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Feeling rested from a day at the spa the DirtGirls all slept well and got up ready for more riding on Thursday. We had experienced a pretty heavy storm on Wednesday night and got up to a cloudy sky. Undeterred the DirtGirls set off in the direction of Avoriaz and got most of the way up the Mossettes chair before the rain started to come down. After a few minutes sheltering at the top we changed the plan of heading into Les Crosets to return down to Les Lindarets and a friendly cafe with good coffee and great crepes. The ride down ‘puncture alley’ was slowed down by cloud and rain meaning the whole group miraculously made it down puncture free. After a nice long break we decided to head back past Lake Montriond to the chalet to get some dry clothes. We made use of the rain to go through what riders should carry in a pack and tried out the group shelter in the comfort of the chalet lounge!
As the rain eased off the group headed to the river with fire logs in packs to practice manuals and bunny hops. With everyone improving on this, we returned to cake and then dinner!
The final day saw a lot of coaching in mud – all useful for the trails back home! We checked out the switch back trails on Mont Chery and then the rooty sections on Lets Gets II. It was great to experience the different conditions and get over the wet muddy roots. However, the best part of the day was on the dirt jumps at the Kona Bike Park. With coaching and demos from Emily we were all soon riding over them and showing the boys how they should be done. Smiles all round as technique improved, wheels lifted off the ground and there was lots of talk of getting to the dirt jumps back home.
Tired but happy we finished the day in Bar Robinsons enjoying a few Mutzigs before a final dinner back at Chalet la Combe.
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The women’s only Dirt Girls week was based around improving riding and technique coached by UK DH racer Emily Horridge, she’ll also be coaching on the next Dirt Girls week in August. We ask EMily how she thought the week went
“After a week of chitchat about anything from bikes and kit to recipes, nearly everyone has gone home today, and it seems dead quiet here now. We had a great week, and the whole group got loads out of it. I was really impressed with how much improvement everyone made. It was great to see all the girls remembering to put into practice some of the techniques we covered, and practicing some of the new skills we did.
It was a bit of shame that the weather turned against us for the last two days, but there were still plenty of smiling faces, and it gave us an opportunity to cover mud-riding skills which are always in demand back in the UK. The scenery still looked pretty amazing with fluffy clouds floating in the valleys below us.
We saved dirt jumping till last and everyone had a really fun time, even those who didn’t really feel too keen about trying to get their wheels off the ground!
I’ve had a great week helping a really great group of women improve their skills on a bike, and I’m definitely looking forward to the next DirtGirls week at the end of August. Emily
Check out the other Dirt Girls articles below and for dates on the next coaching week!
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