The Moxie team is an enthusiastic group of women this year and the season is off and running! We are 15 members strong, coming from central and northern Vermont. Our race schedules are taking us from Cross Country Nationals in Pennsylvania, to the Pro XCT in our backyards at Catamount in Williston, to the classic Vermont 50 in Ascutney and the Eastern States Cup Enduro Series across New England. We have doubled the Moxie Spark program this year, providing scholarships and mentoring on mountain bikes to four middle school girls. A huge thank you to our 2013 sponsors for supporting the Moxie team and the Spark scholarships. Look out for our new kit colors for the season!

Our second season has wound down and the Mountain Moxie race team is pleased to share with you all the good stuff we have been doing on the trails and in the mountain bike community in 2012.

Read our team Newsletter here.

Our 23-member team competed in over 30 races and rides across New England and even as far as Idaho, North Carolina and South Africa. Moxies took home an incredible 26 podium finishes in the team’s second year, raising $1,150 for the Podium Fund, which supports Moxie Sparks.

A huge thank you to our major sponsors: Sugarbush Resort, Onion River Sports / Muscles Not Motors, Skirack, VNRC and the Confluence. We’d also like to thank our contributing sponsors who also helped to make the 2012 a success: Bike 29, Johannes Otter Massage, Osprey Packs, and Patagonia.

Moxie Sparks is a mentoring program for at-risk girls that we started this year in partnership with Stride Foundation and Little Bellas. In our inaugural year, we mentored two elementary school girls. The program was a huge success.  Shayla and Jesslyn plan to participate next year, and we plan to build on our success and expand the program.

Enjoy our Mountain Moxie Team Newsletter that features highlights from the 2012 season. We’ll see you on the trail!

The buttery trails of Vermont’s early spring have provided both a reunion and a meeting point for the 24 members of Mountain Moxie’s 2012 team. Vermont’s women’s mountain bike race team was formed last year around a mission of increasing participation by women and girls in the sport of mountain biking through direct support for riding, training and racing.

In addition to planning a series of women’s technical clinics, setting race schedules and finding camaraderie and striving for smooth skills in the woods, the team has focused its community involvement efforts on Vermont’s youth. A collaboration between Little Bellas and the Stride Foundation led to the creation of Moxie Sparks, a mountain bike mentoring program for young girls. This summer, these partners will support three six graders from Williston in experiencing mountain biking – from gearing up to enabling technical skills and personal empowerment, as well as whetting their whistle for the race start (and finish) line.

Four businesses – including Sugarbush, Onion River Sports/Muscles Not Motors, Skirack and the Vermont Natural Resources Council – have make Moxie Sparks possible through a sponsorship package, which includes podium incentives for Mountain Moxie members. In addition to racing fast to raise money, Moxies will also mentor these girls, meeting them over eight weeks to ride or race alongside them at the Catamount Outdoor Center.

Visit the site for upcoming details and friend the Moxie Facebook page so you’ll see photos and updates.

See you on the trail!

Last winter, 25 women from northern and central Vermont came together to form Mountain Moxie, a new women’s mountain bike race team with a broad mission to:

• Learn about ourselves and our environment through the pursuit of sport;
• Find camaraderie around and direct support for riding, training and racing;
• Support women’s access to and participation in the sport of mountain biking; and,
• Hone technical skills, race well and contribute to the greater mountain bike community.

These women lived up to name and mission by exhibiting moxie on the trail and in the community.

• In the spring, 20 team members honed mechanical and technical skills in clinics at Coyote Hill, the Catamount Outdoor Center (through Little Bella’s) and Sugarbush’s Adventure Center.
• In the summer and fall, team members raced both near and far over 40 times from the XC Ultimate in Quebec to the BC Bike Race in Whistler, as well as at local favorites like the Millstone Grind and the Vermont 50.

Moxies completed 6, 12 and 24 hour races; multi-day stage and 100 mile races; as well as hill climb, cyclocross, and downhill races. They raced Wednesday nights at the Catamount Outdoor Center with their kids. They were visible at local charity events, from the Gravel Grinder to the Tour de Valley, Leaf Blower and CircumBurke. The blue jersey even graced a circumnavigation of Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France.

Part of the experience for these women went well beyond peer support for racing and riding regularly.  Community encouragement for women’s success in getting to the start line and through the finish line was also key.

Playing a lead role in this achievement were the team’s lead sponsors: Onion River Sports, ISIS for Women, The Confluence Community Fitness Center, Terry Bicycles, Darn Tough, and Osprey Packs. Other sponsors were Five Hills Bikes, Magic Wheel Community Bike Center, Complexions and Johannes Otter Massage.

Moxies also gave back to the community. The team made a financial donation to Little Bella’s to support the organization’s work in empowering girls to experience the sport of mountain biking. When not on their bikes, team members served on the Boards of trail clubs or recreation organizations, wielded tools on workdays, raised money for causes or volunteered at local events.

In November, the team gathered to wrap up the 2011 season and discuss new ideas for the coming year.  Team membership will be finalized on January 15, 2012.

Check out where Mountain Moxie’s have been racing in 2011!

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Moxie: the ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage; determination or fortitude; aggressive energy.

Mountain Moxie is a newly formed Vermont women’s mountain bike racing team that strives to:

• Learn about ourselves and our environment through the pursuit of sport;

• Find camaraderie around and direct support for riding, training and racing;

• Support women’s access to and participation in the sport of mountain biking; and

• Hone technical skills, race well and contribute to the greater mountain bike community.

This team of 25 women from northern and central Vermont ranges from seasoned mountain bike racers to women who want to try their first event. It also fills an important niche in mountain biking in Vermont.