Photos by Ronia Nash

Sierra Roth loves adaptive mountain biking. Barreling down slick mountainsides at over 20 mph while careening past sudden drop-offs, navigating steep climbs and rocky terrain and being surrounded in thick, green forest are a few of the reasons. But there’s another perk of the sport that keeps bringing her and many others back: It’s an amazing way to find disability community.

A self-described adrenaline junkie from Calgary, Alberta, Roth says that in many ways adaptive mountain biking reminds her of her former life as a motocross racer. The 27-year-old competed in Canada’s national women’s series until 2013, when she sustained a T6 spinal cord injury in a motocross accident.

“Growing up 45 minutes from the Rocky Mountains, I spent a lot of time biking and snowboarding. So when my injury happened, that was probably the hardest thing — not doing all those things,” says Roth. “Adaptive mountain biking has given me an opportunity to do things with family and friends that I used to do and given me a piece of my life back.”

There is something about watching other people’s joy and being able to spread it. I know what it did for me, and having this sport that i look forward to and an activity and a social group and a connection to people — it gives you some­thing to work toward.

Jen Gadoua

Some friends with SCI, also injured in motorcross accidents, introduced her to the sport in 2021. She bought an adaptive mountain bike and, a month later, those same friends talked her into doing her first downhill race series. From that moment on, she was hooked on the sport.

At that first race, however, there was one thing that really stood out to her … she was the only woman.

Creating a Safe Space

Hoping to change that, Roth started an all-women’s adaptive mountain biking retreat in 2021 to introduce more women to the sport. “I found that a lot of outdoor adaptive recreation wasn’t really geared toward women,” she says. “I wanted to create a safe space for women to learn the bikes, have a good supportive crew around them and just have a good time being outside.” It also inspired her to become a certified adaptive mountain biking coach in 2021 through the Professional Mountain Bike Instructor Association. The certification was started to help get more individuals with disabilities on bikes through safer, better learning experiences. “I realized how important it was for someone like me [as a wheelchair user] to be coaching because adaptive mountain bikes are an intimidating thing to learn,” she says.

The annual retreats bring together as many as seven adaptive riders, with Roth as coach and mentor. The past two retreats have been held in Arizona and Squamish, British Columbia. Most of the women are newly injured, so traveling with a disability is the first hurdle they have to navigate. The women are together 24/7 for about a week, including three days of active mountain biking, riding an average of 6-8 miles a day, but the real magic happens in the moments between trail rides.

“We get to see really vulnerable sides of our participants, which I think is a big part of being a woman with a disability moving through society,” says Sierra McCann, a nondisabled retreat coordinator. “Yes, we talk about riding bikes and the best catheter to use on the trail, but we also talk about dating, or being a mom. It’s like the stress of navigating an inaccessible world is slightly taken off you because you’re with a group of people who get you. Most of us have formed a friendship and have stayed connected afterwards.”

Roth says it’s very rewarding to see the confidence that women gain from the retreat, and the ripple effect it has when they take what they’ve learned back to their own communities.

Girl Power

Jen Gadoua, 44, is one of those women. She attended her first of three retreats in 2021, shortly after sustaining an L2 spinal cord injury. “Before my accident I had never been around another wheelchair user. I learned more in that [retreat] experience in a few days than I had in a year and a half [of living with a disability]. Like how to cath on the trail. It was really transformative to be within my community,” she says. “And it’s not so injury-focused. People aren’t sitting around sharing their sob stories — they are sharing real stories about practical life. There is an instant understanding that comes from being among your peers.”

Prior to her accident, Gadoua used to run trails. “Being able to get outside to a place where a normal wheelchair can’t go was what was missing for me. And you don’t fit in anymore with your regular group of outdoors people. My adaptive mountain biking friends are my new social group. We have a group chat where everybody is so stoked to talk about bikes and when the next trip or adventure is going to be,” she says.

Gadoua and three adaptive mountain biking friends are trying to start a program around Kitchener, Ontario. They are fundraising for equipment and working with trail builders on how to make trails and the entire experience more accessible and inclusive to riders with disabilities.

The retreat also helped her find her voice to advocate for herself and others. “Before the retreat, I would have never spoken up for myself or complained about something not being accessible — I just wanted to blend in. I know biking isn’t really related to that, but in a way, it is helping me to develop that assertiveness,” she says.

Gadoua plans to become a certified adaptive mountain bike coach like Roth and is looking forward to helping others find joy in a sport that has given her so much. “At last year’s retreat we had two newly injured quads and they were learning how to use different hand controls and doing so well. There is something about watching other people’s joy and being able to spread it,” she says. “I know what it did for me, and having this sport that I look forward to and an activity and a social group and a connection to people — it gives you something to work toward.”

Roth remains dedicated to growing the sport by blazing a path on and off the trail. Retreats have shown how valuable carving out a space dedicated to women can be, and they’ve also brought a lot of joy to Roth’s personal life. Adaptive mountain biking “has introduced me to a community of people I didn’t know existed and needed in my life,” she says.

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For info on upcoming retreats, follow Sierra Roth on Instagram.

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