A few weeks ago, some of our employees headed out to Darrington, WA ,a local PNW ride hub, to attend and support the Evergreen Shovel and Shred event. Women and femme identifying folks were invited to dig alongside Evergreen trail builders and Red Bull Athletes for a day of bringing together the MTB community. We were stoked to have a crew of riders and employees including Hannah Bergemann, Tilly Melton, Inventory Specialist Christine Dern and Project Manager Morgen Harvey.

We were there to provide a hearty breakfast for everyone and to keep folks fueled throughout the day.

Building and maintaining mountain bike trails is a big part of the sport. Here at Transition, we value the importance of giving back to trails and supporting dig days so that we can all keep riding and doing the sport we love. Learning the art of trail building helps to grow your appreciation, skill, and love for the environment that we get to immerse ourselves in. This event was particularly unique as it offered a welcoming and educational space for folks with all levels of trail building experience to get together and strengthen a growing community. 

There's a special history between Darrington and mountain biking. After the devastating Oso landslide in 2014, local trails became a way to build the community back together and help community members get outside and heal. Having access to trails to ride and dig on helps people to reconnect with the land and honor the history of it. 

Around 60 femme identifying participants showed up and headed out to two different ride zones to clean up trail, build new features, and connect with each other over a shared passion. Each group was led by either an Evergreen trail builder or a Red Bull Athlete. 

It was special to see brand new diggers build up berms and jumps alongside professional athletes. Everyone got to experience the rewarding process of seeing trails transform from rundown and neglected to beautiful and fresh.

At the end of our digging session, we had the opportunity to witness Hannah guinea pigging a brand new feature we had cleaned up earlier that day. Hannah shared some of her insights into her mental preparation for approaching this new drop. Her most important tips were to remember a foundation of fun and to utilize mindfulness and visualization techniques. Checking in with your body, environment, and ride partners is just as important as assessing the technique and skill required to hit a new feature. Ultimately, remember that having fun is the most important part!

The second half of the day was full of shredding our fresh work and enjoying all the other amazing trails in Darrington. It was rad to ride with new and old friends, reap the rewards of our hard work, and take home some new skills!