More women are shredding dirt and catching air while mountain biking in Des Moines.
Why it matters: The sport has been traditionally male-dominated, and local cyclist Jolie Costello is hoping to grow the city’s already strong female mountain biking community even more.
State of play: Costello is helping organize International Women’s MTB Day on May 3 through Denman’s near Greenwood Park .
- The free group ride has grown from 20 riders four years ago to more than 150 expected this year.
How it started: Costello’s venture into mountain biking started by accident while she was a student at the University of Iowa.
- In Iowa City, she typically did long-distance road cycling. But after a football game one evening, Costello biked through the woods with a group of friends.
- “I was like, ‘Wow, riding in the woods is way more fun than riding on the highway where a bunch of cars are zipping past,'” she says.
Now, after moving to Des Moines six years ago, the mother of two regularly competes and encourages other women to give the trails a try, even if they don’t own a mountain bike…