We think the Skurtzendirt weekend is great. But don't take our word for it!
Here are a few testimonials from some past
Skurtz participants:
June 30, 2005 .. My girlfriend and I returned home sporting numerous
bandages from our first Skurtzendirt. Jokingly, we ribbed about trying to
beat each other for the "Best Boo-Boo" award. Lyn hoped to take the prize
with a skinned elbow, but I topped her with a trip to Urgent Care for 5
stitches on my leg! Actually my injury wasn't very bad, but still the new
First Aid Kit is much appreciated. Best of all, the professional care and
comfort I received from the "Dirt Crew" and friends was absolutely
fantastic. Oh yeah, I definitely want to go again next year! This had been a
weekend full of fun rides, enthusiastic demonstrations, informative clinics,
terrific meals, cool prizes, lots of laughs, lots of love, lots of talented
gals sharing their sport with rookies like me. This was Sisterhood at its
Best!!!
Rebecca H., Sandpoint
--------------------------------------------
I just wanted to let you ladies know what an amazing time I had at Skurtz
this year. I had been to your event once before, several years ago, and this
year I could see how much work you gals keep putting in to make it a great
event! Being coached by confident women who have great skills and even
better attitudes is such a positive experience! I loved the food, the swag
and the demonstrations! It was really evident that a lot of time and effort
was put into collecting those AWESOME raffle prizes, nice work!
Thanks for putting on such an empowering women only event. There is
nothing like riding with a group of women who are together to learn and
support each other, and having the opportunity to ride with an Olympic
medalist was a thrill! Your hard work and commitment show - keep up the
fabulous work!
Cherice F.
(2005 Participant)
--------------------------------------------
Dear Women of Skurtzendirt,
Thank you so much for this wonderful learning experience. Skurtzendirt
has helped me improve my riding so much. Also thank you so much for the
fabulous bike and backpack. I have looked up a bunch of trails in Hawaii
that I can ride on. Now since I started mountain biking my younger brother
and my father are also going to start mountain biking. Thank you so much for
the great experience! Sincerely, Sarah H.
(2005 Participant)
--------------------------------------------
"I can't wait for my second year at
Skurtzendirt. Last year, my first, was
incredible. I left camp that weekend having
learned important biking skills that I had never
learned before. My riding has improved so much
from the instruction I received. I even won the
bike - a Kona Lava Dome, which I absolutely
love! Thanks so much to all the volunteers and
sponsors who make this weekend for women
possible. This is a high class event put
together by great people for an awesome purpose.
See you in July!"
Tomia B. - 2002 Skurtz Participant
--------------------------------------------
"I just wanted to let you know what a great time I had at Skurtzendirt and to thank you and all of your volunteers for putting together this great instructional weekend.
It was a pleasant weekend from the time I arrived until the time I left.
I gained a lot more confidence on my bike and was able to tackle the Gold Hill Trail last week, which is a huge accomplishment for me. THANK YOU!
My friends and I could not believe all of the wonderful prizes you gave out. I want to especially thank you for the Season Pass to Schweitzer. It is greatly appreciated for this single mom to be able to have that opportunity. I love to ski! THANK YOU--THANK YOU!
And, last but not least, the food was great and the t-shirts were awesome. I know it takes a lot of work to put this together, and just wanted you to know that it is appreciated.
See you next year!"
Dana Yates of Sagle, Idaho - Skurtzendirt 2001 participant
Back to Top
--------------------------------------------
Loved the variety
"Thank you, thank you for a magnificent weekend! Superbly organized and
so much fun. How you manage to squeeze so much variety into one weekend is a true testimony to teamwork. Truly something available for everyone and so much flexibility in the classes and rides - not an easy thing with such a variety of ladies. I learned so much new and met so many neat people - I truly feel empowered!...
Again, thank you ladies immensely - YOU ARE GREAT!!!"
Sherrie E. - Skurtzendirt 2001 participant
Back to Top
------------------------------------------------
Not a Mountain Biker before? She is now.
