and community.
words :: Johanna Molloy
Pemberton, the scenic farming community turned outdoor hub (and current baby factory), is home to more than 195 mountain bike trails, many on the rugged side of the Sea to Sky baseline average. Over the past decade or so, those janky, gnarly trails have seen a new demographic of Pemby women making their own mark on the local biking scene.
These women, many over 40 years old, were not necessarily presented with bikes from the toddler age like so many of their kids are now, nor did they grow up in a space where female mountain bikers were given much space in the sport and media. But today they’re finding their place on the trails with the women’s-only Bike Club.
Each Wednesday during biking season, dozens of female riders gather to hone their skills, support each other and session trails they may not have felt brave enough to tackle alone. Most weeks, a club member volunteers to host après—other nights, the sweaty, smiling group simply convenes in the parking lot and tailgates with cold beverages, copious amounts of potato chips and echoing cackles of laughter.
“I needed a social outlet. I needed exercise, and I needed time away from home because I was just giving, giving, giving. Bike Club became a supportive environment.” – Bree Thorlakson
The rules of Bike Club are simple: take up space, and no apologizing. Everyone is welcome, everyone is encouraged and, most of all, everyone is allowed to talk about hormones, mood swings, the pressures of parenthood and impending menopause. Because Bike Club is about support, respect and having fun.
It all started in 2011 when Bree Thorlakson battled feelings of loneliness and cabin fever after having her first baby. Longing for a deeper connection with her fellow mountain women, Bree messaged some friends to go for a ride on a Wednesday evening. The small group rode hard but found that hanging out at one of their houses afterward was as much fun as the ride. With this realization, the Pemberton Off Road Cycling Association’s women’s-only Bike Club was born. “I needed a social outlet,” Bree says. “I needed exercise, and I needed time away from home because I was just giving, giving, giving. Bike Club became a supportive environment.”
The rules of Bike Club are simple: take up space, and no apologizing.
In the years since, the après portion of the ride has become a cornerstone of Bike Club’s social scene. In fact, some women with early evening commitments have been known to skip the ride altogether, still making it to après for that much-needed midweek connection.
Lynne Armstrong, founder of Air Maiden (a women-specific mountain bike coaching and events company) and one of the original members of Bike Club says those Wednesday rides offered her huge support when she found herself with three kids under the age of 13 months (who produced an average of 26 diapers a day!).
Lynne describes biking as a tool to positively impact women in many ways: “A lot of us work here and see each other daily. Biking is a tool and vehicle to positively impact people in other areas of their life. We get to play in the outdoors and feel the social aspect of being in nature with like-minded women.” She says that mountain biking can be used to overcome barriers, both physical and mental, adding, “As women, we’ve always had to just get on with it.”
Dawn Cashen is another force to be reckoned with on two wheels and OG member of Bike Club. As a single supermom with a tween and teen in tow, she’s leaned on the unwavering support from her fellow mother bikers over the years, who’ve helped with childcare while she heads out on her bike. “It’s my freedom,” she says. “I don’t think about my bills or my stress… I don’t have to worry about anything.”
Both established badasses on the Pemby bike scene, Dawn and Lynne share the incredible bond of having gone through motherhood together. “I started bringing my kids to be social and get outside,” Dawn recalls. “Lynne would mind my kid so I could race. And in between practice runs, I was breastfeeding.” Wrangling and feeding children, organizing your own gear and that of kids, all while juggling two families’ schedules—and still finding the energy to bike—takes superhuman powers, aka motherhood.
Local mom and teacher Shelley DesBrisay, who moved to Pemberton in 2015, remembers Bike Club as her first connection with the community. Although she felt intimidated to get started on the trails, she fell in with some other women who were at a similar pace and now counts those women as some of her best friends.
For Shelley, Bike Club represents a midweek release from work and family life. She enjoys the healing power of laughter and the shared hard moments, whether it’s a fall or an accomplishment on the trail.
There’s a unanimous consensus among the Bike Club women that community is everything. “A lot of people here don’t have [extended] family nearby,” Lynne says. “Your neighbours are your family. Bike Club women rally and help each other out.”
The Pemby Women’s Bike Club is a place to connect with the community, make new friends, unite with old friends, challenge yourself or simply give yourself an escape from day-to-day chores. Those who want to shred, shred. Those who want to cruise, cruise. But most importantly, everyone follows the rules of Bike Club: take up space, and no apologizing!
(And don’t forget the potato chips!)
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