Sunshine, flowy trails, the promise of post-ride beers, and a fun group of riding buddies: mountain bikers look forward to this every week. But unlike Brooke Goudy and her friends, most mountain bikers aren’t usually also subject to blatant stares as we pass by.
Sure, each of the seven women riding that day did so on enviable bikes and were kitted out in great gear, but that’s not what caught the eyes of fellow trail users, says Goudy.
“People stare because I don’t think they see very many Black women mountain biking,” Goudy said.
“Usually when I’m out there, I’m the only Black woman. But [last month’s group ride] was the first time I felt pride when people were staring at me — as part of this group. And oh my gosh, my heart. So full.”
The Great (White) Outdoors
Originally from Montgomery, Alabama, Goudy moved to Denver for an internship 17-years-ago and was thrown into the outdoor scene which makes up so much of the social fabric in the Mile High City.
“If you want a beer in Colorado, you usually go for a bike ride or a run first,” joked Goudy. “So part of fitting in meant participating in a lot of those things. Cycling, running, hiking, I kinda got pushed into it all because it’s part of the culture. And when I say ‘culture,’ I mean White culture.”
Deeply embedded in Coloradoan culture, Goudy was willing to try a lot of new things but drew the line at downhill mountain biking, despite her downhill racer boyfriend’s encouragements.
“I really, really resisted. I mean, it looks really intimidating and hardcore, and White,” Goudy explained.
“When I’m [road] cycling here in Denver I’ll see maybe one other Black cyclist in a day, or when I’m hiking I might see a handful of other Black people on the trail. But mountain biking? I had never seen anyone Black on a mountain bike.”
But love will make you do crazy things, and before long Goudy found herself riding down Colorado’s epic Monarch Crest Trail on a $100 second-hand hardtail.
“There was no holding my hand or anything like that. He’s aggressive because he’s a racer so we never went on a green trail or anything like that. He just took me out on a mountain bike and said, ‘follow me,’” Goudy said.
She soon left the downhiller, but fell head-over-heels for mountain biking. She took herself on a downhill mountain bike trip to the French Alps, treated herself to a more capable bike, and embarked on a mission to find other Black mountain bikers.
“I got involved with some local organization for mountain biking and realized that wow, I really am the only Black woman here. It’s not some exaggeration, so I said, I need to do something about that.”
Today, Goudy is a member of Black Girls Do Bike, an ambassador for VIDA MTB Series, a founder of VIDA’s Impact Committee, and working towards a mountain bike coaching certificate.
Mountain Biking is Not a Safe Space
“Even though I’m still new, mountain biking is my first love and I am deeply embedded into this community. I keep calling it ‘my community’ but how can you truly feel like you belong when no one out there looks like you? When you go to a bike park and there’s not one person that looks like you? When people on the mountain actually stare?”
“The way things are right now, I don’t believe that the mountain biking community is a safe space for women of color. Absolutely not.”
For a space to feel safe, it needs to be inclusive, welcoming, accepting, and culturally diverse. But micro-aggressions are commonplace in the mountain biking world. These come in the form of inappropriate or hurtful language, poor messaging and a lack of diversity in advertising and branding, damaging stereotypes, and gender disparity across the board.
“The way many brands and organizations talk about women and the way women are portrayed, I feel is degrading. When the biking industry says ‘women,’ I understand it to be athletic, White, CIS women. That’s who clothes and gear are made for and who you might see in advertising,” said Goudy.
“Even as we are moving forward and we’re trying to be more inclusive, we’re speaking in terms of gender, but that still doesn’t present itself as a safe space for all women.”
The Bike Industry’s White Savior Complex
In the past two months, we have seen a blatant change in what the biking world could look like, with the likes of Justin Williams, Ayesha McGowan and Tamika Butler gracing magazine covers and headlines. But the previous several weeks have been far from the norm.
“These past months, brands have been quick to call for ambassadors and hand out free jerseys to Black people so they can put a picture up, but we need action,” Goudy said.
But throwing money and free bikes and gear around won’t bring about lasting change, either. Money isn’t the number one barrier, says Goudy.
“There is a Black middle class. It doesn’t look like the White middle class, but they have the ability to buy bikes for their kids and for themselves. But there is a big difference between riding around in your neighborhood and someone making you feel that someday you can grow up and be like one of these bad-ass White women riding around on the road or on the mountain.”