"I read about Skürtzendirt a couple of years ago and thought it sounded like fun and when I read about it coming up this year in the Weekend section I decided I needed to do it. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into at the time. I had a mountain bike and had ridden on dirt trails some of which occasionally had rocks or roots in them and I rarely needed to change from the middle gear to the “granny’ gear. Was I a mountain biker?
After completing the short test ride and with some deliberation I succumbed to the advanced group. Before leaving for the morning session the group was asked what we wanted to learn, as others tossed out ideas my thought was EVERYTHING. HOLY SMOKES what have I gotten myself in to?!!!!!! On this ride I learned there was actually a name for what I did when I sometimes felt lazy and didn’t want to stop or was waiting for people to ride on ahead - I think it is called ratcheting. Later I learned that the granny gear is really you friend on steep up hills and that there is a fine line where your weight needs to be in order to maintain traction. Choosing a line and then looking ahead is the difference between avoiding or running into a boulder or tree (thankfully I did not need to experience that first hand). I can remember growing up having a bike that required back pedaling to stop and when handle bar breaks came out I learned to use the back break so as to avoid flying over the handlebars. This weekend I learned it is OK to use the front break a little on a downhill. I learned a bike does three things well; roll, stop or steer but those cannot be done in combinations. I learned how to start in the middle of a steep up or down hill without loosing traction or control (although much more practice is still needed on those). Getting back to camp after the morning session I couldn’t decide which I would benefit from more, a nap or attending workshops.
I chose the workshops and as it turned out I really learned a lot in them especially changing a tire. I was really having a tough time putting the tube and tire back on when suddenly it was very easy, although I had a sick feeling that I would not be able to fully inflate it again. Taking the tube out once again and upon close inspection my gut feeling was correct; I had punctured a perfectly good tube! As luck would have it in the “schwag” bag I received at check in not only did I have a spare tube but a patch kit as well. I felt fortunate enough to learn not only what not to do when changing a tire but also how to patch a tube. However because of the extra learning at that station I only had time for one other station. I chose fixing a chain (thank goodness I did not need to use my own chain to practice on, who knows what would have happened then!).
The afternoon session was great my group ended up doing a little of what each of the other groups would concentrate on, technical up and down hills and technical flats. On this ride I was able to put in to use much of what was learned in the morning session. The best part of the ride was the downhill at the top of the amphitheater. Our group sent our volunteer Kerry (the fearless Canadian) down first to check it out and as we watched her skid down, it only made me want to try it more. While the rest of the group was deliberating going that way or an easier way all I could do was stand there shaking my head up and down. I finally spoke up and said "I want to go." I just couldn’t resist the challenge and I never thought I couldn’t do it. I had learned skills to do this now here was my chance to try. I had to start over after the first attempt but made it further down the second time and then put to use the starting on a steep downhill which worked I made my way down. Even though the afternoon session was a good ride I was never so happy as to finally arrive at the swim area. Now, I was in my element and even was able to impart some of my knowledge of swimming to our volunteer. Heading back to camp however I found that I had make a big mistake getting off the bike (I hadn’t done much riding prior to this weekend) as getting back on the saddle sure did hurt! (I really could have used one of the “Volvo” seats others won at the raffle later on). Once again back at camp I was torn between eating or sleeping and then looking at my bike I saw how unfortunate it was that I didn’t have the chance to attend the "how to clean your bike" workshop, oh well. I ended up grabbing one of my wine coolers, of course that did nothing to combat my tiredness but it sure tasted great, then headed to dinner. What a feast! Especially after a day of hard riding. Now that I had a full stomach and a couple of coolers by this time, it was all I could do to stay awake for the raffle and as luck would have it I could have dozed. Thankfully Tianna Gregg started soon after the raffle but I could still only make it through two songs. I traipsed off to my tent and the last thing I remember were some faint strains of an Indigo Girls song.
