SheJumps is exited to partner with Chasing Epic, a company founded in 2015 to change the way mountain bikers experience adventure travel. Through that partnership, Chasing Epic is providing SheJumps supporters with a sweet deal that also gives back to SJ. We caught up with Chasing Epic about their company, our partnership, and their women’s specific trips.
SHEJUMPS: Tell us about Chasing Epic. CHASING EPIC: We believe that in order to fully appreciate an area and the trails it offers, you need to spend multiple days exploring and riding with guides that know the trails like the back of their hand. That’s what we do- we base our trips in a destination, say like Crested Butte, and we spend 3-4 days exploring the true gems in the area. We provide our customers with everything they need to have the best experience possible, both before and during the trips: boutique-level lodging, meals, guides, high-end bikes, custom training programs, lift tickets and more. No one else in the industry can claim that level of value.
SJ: Tell us more about structure of the trips. CE: Our trips are all 3-4 days, based in a single destination, and we focus on the riding experience. From the time we meet on day one to the time everyone departs on the last day, our goal is to make sure our customers have the best trip possible and truly experience all that area has to offer. Depending on the location, we’ll average 10-20 miles/day with enough time built in for a little instruction and messing around.
SJ: Is there instruction provided? CE: Our trips don’t specifically cater to skills instruction, but our trip leaders are some of the best riders out there, and they’re happy to give customers pointers on how to become better riders. We ask that our customers are relatively experienced riders, as we don’t think beginners will enjoy themselves as much trying to keep up with the group.
SJ: How should participants prepare? CE: Ride, ride, ride! In all seriousness, we do everything we can to help our customers prepare; that’s why we’ve partnered with Training Peaks and our own coach, Nick Swanson, to provide each client with a customized 8-week training program. Our hope is that by riding consistently and focusing on certain things (like intervals or power), our customers will have an even better experience once it’s time to hit the trails.
SJ: What makes the women specific programs special/unique? CE: With the exploding popularity of mountain biking with women, we wanted to create an experience where they can experience the same incredible trails in a different environment. Our itineraries for the women’s trips are very similar to the regularly scheduled ones – we’re definitely not taking it easy! Instead, we brought in the best women riders in the area to lead these trips, have fun, and help our customers become better riders and be more confident on the trails. These trips will be designed by women, led by women, for women.
SJ: Tell us about your women’s guides. CE: Our trip leaders are incredible. Brittany is a former cross-country and downhill mountain bike racer; she joined the bike race scene after she left competitive freestyle skiing in 2000. After several years, skiing called her back home with a new project – to ski all of Colorado’s 14,000-ft peaks. She accomplished this in 2011 and was the second woman in history to do so. Brittany also operates 14erSkiers.com, one of the most popular Colorado outdoor adventure blog sites. Allison has been biking, skiing, and photographing mountain regions of the world for most of her life. From high altitude glacier travel in Chile, to a decade of mountain bike racing in Colorado, to skiing steep couloirs in the Alps, she has been pushing herself to new levels, getting out of her comfort zone, and discovering what she’s capable of. Over the last few years, Allison has worked with SheJumps to promote women’s mountain biking in the Rocky Mountain region, and has also published multiple backcountry skiing guide books with her partner, Fritz Sperry.
SJ: Where sill the women’s trips be held this year? CE: This year we have three women’s trips between two destinations: Fruita and Crested Butte. The Fruita trips are April 23-25 and October 22-24, and the Crested Butte date is a four-day trip from August 12-15.
SJ: How many women can attend each trip? CE: We max out our trips at 12 customers in order to keep the guide ratio at 6:1 or better.
SJ: What’s included in the package and what’s the pricing? CE: Our 3-day Fruita trips are $950/pp and our 4-day Crested Butte trip is $1250. With each trip, we include quite a bit: Boutique-level lodging, meals (breakfasts and dinners), pro MTB guides, high-end carbon bikes from Ibis and Niner, lift tickets and/or shuttles, custom 8-week training programs, ride nutrition, and a dedicated trip leader. For more details on these items, check out our “what’s included” page.
SJ: Tell us about the SheJumps promotion and how women can take advantage. CE: To help support SheJumps, we wanted to offer a promotion to its members that really stands out. By using the promo code “SHEJUMPS100” SheJumps supporters will get $100 off any trip they book. In addition, for each trip booked by SheJumps members, we’ll donate $50 back to the organization… with no limit. Our goal is to partner with SheJumps for the long haul, as we’d like to not only help support the organization financially, but also instill its values in our women’s trips well into the future.