Erin Buena of The Cycle Effect knows what it’s like to feel nerves on a mountain bike. They hit hard at her very first practice at Keystone.
“I was really nervous about attending practices,” Buena tells Krystal 93 news director Phil Lindeman. “I’m brand new to this role. I really have no idea what to expect so I’m just sticking back, shadowing the other coaches.”
That is when a 12-year-old girl inspired her to stop and smell the flowers.
“She is telling me about every single one of the flowers that we’re passing on the trail and all of the different remedies that you could utilize these flowers and plants for,” Buena remembers. “I thought that was so special, and it spoke to this value of belonging that we really highlight and focus on at practices. And I really appreciated that.”
This is Buena’s second summer as Summit County manager for The Cycle Effect, a nonprofit introducing young girls to mountain biking. The nerves are (mostly) gone but her mission remains the same.
“We really try to make mountain biking as accessible as possible to anybody who wants to participate,” Buena says. “We reserve 70 percent of our roster for participants who have a financial or social barrier of entry to the sport. We also reserve resources for Latino and BIPOC participants.”
Later this month 23 local girls join The Cycle Effect for summer. Many of them are mountain biking for the very first time. And that’s the point.
“(Summer) includes mountain bike skills coaching and mentorship twice a week, plus all the gear and equipment you need to be on trail safely,” she says. “That is a bike if you don’t own one, a helmet, a shammy – the bike shorts – and bike gloves, as well as bike socks. They get the uniform.”
By the end of summer these girls will have skills they did not even know were possible, but they are not the only ones learning.
“It’s something I encounter at every practice,” she says. “it’s connecting me with this inner child, reminding me things can be fun, but also super impactful. That’s what we hope this privodec our participants, showing them how tough and gritty and resilient these girls can be.”
The Cycle Effect is partnering with town of Frisco this coming Saturday, June 14 for Pedal to the Plaza at Frisco Adventure Park with games, prize, team members and a women’s mountain biking clinic. You can still sign up for the summer session!