Thankfully the rest of camp must have been exhausted from Saturday as well because no one was up at the crack of dawn Sunday. I was rested and not the least bit sore except for the spot mentioned earlier. Even though my spirits were up they weren’t quite up enough for Bernard Peak Burn; two hours of uphill just didn’t sound like fun at all. Saturday had really kicked my butt especially since I had never before been on trails like those we had ridden. I chose instead the Poker Ride and vowed to stay clipped in the whole way. (Along with all the new skills I acquired, so were my clip in shoes. I was thankful that I had the foresight to not stay clipped in all the time on Saturday or otherwise I’m sure I would have ended up with more cuts and bruises that I actually did.) The ride was a blast, easy compared to Saturday. Back at camp a big thanks to the massage goddesses!!!
I’ll never forget the volunteer asking me which group I wanted, intermediate or advanced. I chose intermediate and she asked, “are you sure you don’t want to challenge yourself?” Now I am glad I chose advanced, I was definitely challenged. Before this weekend I may have gotten off my bike and walked down Picabo Rock, I definitely would have walked up it. Now I have the skills to attack those rocks up and down, I still may not get through them, but I will eventually. I probably wouldn’t have even attempted the loose gravel on the downhill in to the amphitheater but now I have skills to at least try.
In answer to the question posed earlier, Was I a mountain biker? definitely NOT!
Now, however, I have the skills to become one thanks to Skürtzendirt."
Judy Kelsch - Skurtzendirt 2001 participant
Back to Top
------------------------------------------------
Joy
ride
Women shift
into a world of empowerment through mountain biking at a camp
called Skurtzendirt
Copyright 2001,
The Spokesman-Review
Sunday, July
29, 2001
By Cynthia Taggart, Staff writer
My lack of guts
began to alarm me the moment I parked my car at Farragut State Park's
Thimbleberry campground.
Four lean women
with Lycra shorts that hugged intimidating legs lifted high-tech
mountain bikes off cars around me. They had sturdy Cannondales and
Specialized Rock Hoppers, Treks and Alpine Designs with computers,
suspension systems and anatomically friendly seats. Gulp.
I leaned my
husband's black bike with no suspension, no computer and a rock-hard
seat against my Honda and wondered what I was doing at the Skurtzendirt
mountain bike weekend camp for women.
I'd heard the
8-year-old camp was no-pressure, targeting riders of every skill,
and an incredibly uplifting female experience.
"You'll
love it," Terri Porcarelli had insisted after we'd ridden road
bikes together in Coeur d'Alene last spring. She's my friend. I
believed her.
I pushed my
bike toward the check-in area where I'd most likely find Porcarelli,
one of Skurtzendirt's 40 volunteers. A flawless blue sky stretched
over the towering pines, and sun warmed the morning.
Riders at the
check-in table were less scary -- mothers and daughters, some in
baggy shorts and tank tops.
Skurtzendirt
was the brainchild of Heather Pugh, Leila Dompier and Beckett Matylinski
back in 1993. They raced mountain bikes but usually against men.
They wanted more women in their sport.
"Men coach
by putting each other down. Women coach by pulling each other up,"
Matylinski said at this year's camp. "We wanted a noncompetitive
event to excite women about mountain biking."
Sponsors and
volunteers helped them launch a once-a-year, nonprofit weekend camp
for women at 49 Degrees North. They named it Skurtzendirt, a catchy
play on skirts-and-dirt that leaves no doubt the gritty sport was
for women, too.
Sixty women
signed up to learn bike gearing, maneuvering, downhill and uphill
techniques and maintenance in an environment controlled by females.
The camp lasted
two years before life sent the three founders in different directions.
Nancy Brown, an expert mountain bike racer in Coeur d'Alene, resurrected
Skurtzendirt in 1996 and moved it to Farragut.
It has continued
every summer since. Ninety women from Kirkland, Wash., to Minneapolis
paid $75 each to play in the dirt this month. ``I'm not sure why
it's so successful,'' said Susan Drumheller, coordinator of this
year's camp. She also is a staff writer for the Idaho Spokesman-Review.
``We've been
able to figure out what works and what doesn't. I think it's the
supportive atmosphere. There's a lot of emphasis on fun.''
And safety.
I found scads of volunteers at check-in. They were easy to spot
in their lavender bike jerseys and short, full skirts, which they
wore over bike shorts. Several male volunteers wore kilts in the
Skurtzendirt spirit.
