GoGIRLs in Parklands

GoGIRLs in Parklands

Parklands, its reputation as a gnarly and technical park is well known. Most ladies avoid riding here for a myriad of reasons. A year on, has anything changed?

Personally, my happy endorphins go wild when I do something really hard. You can often hear me screaming for joy. Sorry in advance if you wanted peace and quiet! But I just can’t keep that kind of excitement bottled up. And I have a great need to share this with others. Hence why GoGIRLs started.

Kindred spirits know what I’m taking about. That great sense of achievement you feel when you make a particularly tricky section that you have never made before; be it going through a narrow gap through two trees whist climbing around a sharp pinch, (Bee Hive), weaving in and out of the tropical jungle (Cancer tree) or getting over a large log stack for the first time (Beginning of HoChiHo).

But is it possible to share this wonderful world of Parklands with less experienced riders and not turn them off?

I turned to Kerrie who has made a complete about face from “I hate Parklands”, to “I ride in Parklands every week”! I asked her would she lead a GoGIRL ride. She said yes, which shows how far we have come. We began by designing a modified loop made possible by the addition of a new track we affectionately call the M1. After testing it out, we advertised and we got a great turn up considering it rained the night before.

Kerrie expertly lead us to the flowy New Zealand track, which always is a crowd pleaser. After TNT, we showed our skills in Circle Du Soleil, performing a Loop De Loop before finding a Quick Way Back to the ever-popular Phoenix Descent. Some of us took the fireroad to the final Wall whilst others had to pat Red Dog one more time. By our smiles you can tell we had a great ride and can’t wait to do it again.

Susie Hume

Women’s Advocate