Welcome to the MT Alpha Cycling Team Newsletter! Now that spring is here, there are a lot of amazing opportunities to connect with the bike community and get out on the trails together.
Be Social! And Tag Us!
Help us tell the world how awesome MT Alpha is! Tag @mtalphacycling in your Instagram posts and use the hashtag #mtalphacycling so we can repost your adventures. Send your mountain biking pictures to [email protected]so we can use your images in our marketing materials. Kudos if you're wearing your kit, but the main thing we mostly want to see Alphas on bikes! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
Join the MT Alpha Team! We are passionate about getting as many ladies out on bikes as possible. We want you to feel knowledgeable and prepared for the trails and roads as well as the events in our community. By becoming a team member of MT Alpha Cycling, you will have access to opportunities that further these motives.
MT Alpha Member Profile: Elise Baker! We chose to feature Elise Baker for our first member profile because she has been a part of the organization in many, many ways...from a junior team member, to a race member, to a junior coach! We're so thankful for everything she's done for the team and our community. Elise is graduating high school this year, and before her new adventures begin, we asked her to answer a few questions about her Alpha experience. We also hope you enjoy the photos of Elise over the years, too!
How old were you when you started riding? When did you join MT Alpha? I started riding when I was 5, I think. But it wasn't until I was 10 or 11 that I started mountain biking more, and it was around then that I joined MT Alpha. I think it was the summer of 2013.
What is your favorite Missoula trail and why? Oof, that's a tough question. But even with all the options, I have to go with Ewok! I love ending most of my rides with it, and it has been so much fun to feel myself getting faster and faster as I grow up. The first time I did Ewok with my parents it took my sister and I 20 minutes or something. I cried.
What do you like best about riding your bike? I like how quiet it can be. It seems like a lot of sports that are fast and exciting are also loud, but bikes seem to blend with nature a little bit more. I also like the strategy of it, on both the climb and the descent.
What is your favorite post ride snack? Pickles!
Are there any hurdles to riding your bike? How did you overcome them? When I started MT Alpha, I was a couple years younger than the other junior girls, who were mostly in high school. I felt a little shy, but I slowly learned how to seek out the things we had in common, and then I felt like part of the pack.
If there is a message or advice you would give to inspire someone (young or old) to ride bikes, what would it be? Trust your bike and trust yourself! You can do amazing things on a bike, and find amazing people to do them with. Find your pack and have fun!
upcoming events
Women's Dig with MTB Missoula!
Learn how to build and maintain trails under an all-women leadership. Wednesday, May 22nd (5-8:30pm) RSVP HERE!
Club Team Rides
Every Wednesday at 6:15pm. Location TBA
Race Team Rides
Every Monday at 6pm. Location TBA
Junior Team Rides
Rides start on Tuesdays in June. Location TBA
Our Mission: MT Alpha is a female cycling team of motivated junior girls and women who are focused on cultivating bike skills, confidence, and competition. We support and encourage our members to test their limits and exceed their perceived abilities through races, group rides, clinics, training, and coaching.
About us: MT Alpha Cycling Team is the region’s first premier women’s cycling team. We are dedicated to promoting the beauty and freedom of being a woman on a bike, community outreach and junior development. MT Alpha offers a haven for women to support each other and feel confident in a typically male dominated sport. We are open to committed women who are searching for encouragement in order to be the best of their ability; testing their own limits and capabilities while proving they are better than they thought they were through racing and group rides.
We are not only committed to bike awareness, women in the sport of cycling, but also community outreach. Through trail maintenance, skills clinics, event volunteering, sponsorship and racing, we support the growth and development of cycling in our community. Through these efforts we inevitably bring women together and form life long friendships while rippin’ trail.
Lastly, MT Alpha is dedicated to developing young riders. Children are our future. Our MT Alpha Junior Development Team is a safe place where young girls can go to develop new skills and feel comfortable with who they are in a healthy, positive and non-judgmental environment. The girls "practice" (ride) once a week as a team and can travel to races across the state.
To be an MT Alpha, you must be a woman committed to giving back to your community and the sport of cycling. If you are interested in becoming an Alpha, click here!