Volunteers checked
every rider's helmet for fit and bike for safety. Juline Taylor
showed Barb Allen, from Hamilton, Mont., how to adjust her seat
with an Allen wrench.
Porcarelli led
a yoga session on tarps to help riders stretch.
Check-in's finale
was a bike skill evaluation course that channeled riders into appropriate
groups for the weekend.
Signs explained
that beginners don't know how to shift, haven't ridden trails and
are intimidated by obstacles. Intermediates know basic skills, can
handle small obstacles, but walk up or down steep hills. Advanced
riders tackle large obstacles, narrow trails and steep hills, and
ride by instinct.
Allen eased
past the short course's tight right turn, over rocks and roots and
between trees. She tied a blue ribbon on her helmet to signify her
intermediate level.
y ribbon was
unquestionably beginner green, and I joined about 20 other women.
Most riders were intermediate, and 30 were advanced.
Women who fit
in two levels typically chose the lower group after volunteers,
all experienced riders, reminded them that the camp's goal was fun.
Bee Gee Cole,
a grocery store co-owner from Eureka, Mont., rode the test course
in sandals and earned a beginner's spot. She didn't know a ride
was part of checking in. Her friend, Kathleen Bolen, was a beginner,
too. We decided to stick together.
Cole, 55, and
Bolen, 54, had ridden their bikes casually for eight years. Both
wanted more skills, and both were pleased their ages fit neatly
into the spectrum of riders.
``I thought
there would be more young people,'' Cole said. Most campers and
volunteers were between 30 and 50 years old. But plenty of teens,
young adults and grandmothers filled out the ranks. No one seemed
to notice age.
Alison Karpenko
led the beginners. She's an editor at the Idaho Spokesman-Review
and an avid mountain biker who ripped her knee apart riding a few
years ago. She set a no-pressure tone immediately.
``Go at your
own pace,'' she said. A rainbow of helmets bobbed as nervous riders
nodded. ``The goal is personal achievement. Walk if you need to
or ask a volunteer for more instruction.''
Beginners split
into small groups to learn gearing, cornering and skills for uphills,
downhills and obstacles.
Karpenko flattened
herself over her handlebars and powered up a 20-yard, loose-rock
covered dirt trail to demonstrate the uphill.
``Push, push,
push!'' she cheered as we each tried to imitate her.
The gear-shifting
lesson was easier, on an old paved service road. Matylinski, back
at Skurtzendirt for the first time since 1993, led riders around
a series of trees to teach cornering skills.
``Speed is your
friend,'' chanted volunteer Heather Murphree from Sandpoint until
riders joined in.
Julie Delsaso,
in hot pink bike shorts and a helmet with a ``Girls love dirt''
sticker on the front, taught downhill skills on a narrow dirt trail
edged with trees and weeds. No one balked until they reached the
obstacle course at the bottom.
A flat trail
sprinkled with football-sized rocks and logs as big as fence posts
stretched behind teacher Pam Wilkens. Murphree mentioned the shoulder
her husband broke when a stick lodged in his spokes. No one volunteered
to go first.
Riders dodged
some obstacles and bounced over others. One woman fell. She wasn't
hurt, but registered nurse Kelly McAnally and a well-supplied medical
tent were ready. A white skirt marked with a red cross hung from
the tent's door.
``I learned
so much,'' Cole said as we headed to her campsite for lunch. She
peeled a jicama and passed me a chunk. Our nervousness had bonded
us.
``It's pretty
amazing to me to be around that many very friendly women,'' she
said.
Cole napped
through afternoon workshops on tire changing, chain repair, hair-wraps
and backcountry riding. But Genie Pelizzari of Sandpoint took advantage
of the art table to stick batlike red wings on her helmet. She wanted
to look like last year's mascot, a female superhero from a 19th-century
bike ad.
Three hours
of rest ended with group rides to try the skills we'd learned. Cole,
Bolen and I stuck with Karpenko, who promised a lightweight ride
with only one scary spot - a short, steep drop covered with loose
rocks.
