As some of you may have heard, there’s a new women’s cycling club (inclusive of trans, femme, two spirit people) in town called the Dirt Darlings. YGR had a quick virtual sit down with some of the founding members to see what the skinny was with the group.
- Who was the DDs started by?
- Dirt Darlings was started by Katie Chu, Sam Palmer, and Jaime Robinson.
- How are Dirt Darlings different from the Fort Follies, Team B.O.B, and Sugar Beets?
- The Dirt Darlings are really an unofficial official club. We are organizing monthly mtb or gravel group rides where anyone who identifies as a woman (inclusive of trans, femme, two spirit people) are welcome to join us. There’s inherent overlap between these groups and us since we are all in the women and cycling space. Dirt Darlings focus is on having fun on mountain and gravel bikes and building a community of awesome women riders.
- Why was it started?
- Dirt Darlings was started to create more opportunities to get more women on bikes and create a community around dirt centered riding (gravel and mtb) in Northern Colorado.
- Who is the team geared towards?
- Dirt Darlings aren’t a “team” but more of an unofficial official club. It’s a space for women (inclusive of trans, femme, two spirit people) to ride together. We are hoping to span beginner riders to more advanced riders. We will be clear in our events what level the rides will be and allow riders to gauge their own abilities to determine if it’s a ride they are capable of and will have fun on.
- How organized is it now what is the ultimate goal (just weekly rides or is it a more formal team/club)?
- Our goal is monthly group rides for fun. We are not a formal team or club and we expect women coming to our rides to be liable for themselves, which we reiterate before our rides. Of course we’ll help if something comes up, we are a community! We are just some friends putting these rides together hoping to build a community of women riders in mountain biking and gravel riding in Northern Colorado. Our plan is to host at least one group ride per month, including the winter season, if weather allows. The idea is to bring women together and build community. Riders can then branch off and ride together in smaller groups, but this is a great place to start, have a larger community, and also find some friends who also love to ride.
- Are there or will there be any fees associated with the group?
- At this time there are no fees associated with being a member of the Dirt Darlings.
- Will you be ordering kit?
- Maybe someday!
- When are you hosting rides and will those continue throughout the Fall and Winter?
- Our first ride was Sunday, October 16th and we will continue to host monthly group rides through the fall and winter. They will be posted on our socials (Instagram and Strava) about a week prior to the event. Our next ride will be posted on socials soon, so keep an eye out!
