Beyond the Ride: Brooke Goudy

Author's Note:

Beyond the Ride is our love letter to the people who make mountain biking better. The series is meant to highlight the mechanics, builders, rippers, advocates, storytellers, coaches, land managers, and event organizers who make our sport the best version of itself. Know someone you think deserves a feature? Nominate them here !

Brooke Goudy could not have received more nominations for a feature in Beyond the Ride - which makes sense, given that her entire MO, when it comes to mountain biking, is to use the sport to celebrate joy and to create space for others to do the same. And if that doesn't make our sport better, I don't know what does.

Name, age, current place of residence?

Brooke Goudy, “Geriatric” Millennial, Denver, CO.

What do you do (specifically related to mountain biking)?

There's several things I do related to mountain biking. First thing is: I ride them. I love them. And I love riding them. I also support getting more women of color on mountain bikes, more women that look like me on bikes, so Black women are top priority.

I give service to a group called Black Girls Do Bike (BGDB) Denver, and I run an organization called Rowdy Goudy . The whole point of BGDB is riding bikes, but the main event is socializing, about being able to come together as Black women to talk about those things that are very unique to our lived experience and our culture. With Rowdy Goudy, the main event is the bike: it’s about getting rowdy, it's about showing your joy, it's about progressing.

What's been the bike-related highlight of your year?

You know, I am not home a lot. Last year, I flew out every single weekend. This year, I've decided that I want to stay on the local scene. So one of the most impressive things that I've done in the last twelve months is not riding the Great Divide , is not going to Iceland and riding the Westfjords, it has actually been exploring my local trails. I went down this trail called Wildcat here that's not that far from my home, but I was like, “What a fun, flowy trail!” I did that with my partner, who I never get to ride with, and I just remember getting down to the bottom and being like “ Yeah. ” So I think the thing that has been the most epic for me, which is not probably the most epic for people who live on the Front Range, is to be here on my local trails.

If you could leave any impact on mountain biking, what would you like to be remembered for?

I think about this all the time. About a year ago, I started fertility treatment, and it's been an amazing journey for me - and a journey that has not been very different from biking, in that a lot of women of color, a lot of Black women, a lot of women that look like me, are not represented.

And as I've been going through this fertility treatment, I’ve thought about what I am going to say to my kids about this time in my life, what I am going to say about the impact I made, because I will swiftly move from this femme who was totally engrossed in her biking role, to a person who's totally engrossed into taking care of her kids.

When I look at my babies’ brown faces, I hope that when I say to them, "You know, there didn't used to be very many women in the sport," they'll be shocked. And then when I say, “There were not very many Black women at all,” that they would also be very shocked - and that they could look at their mom and they could say she was someone who used the bike to create more space in a space that was void of people that looked like them.

And that beyond that, that I am a person who used the bike to celebrate joy. That's a big thing for me, is that the bike is an expression of Black joy for me. And so when I leave this space, I want folks to realize that the bike has been an opportunity for me to showcase Black joy - which often gets dismissed, because a lot of people really cling to Black trauma.

I hope that number two, that I've given an opportunity for people to create community. Everyone craves community. Even with all the people in the world, 7.9 billion people, there's still some times that I come home and feel lonely. That's fucking crazy, knowing that there could be 7.9 billion people in this world, and you can still feel lonely and you can still feel othered. And so I hope that I'm seen as someone who used the bike to have created spaces that are safe for people to feel like they’re community and feel like they belong, that's not based on their ability, not based on how fast they are, but on a common love for the thing.

What, outside of mountain biking, makes you excited?

I'm big into the yoga now. I just got my yoga certification. Also, I'm a big boarder. I spend my winters going up the mountains nearly every weekend to play in the snow. I'm not gonna lie, I've very much assimilated into this Colorado culture. I leave what doesn't serve me or doesn't feel comfortable, and there's some things in the yoga space that, for me, definitely don't serve and don't feel comfortable. And I am able to leave those things and pick up the things that really do. Same with boarding. Picking up the things that do serve really are quite wonderful. Boarding is fun. Being out and playing in the snow is fun. Really understanding the roots of yoga, and how it can serve the mind and spirit, is great. And so those are the things that I'm most excited about outside of biking. Not to mention, I love a great IPA.