“That is something we, in the Black community, don’t have. We don’t have anyone telling us how we can do that. If anything, we have people putting up roadblocks for us to be able to do that.”
Goudy says that the mountain bike world will start feeling like a safer space only when there are more BIPOC people represented in advertising, in branding and, especially, in real life — on the trail, competing, and sharing knowledge and experiences.
Goudy, her voice breaking with emotion, said she would love to have a Black organization for mountain biking to be a part of.
“The organization I’m a part of is really great but it is so White and I feel so uncomfortable. All the time,” she said.
“It doesn’t feel like when I show up at my Black Girls Do Bike event where I can be myself, I can be culturally myself and feel culturally safe. And that safety is disrupted when White people come in and say ‘Oh, we’re going to teach you how to mountain bike’”
So despite her still novice experience in mountain biking herself, Goudy is working toward a coaching certificate herself with the goal of coaching high school when the IMBA leagues start up again, and to progress toward an adult teaching certificate from there.
“If I want to see more Black people mountain biking, I need to hit this hard and I am making big strides toward becoming that Black person who can lead these clinics,” she said.
What We Can Do
The road to cultural change is a long one. And it requires work from everyone involved.
“The mountain biking community needs to stand up, to show no tolerance for racism, to check themselves, and to actively ask themselves, what can I — as a White person— do to make the sport more inclusive,” said Goudy.
And to help us get started, here are some of Goudy’s tips for everyday anti-racist actions:
- The Outdoors are for Everyone: Sometimes mountain biking can seem kind of elitist. We tend to roll our eyes if someone shows up on outdated or low-end equipment or isn’t sporting the right clothing. I think we need to get away from that. We need to make space for everyone outdoors. Every time you go outside, you need to remind yourself of that: This space is for everyone.
- Be Welcoming: Make sure that the person you’re passing feels welcomed out there. Say hi, tell them “nice to see you, I’m glad you’re out here” no matter if they’re on a Huffy or a multi-thousand-dollar bike.
- Take action: I think we, as an industry, are putting a lot of words out there on social media and on statements on the website. But what are your actual action steps? Name them and then execute them.
- Do your own research: Gain understanding. Don’t just ask your Black friend.
- Don’t have a Black friend? Get a Black friend!
- And to quote Taishya Adams from Outdoor Afros: Step up. Step aside, Step down. If you see or hear someone say something ridiculous or do something ridiculous, then you step up. If you have an opportunity for a person of color, you step aside, you give that to them. And if you are in a position of over-representation for your group, then you step down and you make room for someone else .
- Check the businesses you are supporting. If they have not come out in support of BIPOC people and the BLM movement or have remained silent through other social justice issues, consider finding new businesses to support.
- Engage in crucial conversations with your sponsors around the importance of being vocal on issues of injustice.
- Donate to organizations, clubs, and industry partners that are representing, serving, or owned by BIPOC communities.
If you’re interested in learning more, be sure to check out and support Goudy’s organizations —Black Girls Do Bike and VIDA MTB Series— and follow Goudy on Instagram (@brookegoudy) and on Facebook (/brooke.goudy).
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When I ride I only see other MTB’ers. Gender, race, creed, sexual preference, etc. etc. are irrelevant to me and everyone I ride with. All are welcome!
Outstanding article with a powerful message!
I can’t argue with how the author personally feels but have to hit back on the concept that mountain biking “is not a safe space” for anybody. I’ve been mountain biking for 31 years and admittedly have never seen any black females out there riding that I can recall. It’s rare to see a black male mountain biking as well but they definitely exist. All of this has nothing to do with mountain biking though as everyone is welcome to buy a bike and head out into the great outdoors. Why blacks choose not to partake in mountain biking is their own decision. When I first started riding, I didn’t see many Hispanics or Asians (including Filipinos) either but they have inundated the sport in SoCal. I would say those two groups are mostly responsible for the MTB surge in SoCal. When I go to our local “Enduro” area, they out-number the whites 2-1 and this is in a community that is 70% white. I personally belong to two FB groups where whites are the minority as well. There is no bias out there, race is never an issue, everybody gets along fine and safety is never an issue. It the riding that bonds everybody together.
I agree, mountain biking isn’t a safe space, but elbow pads definitely help.
