Jackie Baker from Freeride Foundation headed to Ohio to check out the Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park Women's Weekend in Feb. Click for our original story on the event with a map of the park – this place is huge! The turn out was huge too:
The Ray’s MTB park crew 2009.
Photo: Jackie Baker 2009
So here’s Jackie’s tale of how it all went down:
Until about four years go, there was absolutely no reason to visit Ohio in the middle of winter. It’s cold, sometimes snows, sometimes rains, and until Ray Petro started building his indoor mountain bike park in Cleveland, it was no place for a mountain bike. Now, Northeastern Ohio is a must-visit destination for riders across the US and Canada.
Ray’s Indoor MTB Park is housed in a 103,000-square-foot warehouse just a few minutes away from the Cleveland International Airport. I landed in Cleveland during a whiteout blizzard on February 19, to attend the second-annual Dirt Rag Women’s Weekend at the park. I called Gale Dahlager to let her know I was on my way to baggage claim, and moments later, she and Tamara Peloquin pulled up to the door, still wearing their helmets and pads. The roads were icy, but I thought the helmets were a little excessive.
Within minutes we arrived in the giant warehouse complex that houses the park. The big brick building covers blocks, and the way you find the entrance to Ray’s is to follow little yellow signs and look for the bike hanging over the door. Once inside the park, it was easy to forget the winter storm outside. Christmas lights, fireplaces, big screen TVs, a snack bar, arcade, picnic tables, and computer terminals lead to a labyrinth of wood.
After building my bike, I joined Nadia Steinbrecher for a tour of the park. There’s a short pump track, three progressions of table top jumps, two mazes of skinnies, teter-totters, and drops—one for beginners and one for more advanced riders, some bigger jump lines—one with a fun wall ride, a foam pit, a resin ramp, a street park, a skate park, a cross country course, a beginners’ learning area, and oh, geez, I’m sure I’m forgetting a few more things. Yeah, it’s that big.
Nadia Steinbrecher going big at Ray’s, 2009.
Photo:
On Friday, nearly 100 women arrived at Ray’s to participate in the Women’s Weekend clinics. Gale, Tamara, Nadia, Darcy Turenne, Nina Buitrago, Stacey Mulligan, Tammy Donahugh, coached riders at the foam pit, skinnies, pump track, and jumps, helping women improve their skills and confidence. It was amazing to see girls who were apprehensive in the morning aggressively riding their favorite stunts in the afternoon. At 4pm, boys were allowed back into the park, and women were able to ride for half-price the rest of the weekend.
Nina Buitrago at Ray’s, 2009.
Photo: Jackie Baker
I’m pretty sure I rode about 20 hours between Friday and Sunday. It was awesome to join in girl trains through the jump lines and watch Nadia teach Tamara to footplant. Even better was watching Nina Buitrago, Stacey Mulligan, and Nadia Steinbrecher throw tricks off of the GT box.
Stacey Mulligan, BMX x-up, Ray’s 09.
Photo: Jackie Baker
While Ray was instrumental in creating the Women’s Weekend, Nina is the mastermind behind the event. Nina moved from Long Island, NY to Ohio after she graduated from college, and has been working at Ray’s for more than a year. She’s a pro BMX rider with amazing freestyle skills. Not only is her riding impressive, but so is her drive to get more women involved in the sport.
Darcy Turenne and Ray from Rays MTB Park.
Photo: Jackie Baker