Coach Erica was recently interviewed by Voyage Utah. Find the entire article here.
Hi Erica, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
In 2016, I was still racing my mountain bike professionally and coaching mountain bike skills on the side. I created Women in the Mountains, expecting it to be a single 3-day event held in June of 2016. I decided that weekend needed a website, logo, and Instagram account. I didn’t realize I was actually laying the groundwork for a business that would grow and expand to include so many women in so many beautiful ways!
The first event was so successful that each of the women that attended asked if I would hold a clinic for their friends. The clinics expanded from there and in 2018 I hired 2 coaches to help me. Fast forward to 2021 and we are a team of 11 women (coaches and support staff) and have now coached over 2,000 women.
I help female mountain bike riders take their riding skills from good to great, so they can take on any trail with absolute confidence and precision. We primarily focus our mountain bike skills clinics in Park City and St. George, Utah. I have hosted clinics in other locations such as New Zealand, Nevada, and California and have now chosen to focus my energy closest to home. I live 5 minutes away from Trailside Bike Park in Park City and coach there 2-4 times each week from May-October. I also typically spend 2 weeks in St. George, Utah in March and November coaching desert riding skills.
I have been an athlete my entire life. From being a competitive swimmer to being a mountaineering guide on Mt. Rainier and in Alaska to road biking in a casual racing environment. I have ridden a mountain bike on and off since I was 14 but never dedicated the time to building skills or regularly train. Then, after the birth of my son, when I was 32, I fell in love with the modern mountain bikes and the gorgeous places my bike could take me.
In 2010, My husband encouraged me to sign up for a mountain bike race in St. George, Utah and I decided to go for it, not really knowing what I was getting into. In a matter of 5 months, my whole world had opened up and I was racing pro at the local level! I met a new community of great people and had a passion for racing that was unmatched by anything I had ever done previously. The next season, I secured my pro license from the national governing board (USAC). The national pro races were very humbling and a big step up from local pro racing.
I persevered, learned a lot about training and racing, and started to perform well at the national level. At the end of 2012, I was invited to join the Jamis Factory Racing Team and have been on it ever since! I raced in the elite National and World Cup races for the next few years. In 2014, at the end of the mountain bike season, I spent a few weeks learning how to ride a Time Trial bike (a road bike where you are in a low aerodynamic position). I won the Master’s National Championship Time Trial and Road Race. I retired from racing in 2017 and haven’t looked back! However, all of those years of racing built a strong foundation for me to become an excellent mountain bike skills coach.
As a mountain bike athlete, I was always powerful and fitness came easily. However, the skills did not come naturally to me. I hired a skills coach after my first season of racing and worked with various coaches over the years to develop concise and confident skills. All of those years working on skills, thinking about skills and practicing skills made me into the coach I am now. I have thought so deeply about each movement and tried so many ways of riding them and communicating them, that I have a deep understanding of everything that a rider needs to do to ride a mountain bike successfully.
I started coaching in 2011 on a casual, irregular basis and really enjoyed the process of coaching.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting a business was a fun challenge. It was a great way to parlay my drive, passion, and experience as a professional athlete into something so much more than what I could achieve by myself. It became more about what I could get my clients and the women around me to achieve. While there were obstacles to building the business, I was rewarded by what I was creating and that kept me going.
The real fun began when I went from being a solopreneur to an entrepreneur! Once again, when I started Women in the Mountains, I expected it to just be me coaching and didn’t have the long-term vision of it becoming an ongoing company. Then when I started to have other women join me as coaches than as staff, I expanded in so many ways. Every woman that has worked for me along the way has taught me valuable lessons and has contributed to empowering other women and the is the end goal in what I am doing.
In the past few years, I have taken a few courses on how to run a business and have learned how to grow in a sustainable way, while keeping the core vision intact. Every “bump” in the road along the way has taught me a lesson and I believe I am a stronger CEO because of them. I wouldn’t take away any of the experiences I’ve had since they all contributed to where I am today. And where I am today is a solid, confident business owner.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We help female mountain bike riders go from fearing the hills to excelling at every trail by mastering their riding skills.
Women in the Mountains was created to build mountain bike skills for women of all levels. Bring your love for bicycles, an avid appreciation for the outdoors, and a smile! Our clinics provide the opportunity to enhance your mountain biking skills in a comfortable and relaxed setting. While building physical skills, we also work on mindset. We foster an environment of personal growth and empowerment, both on and off the bike.
We take the development of skills from a safe and logical standpoint. We break down each skill and build it in ways that anyone can master. With safety as the number one goal, we work conservatively and thoughtfully and watch each client be sure they are ready to move on to the next skill. We have hundreds of students with success stories, and we are certain that we can help you take mountain biking to your next level.
We are different from other coaching organizations because we offer highly personalized coaching for adult women. We have worked for years to develop a curriculum that has an incredibly high success rate.
All of our coaches are PMBIA certified, excellent riders, and experienced teachers. They have extensive coaching certifications, are excellent riders, and are experienced teachers. Come work with the best mountain bike instructors in the country!
In 2021, we added an incredible online mountain bike coaching platform. It is called the Women in the Mountains “Signature Course” and is the first online coaching platform for women of its kind. Learn at your own pace with the support of over 45 skills videos. You will be supported by coach Erica with private and group virtual coaching. We help female mountain bike riders go from fearing the hills to excelling at every trail by mastering their riding skills.