BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — The International Mountain Bicycling Association has declared the first Saturday in May as International Women's Mountain Biking Day.
The first edition, May 5, is being promoted by IMBA and SRAM, PeopleForBikes, Rebecca Rusch and others.
The idea for the day came out of IMBA's first-ever women's conference, held this March in Bentonville, AR.
Attendees were encouraged to share their best ideas for engaging more women in mountain biking. Andree Sanders of Trips for Kids Metro New York, came up with the idea for the day, which was chosen as the best out of nearly 100 suggestions and won Sanders a SRAM GX Eagle Group.
"Engaging your community, getting more people riding and making a difference doesn't require a big, formal plan," said Aimee Ross, IMBA's brand director. "Action of any kind can lead to inspiration, motivation and even more action. You can get started on the path to more women on bikes or making where you live better for mountain biking by just going for it and doing something."
The organization said the women's day is similar to its Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, which has been promoted for 14 years and has been celebrated by more than 100,000 people worldwide. International Women's Mountain Biking Day will be largely social-media driven. Local organizations and individuals are encouraged to use the day as a driver for grassroots engagement, festivals, rides, awareness campaigns and other activities to both celebrate and encourage women mountain biking.
Participants are encouraged to share their stories by sending them to mountainbiker@imba.com and to use #womensmtbday and tag @imba_us on social media.
