Our Mission
More girls and women on bikes and make it ENDURO!
F1RE is the 1st and only enduro team in the Mid-Atlantic purposefully created to support anyone racing the U19 Female category. Teen girls and non-binary riders were the only ones on the roster for the first two years. In 2023 we expanded our mission in to offer support to adult women.
We’re here to race safely and have FUN while helping girls, women and non-binary folks feel more supported racing enduro.
If you have a mountain bike and a sense of adventure, you just might love enduro racing. We help demystify the sport, navigate the grassroots series and support the girls and women who’re interested in racing.
Impact of F1RE
In 2020 we worked with the Mid-Atlantic Super Series to open a U19 Girls Enduro category
In 2021 we worked with Sheduro, ESC and TrexXxFest to open a U19 Girls category
In 2022 we rostered 14 girls and non-binary kids
We sent 8 athletes to 12 races in 2021 for a total of 54 race registrations. Season Recap HERE
We swept 4 podiums in 2022 and won the 1st place team trophy at MASS
2023 brought recognition from Bicycling Magazine and Women’s MTB Network Podcast as we push to make enduro racing more welcoming for girls and women.
We rostered 32 girls and women in grassroots enduro racing in 2023 for a total of 91 race registrations, 4 podium sweeps and the win at all 3 female MASS podiums in the series. F1RE took the first place team podium for the second year.
Where we ride
We pre-ride enduro race location such as:
Blue Mt Bike Park
Greek Peak Bike Park
Raven (State College)
Glen Park
Walking Purchase Park
Jones Park
Mountain Creek Bike Park
Frederick Watershed
F1RE statement about gender
Our team was formed because our daughters love the gravity side of mountain biking but also because girls are significantly under-represented in enduro racing and we felt a team would be one way to help them feel more supported. When men/boys outnumber women/girls by 100 to 1, race day can be a little daunting. At our first vision meetings, we talked about how it feels to be a member of a marginalized group and decided to explicitly welcome and include trans girls and non-binary kids to our team and support structure. We recognize there’s a generational gap in how we think about gender and a more expansive definition of gender is new to many of us and that’s ok as long as we can thoughtfully consider the uniqueness and validity of every person’s experience of self.
F1RE is committed to inclusive and anti-discrimination practices in relation to all transgender girls, intersex girls, and non-binary participants and we aim to ensure that all riders’ rights are respected and protected. F1RE teammates, ride leaders and parents recognize that identifying as transgender, intersex and/or non-binary is not in any way related to an individual’s eligibility to ride and race enduro. An individual who identifies as a trans girl, intersex girl or non-binary athlete may ride with us.
Any conduct which fosters a hostile environment for any participant on the basis of gender identity will not be tolerated. The gender identity of any and all F1RE participants is considered confidential and private.
A note about language:
Transgender refers to an individual whose gender identity does not match their assigned birth gender. To learn more: https://www.genderspectrum.org/articles/understanding-gender
Intersex is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person was born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. To learn more: https://isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex/
Trans girls and intersex girls are individuals who self-identify as girls.
Non-binary is an umbrella term used for individuals that broaden commonly held definitions of gender, including it’s expression, associated identities, and/or other perceived gender norms, in one or more aspects of their life. Some individuals do not identify with male or female; others identify as a blend of both, while others identify with a gender but express their gender in ways that are different from stereotypical presentations.
Learn more here: https://www.genderspectrum.org/articles/understanding-gender