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Filthy Foxes Dirty Weekend 2014 Report

Filthy Foxes Dirty Weekend - event report

BY: Maddie Horton

Published: 2nd June, 2014

I have to admit that not all of my ideas are good ones, but when I started pondering the idea of how to make a women’s mountain bike event more than just a race with girls instead of boys, I knew I was onto something worthwhile.

The Filthy Foxes Dirty Weekend was born in 2013, and with one event under our belts Jay and I had a much better idea of what would work and what wouldn’t. We tweaked a few things for 2014, and this weekend’s event went down a storm.

It’s a pretty simple idea – coaching first, followed by challenges. We booked instructors to coach a variety of activities with two things in mind.
1) Skills
2) Independence
This year’s coached activities were: Outdoor circuits, trail running, mountain bike skills, mountain bike line choice, navigation, yoga, road riding.

We then gave the girls a chance to test their new found skills with a variety of challenges: Trail running + Nav challenge (treasure hunt), mountain bike endurance challenge, skills challenge, skid competition.

The most important thing about the weekend, is that you can do as much or as little as you want. Some girls did everything (girls know how to get value for money!), and some did just a few things, but everyone went home having learned some new skills and feeling more confident about going out and doing sport on their own or with their friends.

On top of this we also had Evans Cycles Plymouth offering free tech support, bike setup and ‘how to’ drop in sessions. RSF Suspension tuning also came along to show the girls how to set up their suspension.

To help the girls keep their bodies working all weekend, Liz from Revolution Physio came down to offer sports massage as well injury advice. Knowing a good idea when they see one, Wiggle also jumped on board to offer some lovely freebies.

Whackjob designed our lovely event T Shirts and came along to showcase their comfy casual range of clothing. You can spot some of their kit in the photos - the girls could not wait to try it out!

Keeping everyone well fed were Rob and Jane Smith who provided breakfast lunch and dinner for anyone who wanted it, in return for donations to the Primrose Foundation (Breast Cancer Charity). For their efforts, they took home £400 for the cause. Well done Rob and Jane, and thank you to everyone who donated.

What is most striking about this event is just how friendly everyone taking part is. From the moment they arrived to sign on for their activities, to the moment they poured their tired bodies into their cars for the journey home, the girls were relaxed and smiley. On Sunday afternoon emails and phone numbers were being exchanged after new friendships and new ride groups were formed.

We will be organising the event again in 2015 – event information will appear on our facebook page and website when everything is confirmed. Please help us make it bigger and better by telling all your friends about it!

Maddie and Jay Horton (Fully Sussed)

Click any of the images below for a larger view / slideshow

Free bike check and setup

Outdoor Circuits led by Belle Compton

Trail running technique session

Whackjob - official event T Shirt providers

Navigation session with Kathryn Blackie-Taylor

Led road ride with Alli Holland and Elaine Mason

Mountain bike skills challenge

Treasure hunt! Which way up does the map go?

Yoga with Kathryn Blackie-Taylor (doitwithyoga)

Refuelling after a long day

Mountain bike line choice practice

Evening sunshine in the campsite

Mountain bike endurance challenge - plenty of time for photos

Mountain bike skills coaching

Mountain bike endurance challenge

More on the Filthy Foxes Dirty Weekend 2014:

Event Calendar Listing

Blogger Info:

Maddie Horton

Fully Sussed is run by husband and wife duo Jay and Maddie Horton.
Mountain bike enthusiasts, used-to-be racers and voluntary coaches, now scratching a living as event crew / lifters and shifters.

www.fullysussed.co.uk