MONTANA

At first, I hated Montana. Ok, ok, hate is a strong word. How about at first, I wasn’t enamored with Montana.

I had these visions of Montana being filled with huge, snow-capped mountains and alpine lakes with herds of elk wandering along the horizon. That may be the case in Glacier National Park, but y’all know how I feel about NPs, so ...

Montana “welcomed” me with an insane amount of Trump flags, and rolling hills of burned brown grass as far as the eye could see. Where the hell were the snow-capped mountains and wildflowers? If I hadn’t been committed to working a women’s MTB clinic in Whitefish, I would have just kept driving to Canada.

But then - over time - I fell in love with Whitefish. I was so lucky to be camping on a friend’s property right in town, so I could walk or ride my bike everywhere I wanted to go. The pine trees are so very tall, there are so many lakes and a river, and such an amazing network of trails. My first visit was in early July, and it stayed light until well after 10 pm!

Lots of trees and blue mountains.

Bonsai Brewing - great beer, plentiful dog treats, and a very chill vibe.

Sunset from my friend's property in town.

One of many lakes along the Whitefish Trail that the girls and I frequented.

In all honesty, Whitefish and I didn’t get along at first. I was there over the 4th of July holiday, and people in Whitefish LOVE their fireworks. Every house in the neighborhood had a different type of exploding thing they were setting off, and I swear they were all competing to see who could blow up more shit, well into the wee hours. Of course, the girls were traumatized, so I was pissed.

My anger subsided the next day when I got to help coach a bunch of badass women at Whitefish Mountain Resort. This was my first real foray into a lift-serviced bike park and I was pretty nervous. But once I chased the jitters away, we laughed, we rode, we sweated, we drank beer, and we laughed a lot more. It was amazing, as it always is whenever I get to work with Ladies AllRide.

Imagine showing up to a clinic and finding out we are your instructors. 

I swear we are actually teaching a MTB maneuver here.  I swear. 

I love these coaches and the mission of this company so much.

When I left Whitefish in July, I didn’t have any plan to return. It was alright, but I had lots of other places I wanted to explore. Fast forward to August, when Whitefish was a good place to spend a night or two on the drive from Idaho to Canada. That stopover lasted almost two weeks and lit a fire deep in my soul for this place.

So much singletrack.

All the trails are off-leash and dog friendly.

No shortage of clean, quiet lakes, out along the trails.

During my second visit, I was folded into the community, and that really made Whitefish shine. I went to the farmer’s market, got to know the folks at the local bike shop (Glacier Cyclery), spent time with friends and fellow coaches, and hung out with my people at the Whitefish Bike Retreat. I also got to explore every mile of singletrack on the Whitefish Trail, and ride Spencer Mountain - the earn-your-turns downhill area - several times. Whitefish has the type of bike culture I crave, and wonder if I’ll ever be able to build in my own home community.

Spencer Mountain.  #earnyourturns

Whatever you do, do NOT look at the tree.  I said DO NOT!

The stoke was high in Whitefish.

Community. Bikes. Trails. Dogs. Beer. Whitefish hits it out of the park.