You have hit upon many good points in your What Can We Do section. I am an older rider, ride older bikes because I have rebuilt them and trust them and don’t concern myself with name brands or proper color matching as long as I am protected and comfortable. I suspect your experiences are way more uncomfortable than mine but, I too have felt the shunning of other riders on trails due to my age, equipment and attire. There are riders that will openly accept you but, there are way too many that smirk and ride off like you don’t belong there. If our paths ever cross, I for one will gladly welcome you for a trail adventure because you have the right perspective on nature and how MTB riders should behave.
She needs to meet Tinker Juarez. Nobody on the trail looks like him.
‘Say hi, tell them “nice to see you, I’m glad you’re out here”’. I probably wouldn’t recommend saying something like this. Just treat everyone like they’re a “normal person” and be nice.
I have been part of a cross county race that Reggie Miller was entered and he was treated like a god but he was a celebrity . Most people do want to hang out with people that look like them . Its sad to say but thats just reality for the most part at this time . Mountain biking is kind of an obscure sport and more than likely you will have to run into someone who does it and if you can survive the first few rides you may take it on but most dont . E bikes are helpful to get people involved but sometimes they are looked at as not really mountain biking . In general though MTB is a comradery sport so when you see others on the trail the color in their skin doesnt matter much I would think
I know this is supposed to be a feel-good story, but it left me feeling sorry for the author who seems hyper-focused on skin color.
jenningsm, In order to work toward abolishing racism, and the related policies that uphold and perpetuate it, we will have to focus on race — and skin color is an integral part of that conversation.
Anne-Marije Rook does a stellar job of sharing Brooke’s experience as a mountain biker, which is unique because of her skin color and the way people interact with her and act toward her as a Black cyclist.
Brian, the original Civil Rights movement, which I remember, had a goal of creating a colorblind society where personal accomplishments and character mattered but skin color did not. To this end we were taught to try to treat everyone equally and emphasize our common points and not superficial differences. You are subscribing to a different belief, that since inequalities persist this must be due to endemic racism and we need to focus on race in everything including mountain biking. Not everyone agrees. At it’s extreme this can result in some absurd situations: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/meta-arguments-about-anti-racism/615424/ . Which view is correct? I’m not certain, there may be some merit in your worldview, but it could just have the consequence of driving us apart instead of unification. For myself, I try to be nice to everyone – hikers, horse people, and even ATV users, which I sometimes have less in common with on the trails than mountain bikers who happen to have a darker skin tone.
Racism in America would be dead by now if politicians, and race baiters like this author would stop giving it CPR.
The few negative status-quo-bolstering comments herein are proof that we need to share more stories and experiences like this one from Brooke Goudy. Some folks have a lot to learn about equity, empathy, and the different ways we all actually experience the world.
Fortunately, far more people seem to appreciate it than not.
Fantastic article. It will no doubt be picked on by people who haven’t experienced this, themselves – maybe criticized as being political – but it is important to understand.
It is such an incredible sport – there isn’t any natural reason that representation on the trails shouldn’t look just like the make up of the country or community. So there must be something else that causes the disparity. We can all do more to improve this to make more welcoming. Thank you for writing this. It takes guts to call it out, especially knowing that the feedback may be disappointing and confirm a lot of what needs to be improved.
Wow, now I have to get inundated with politics in Singletracks because black peoples choose not to mtn bike? If this continues I will unsubscribe.
Hey Eric Fuge,
Can you explain how this article about a Black woman’s personal experience with mountain biking is making you feel “inundated with politics”? I don’t follow. Is it that she shares some clear and actionable ways to inspire and support more people of color in the sport? Isn’t that helpful?
We want to share the stories of BIPOC and other less represented groups in our community with the hope that those experiential narratives will inspire folks from diverse backgrounds to enjoy the trails — and we will continue to do so as a primary element of our anti-racist and pro equity stance.
Additionally, mountain biking is political — like everything in life that involves more than two people is political. Every trail advocacy article we have ever published is political. Every article about the financial state of the bike industry or individual companies is political. All of our published work about the pandemic is political. Arguably nothing we publish isn’t political if we think critically about it.
Lots of reverse racism in that article. I hope mountain biking gives her self esteem and tolerance. I’ll pray she accepts all riders because they all matter😝
The reverse of racism is anti-racism, so I agree, there’s good stuff here. You pray that she accepts all riders, and I’ll pray that all riders accept her. Would be awesome to see everyone accepting of one another, if not in the world at large, at least in our happy place which is on the trail.