Behind the Book - A Long Story Short
"If you give a girl a bike, she will want to ride and ride and ride..."
The line came to me after a few hours of climbing hills and chasing friends down the mountain on my bike. I was in my car driving home, thinking about how we were the only three women on the trail. Pretty awesome, but also pretty sad. It was 2019. We were in the Bay Area. What was the problem? Why was and is there still a very large gender gap in mountain biking? Why were there so few women of color participating in this sport?
That led me to thinking about all of the other sports that I enjoyed: skateboarding, rock climbing, and surfing. They were all sports dominated by, to be frank, White men.
Perhaps part of the issue stemmed from the lack of opportunity to try these sports at a younger age. Perhaps part of the issue lied in girls, especially minority girls, not seeing themselves represented in these sports and knowing that they, too, could participate in these "extreme" sports.
And so, IF YOU GIVE A GIRL A BIKE was born. Over a year and many, many, oh so many revisions later, it is almost ready to be released into the world. I am terrified, but also excited to share this simple and fun book with you.
My hope with this book is that it will inspire parents to get their daughters involved in these sports at a younger age. And, of course, I hope young girls who read this book will see themselves in these characters and be filled with a desire to try these sports.
So awesome! I just ordered a copy for each of my girls and the other little girls in my life. I started mountain biking almost 2 years ago and absolutely love the enjoyment and friendships it has brought into my life. Wish I would have started sooner!
Hayley, I worked with you at CMS and had no idea just how bad a$$ you are in so many ways! I mountain bike and I love the idea of this book. As my little brown girl is almost 21 and much more interested in the arts than athletics, I’m ordering this book for my friend’s daughter. I’m so excited!
Just pre-ordered a few for my nieces and will help spread the word through our Top Rope Media social channels!
So wonderful. Just ordered a copy for my daughter for her 1st birthday! I am just now learning to mountain bike at 33 years old, because it has never occurred to me in my younger days that I COULD. I know this book will help ensure my daughter never has that same thought. Thanks!
Awesome 👏