What's the most exciting trend in mountain biking you're seeing right now (and how can we help it)?

I love people not taking themselves so seriously. I have seen so many great female mountain biking athletes who have made the funniest videos about what it's like to be out there as a femme person, as a woman. And I love that there's room for all of us.

I feel like, back in the day, in order to be able to be taken seriously in this sport, women had to be serious. They had to look a certain way, they had to act a certain way, and they had to talk a certain way. And one trend that I'm seeing is we are able to have fun now.

Like, I absolutely love Lea Davison . She's my heart and soul. She was you know, an Olympic racer, and for a long while, she was never able to talk about her gayness, because she wanted to be taken seriously as a female athlete. And now, every time I see her, she's like, “Oh, look, Brooke, look at my bike, it's gotten so much gayer!” (She's got this beautiful rainbow bike!)

For those who are out there competing and really need to be at the top of their game, I feel like there is a level of seriousness that is expected and that I'm totally comfortable with. But I like that there's room for both. We can laugh a little and remember while we're out there on the trail, that there's room to smile, to crack a joke, to laugh at ourselves, and who we are uniquely as women on bikes.

What's the worst trend you're seeing right now (and how would you fix it)?

I don't want to be toxically positive, but I like to think that we are getting further ahead than we are going backwards. But I do believe there are steps backwards. And one trend that I see is that people, for a long while during that racial reckoning , poured every cent and every dollar into getting women on bikes, getting black women on bikes, getting brown women on bikes. The industry was so excited about that. And they put so much money in it and I am a living, breathing manifestation of that.

Slowly, I see that slipping away. Organizations are finding it harder and harder and harder to find room, just being an organization of color, trying to get more women of color on bikes. DEI, before, was something that got people enthusiastic . Now, the very mention of it seems like a dreadful word. And so it's a trend that I hope that we can see less of.

What are your goals for the next year? (They can be anything from race results, to injury recovery, to just trying to ride your bike more.)

I think that my goal perhaps seems superficial to others, but it's to keep showcasing my joy. You know, I'm mediocre at best at riding a bike. I'm not a great bike rider, (wow, that's the first time I ever said that out loud and it's really refreshing and feels good) but I fucking love it. And I work hard at ensuring that people know that this space is not for one type of person, but for all types of people. So my goal is to keep showcasing that riding bikes is fun, and to make sure that what is being judged about me is the work that I'm doing and the joy that I'm having while doing it, not how fast I am or how many podiums I'm on.

What's your trail of choice right now (and why)?

I don’t wanna sound cliché but I love going out to Grand Junction. I love going out to our desert. There’s so much to offer us in Colorado: you can get techy if you want to, you can get flowy, so this season I’ve spent a lot of time out there and I'm really feeling good about those trails. There’s only one drawback for anyone coming to Colorado and enjoying those trails: drink lots of f*cking water. It is pretty exposed and it is not for someone who doesn’t like the heat, but I'm really enjoying all of the trails in the desert right now.

What other question do you wish we'd asked?

You know I do want to say that one thing that’s really important to me right now is my organization Rowdy Gowdy. I want to make sure that people know that there are Black femmes who have been out here for a really long time, hitting the trails, working really hard, who are absolutely really fucking incredible. I think I get less sound sound bites talking about my organization Rowdy Goudy because it is more about black women who are kicking ass and riding at an intermediate-advanced level. The world has this idea that Black women can only be one type of thing - a beginner, can’t afford a mountain bike, never raced - and I think it is a little bit nefarious to not mention that we aren't monoliths, that part of us is being ignored, perhaps because another narrative seems more popular. I want to make sure all narratives are being told.

Any sponsors, friends, or family you'd like to thank?

I cherish the people who have supported me: Yeti Cycles, Fat Tire, Pearl Izumi, Chamois Buttr, WTB, Best Day Brewing, Dueter, and Drink Bivo.

I want to give my biggest shoutout to Yeti Cycles to shock everyone: people have thought they were the bro-iest of the bro-iest, and perhaps they are, but before there was the racial reckoning, before the George Floyd influence, Yeti Cycles was there. They have stuck with me forever and ever, and so I will stick with them for forever and ever. They have supported black women and I absolutely love them.