We knew the
drill by then: We were free to walk at any time. Marilyn Courrier,
a volunteer who rode in last place to watch over us, told us she'd
walked down the treacherous drop once. Our fear mushroomed.
But Karpenko
led us down trails that built our confidence. Courrier called out
upcoming terrain changes so we could mentally prepare. We relaxed
so much that the alarming drop caught us off-guard.
Karpenko flew
down it, then shouted for the rest of us to stop. Another group
was riding the road at the hill's end.
The drop grew
more sinister while we stared at it from above. By the time Karpenko
signalled us to go, we all intended to walk.
The 10-foot
hill intimidated me so much that my hands gripped the brakes like
a vise and the bike wouldn't move whether I walked or rode. That's
when the yells from the group on the road started.
``Come on, Cindy.
You can do it. You can.''
The cries wormed
into my brain and fought with my fear. I noticed Porcarelli with
the group below. Her magnetic smile worked like oil on my cramped
hands. Before I understood what was happening, my fingers eased
on the brakes, and my feet lifted to the pedals.
It was like
running over hot coals for a mother's hug. My moment of terror ended
with Porcarelli's high-five and exuberant shouts of praise from
her group.
The rest of
the ride was a snap, particularly after Karpenko led us to a boat
launch on breathtaking Lake Pend Oreille.
We hit the water
in bike shorts and exercise bras, floated among sailboats and kayaks,
then climbed on our bikes for the last half of the ride. Weeds whipped
our legs a rashy pink, and short hills taxed our legs, but our spirits
were too high to notice.
``It was wonderful,
absolutely wonderful,'' Cole said as caterers loaded picnic tables
with trays of butternut squash ravioli, giant strawberries, salads,
lemon bars and brownies.
Drumheller played
reveille on her trumpet to announce chow. Every face at dinner beamed,
and chatter never stopped.
Cole won a red
fleece pullover in the after-dinner raffle. Another woman won a
mountain bike and immediately donated her old one to Sandpoint's
McGuckin children. The children's wretched living conditions were
national news last month.
That donation
prompted another rider to donate her bike to the children even though
she had no replacement for it.
``I've been
thinking about what to do for those kids, and then the opportunity
presented itself,'' she said, and asked for anonymity.
Singer
Tiana
Gregg finished the day with the same magnanimous spirit that
had prevailed since check-in. Skurtzendirt ended Sunday afternoon
after morning rides, free massages and sea kayak rides.
``It was so
much more than just bike riding,'' Bolen said a few days later.
``It was really upbeat. I never felt bad about bailing out.
``Nobody complained
about the showers being a mile away. It was beautiful.''
How true. I
can't wait for next year.
Back
to Top
------------------------------------------------
Copyright 1996,
The Spokesman-Review
Wednesday, May
22, 1996
By Cynthia Taggart, Staff writer
Sticks and stones
may break some bones, but they don't scare Anne Grabowski.
``I like the
adventure of mountain biking,'' she says, her face glowing with
energy. ``I like to push my limits.''
Jennifer Foster,
on the other hand, admits a healthy fear of sticks, stones, roots
and rocks.
``I'm not very
competitive,'' she says, wrinkling her nose. ``I like to mountain-bike
because of where you can get. But for me, there's a strong fear
factor.''
Despite their
differing styles on the trails, the two Coeur d'Alene women ride
for the same reasons: challenge, peace, release, strong legs.
To share the
thrill, Anne and Jennifer have planned a mountain-bike weekend for
women at Farragut State Park on June 8 and 9 - Skurtzendirt. They'll
teach women how to ride over logs and plunge downhill, clean their
chains and change their tires.
``It's worth
it to go for the camaraderie, for the network of women riders,''
Jennifer says. ``For women at my level, it can be frustrating trying
to find someone to ride with.''
Anne resurrected
Skurtzendirt this year after a two-year hiatus. Previous organizers
had held the camp in Washington for two years, then dropped it after
1994.
Anne loves negotiating
back-country trails in the Panhandle, dodging ruts, charging up
rocky hills, watching animals.
Anne, 28, is
in the expert elite class, a half-step from pro. But she didn't
get into cycling to make money and doesn't plan to take the last
step.
