Colorado served up another spectacular weekend for the Little Bella's Beti Bike Bash camp!  The Dream Team of mentors (Els, Kelsey, Amy, Gage, and myself were greeted with blue skies, perfect riding temperatures, and stoked little rippers as we descended on Lakewood, Colorado for two days of camp.  It is so great to be partnered with Beti Bike Bash to promote riding and getting girls on bikes.

Saturday's camp started with a pretty serious game of "Waa".  The ever elusive unicorn was even one of the animal signs chosen to make an appearance in the game.  Well played ladies, well played.  After recovering from Waa, it was on to safety bike checks, "pre-ride" of the race course for Sunday and more ripping through the Bear Lake trails.  From the different high points of the park, my group could see most of the trails and it was pretty awesome to see lines of Little Bellas jersey riding through the tall grass and trees, in all different areas of the park.  One of the girls in my group even managed an unscheduled dismount into the only ditch in the park with mud in it.  More mud, more fun. And during lunch, I saw Kelsey and Amy's group, in a perfect circle, all looking towards the center.  I casually walked over and asked, What are y'all doing?  Amy simply looked up and said, Ant TV, Episode 1, Food Apocalypse.  They we circling a big ant hill and tossing ants small pieces of food to watch them try to carry it back to their hill.  We smiled at each other and I simply said carry on. Great day.

Sunday featured the full swing Bash!  More girls and more people added another element to the camp and the energy was alive and kicking.  After a morning ride, we lined up to cheer on the start of the Women's Pro race and stuck around to give a rousing send off to one of our mentors who was also racing.  30 girls group chant!  We had lunch, did a massive "Slow Race" and then it was off to the Elevation Cycles Little Bellas race.  Girls could do 1,2,3 laps, complete with roll-up, tunnel of cheering fans, and a finish to rival the Pro races. One of our Little Bellas carried 4 stuffed animals with her, 3 in the pockets and one sticking out the front of her jersey.  No stuffed animal left behind! All the girls finished strong and it was a magical experience to watch.  The day rounded out with a Pro question and answer session so the girls got a chance to interact with and have their jerseys signed by some of the women at the top of the sport.  The questions were priceless and these sessions always make lasting memories for the girls. One Little Bella racer had a tough time with her chain and was a little disappointed but when one of the pros described how she had the same problem but stuck it out and finished, the look of disappointment changed to one of pride that she finished the race just like Kara did and persevered.  It was awesome to see.  Kara, Evelyn, and Erin were so generous with their time to make it happen and it was much appreciated.  We couldn't have asked for better weather, better people, and better support for our whole program over this weekend.  Beti Bike Bash rocked!!  Until we meet again next year.

- Sarah Schreib, Program Specialist and Vermont Lead