PERRYSVILLE — Sharing her love for mountain biking is a way Stacy Rhea pays it forward.
Rhea, an endurance and active lifestyle coach in northeast Ohio, wants others to enjoy the sport as much as she does.
As part of a recent women’s mountain bike skills camp at Camp Nuhop — organized by Mat Mesarchik, founder and series director of the Northern Ohio Mountain Bike Series — Rhea worked with beginners to build confidence and increase comfort on a mountain bike.
“It was inspiring to watch some of these women that were there who had never been on a mountain bike,” said Ashley Suhoski, who works in special operations at Specialized Bicycle Components in Columbus.
Suhoski was a first-time participant in the My Roar Is Louder women’s mountain bike skills camp, which took place from June 12 to 14. She said her goal was to work on drops, specifically non-rollable mountain bike drops.
“I felt like by the end of the class, I went from a confidence level of like a five to an eight,” said Suhoski, who’s been mountain biking for about six years.
The skills camp at Camp Nuhop included meals, lodging and coaching clinics — led by Rhea, Jen Malik and Ashley Hendershot. Participants and coaches from Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan also got to enjoy campfires, swimming and trail rides.
“Camp Nuhop was instrumental in making this possible,” Mesarchik said.
Each camper also received a goody bag thanks to donations from Ashland Bike Co. and Fin’s Performance & Family Footwear and Fin Feather Fur Outfitters, he said.
Including coaches, about 20 women participated in this year’s camp.
Weekend skills camp empowers riders
Suhoski said she felt empowered during the weekend skills camp, surrounded by other women who shared similar passions for the sport.
“I felt like I gained a lot of friendship from that weekend,” she said.
Mountain biking is still widely considered a male-dominated sport, Suhoski said, from riding trails to the manufacturing industry.
But events like My Roar Is Louder are helping normalize women in the sport, while also boosting confidence in younger generations of women, she said.
“Watching them (youth riders) feeling more comfortable doing things that they might not try at home on their own was amazing,” Suhoski said.
It was inspiring to watch some of these women that were there who had never been on a mountain bike.
Ashley Suhoski
Woman-to-woman coaching is also an important factor to help boost camaraderie and inspire riders to share their knowledge with others down the road, Rhea said.
“As a kid, I was super shy,” Rhea said. “The confidence I have gained from doing sports and being out here and meeting people has been life changing.”
The first women’s skills camp took place two years ago, Mesarchik said. Last year’s event was cancelled due to a variety of logistics about a week before the camp.
One of the goals this year was to elevate the event to a higher level, the NOMBS director said. Partnering with Camp Nuhop was instrumental in this effort.
“The goal now is to be back at Camp Nuhop on the same weekend next year and refine the experience and make it even better for the women that came,” Mesarchik said.
Mountain biking connections in day-to-day life
Rhea said she works with people of all ages and skill levels to help them live a more active lifestyle on a daily basis. On the flip side, she coaches endurance — working on endurance with athletes to help improve their performances.
These skills lend themselves well to mountain biking.
“Being on the bike requires a lot of stability, balance and coordination. Being able to help people, off the bike, enhance their skills is part of my passion as well,” Rhea said.
After a 13-year career as a pastry chef, Suhoski now works at Specialized Bicycle Components in Columbus. Beginning in shipping and receiving at Specialized, she worked her way up to help launch a special project about four years ago known as “Ship to Home,” which ships bikes directly to riders who may not have a shop near them.
Suhoski said she’s learned how to be a bike mechanic during her time at Specialized. She also went through and now helps with a program titled “Specialized University,” which equipped Suhoski to specialize in e-bikes.
“It’s interesting how we all get started in this (biking),” Rhea said. “When I first got into biking, I didn’t really know anything about it. I wanted to be outdoors and I ended up getting a mountain bike.”
While living in Colorado, Rhea had the opportunity to ride along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and couldn’t get over the excitement of that ride for three days, she said.
“I have never forgotten that ride. That’s where the passion comes to share that with other people,” Rhea said. “Being outdoors, to me that’s our (adults) playground.”
Suhoski said she encourages anyone interested in trying mountain biking to just go for it, to try something new and don’t let fear of embarrassment get in the way.
Rhea agreed that no matter the skill level, everyone has been at the starting line at some point.
“We grow as a person and we gain that confidence. It bleeds into every other aspect of your life,” she said. “It’s not just on the trails. As you find out what you are made of on the inside and what you’re capable of, it opens up so many other doors in your life to try other things.”