The sport is
her escape from a noisy world and an outlet for her competitiveness
- and that's all she wants from it.
``I wanted something
I could do the rest of my life,'' she says, adding with a laugh,
``And I always liked the way cyclists look with all their gear.
So cool.''
Back to Top
--------------------------------------------
Get Radical: Ride a Bike
By Susan Drumheller
The modern women's movement, which dates back to the 1850s, got a huge
boost from the bicycle. Initially, the giant high-wheeler bicycles, with
their 60-pound heft and solid tires, were a tad unwieldy for all but Amazon
women. Men fared little better, and more than 1,000 deaths were attributed
to high-wheeler headers.
Women had the added problem of ridiculous clothing, such as corsets and
long, confining skirts. Side-saddle bicycles were invented for women, but
the stance required proved impractical. High-wheeler use peaked in 1880, but
before 1890, few women rode bicycles.
In the 1890s, bicycles became more affordable and the "safety' bicycle,
the predecessor to the modern bicycle with pneumatic tires, became the norm.
A third of all bicycles in 1896 had a drop frame for women. Bicycles were
lighter and more manageable, but there was still much resistance to women
riders:
When Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a leading women's suffragist,
proclaimed that woman was riding to suffrage on a bicycle, a reverend in
Atlanta replied that woman was riding to the devil;
A Flushing, N.Y., school board declared that it was immoral for any young
lady to ride a bicycle and if a teacher road a bicycle it would lead to
immorality among children;
The Philadelphia Taggart Times hailed the decline in bicycle sales as a
boon to womankind since it had led young and innocent girls into "ruin and
disgrace.
But woman was on a roll. Armed with the knowledge of what the bicycle
offered, she was too smart and daring to dismount. To Mrs. Reginald De Koven,
the bicycle took on heroic proportions in women's lives. She was quoted in
the August 1895 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine as saying, "To men, rich or
poor, the bicycle is an unmixed blessing, but to women it is deliverance,
revolution, salvation.
To ride astraddle, however, women's fashions were forced to change - and
change they did, to the collective relief of sensible women throughout the
western world. The bustles and corsets, which forced an hourglass figure on
women, constricted their breathing and threatened the unborn, went to the
attics of yesteryear.
The bicycle, wrote George Gipe in The Great American Sports Book,
Doubleday, 1873, "changed the very nature of womanhood as well as the style
of clothing she wore and the way she acted toward men.'' Gipe goes on to
write that man "flaunted his two-leggedness by wearing tight trousers,
crossing his legs, and walking in long strides- the normal woman was forced
to be bolt upright in her floor-length skirt with her legs together. When
she walked, her gait was minced, rather like a trained seal.
In the 1880s, the bicycle revived bloomers, loose fitting trousers
adapted from harem trousers. They were named after Amelia Jenks Bloomer, an
editor of a reform journal in the 1850s, who promoted use of the trousers.
The baggy knickers made bicycle riding possible.
Then came "rational dress," which was a slender suit with knickers,
jodpurs, sports jacket, a high collar shirt and hat. By 1894, it was common
to see women in divided skirts, bloomers and knickerbockers. A writer in an
1893 edition of Northern Wheeler declared, "woman has taken her stand and
her seat is in the saddle-this is not a revolt, it is a revolution.
But by the 1900s, women riders still had not received acceptance by the
male-dominated society. When Marguerite Gast was planning a record-setting
5,000-mile bike trip, the New York Telegraph described her and other serious
women cyclsts as unwomanly and repulsive. The Nassau, NY, district attorney
said it was "improper, immoral and illegal to make such an exhibition on the
public highway.
Well, all I can say Mr. D.A., is Eat My Dirt! It's a good thing you're
dead or you'd be outraged by our exhibition, Skurtzendirt, this summer at
Farragut State Park.
And the beauty of being a woman in the 1990s is that we have the freedom
to wear pretty much what we want - trousers, long skirts, mini-skirts,
skin-tight bike shorts, jeans, bikinis - take your pick.
Back to Top
--------------------------------------------
An interesting use of the Skurtz sticker!
