Beyond the Ride: Paige Stuart

Beyond the Ride is our love letter to the people who make mountain biking better. This isn’t a series reserved for sponsored athletes or the folks in power at bike brands (although we’re excited to cover those too). Instead, it’s an open invitation: Do you know someone who’s working to make mountain biking better? Nominate them here . We want to highlight the local ripper, the policy wonk who works with land agencies, the mechanic who saved your race, and the organizer who put it on. This is for the advocates, the storytellers, the builders, and the coaches.

Name, age, current place of residence?

Paige Stuart, 44, living in Moab, UT for 13 years now… But part time resident of Denver International airport these days with all the travel, haha.

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

I am a bike mechanic for the Liv / Giant race team. I travel with the athletes to whichever races they need support at. I work occasionally at Chile Pepper Bikes in Moab and also help the Liv/Giant team demo bikes at a handful of mountain bike festivals across the country. I am an independent woman saying “Yes” to most all of the mechanic opportunities that arise.

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

The race season is still ramping up but it’s already been thrilling. Working alongside Andi Zolton (another bad ass woman mechanic) at the Nové Město na Moravě UCI World Cut was a highlight for sure. It also gave me an opportunity to give big hugs to Liv Factory Team Manager Liz Walker and the Liv XC World Cup mechanic Jessica Brousseau ! Jessica and I are usually doing a similar job, but on the other side of the ocean, so though we’ve both been wrenching for the Liv athletes for over three years now, it is a treasured rarity when we are working the same race.

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

I would love to be a small part of normalizing seeing women as bike mechanics. If I show up and I am great at my job and I continue to mentor other women that want to learn I feel like I can have an impact. I continue to say yes to opportunities and show up as a woman bodied representative in the mechanic pits so perhaps in the future some other woman feels more welcome to do the same. It feels vulnerable to be noticed and antithetical to my personality but I think it is important to be seen and show up in the crowd of male mechanics and give a knowing nod to the other women out there doing work in fields that have been gated heavily by the invisible gender fence.

What, outside of mountain biking, makes you excited?

Outside of mountain biking, I get excited about DIY and home improvement stuff and always have a new project up my sleeve. I recently welded a fence that took up a bulk of my free time.

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 always want the athletes I work with to get the best results, so I continue to bring high performance goals to my own work. I also feel like the more I bike, the better I feel and it energizes me in my work and other endeavors. My other endeavors include a side project of building out a mobile mechanic trailer. I hope something neat comes out of that and opens up some new ways to practice my craft in addition to race life.

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

I’m most excited about trail expansion and public access. I show up to a new place and pull up Trailforks… and away I go without having much connection to what went into that trail being there for my joy. I would love to see more press on the people fighting for all the access behind the scenes. I know public land bureaucracy is probably not as easy to make thrilling as sick shredding but I think it would be cool to hear some of the stories of the faces making trails reality.

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

I think there needs to be less friction with e-bike access. I was once a hater but I have come around to appreciating the way they allow inclusivity and access and an alternative way to enjoy trail.

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

The newly expanded Raptor Route in Moab is my trail go-to recently. It’s fast and fun and just so joy inducing.

What other question do you wish we'd asked?

I wish you’d asked how I got into working as a race mechanic so I could shout out all the rad women and men that have held the door open for me. I never set out to be a race mechanic and I am so grateful for this role in the biking world. A bike builder/ shop owner named Pierre Chastain first hired me with no shop experience in what was mostly desperation - but I like to think he is also a feminist.

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

I’m grateful to Liz Walker and the other women of Liv cycling for having me on the team and being so dedicated and inspiring! I’m thankful that Giant bicycles created Liv cycling as a brand prioritizing women. Thanks also to Sara Jarrell whose former position at SRAM was specifically to get more women into the industry. Thanks to fellow mechanic Andi Zolton for all her knowledge and connecting me with so many cool opportunities. And big thanks to the athletes that race their face off and give me a dynamic and exciting job to do. And thanks to all the people I’ve gotten to work with that are patient and generous with sharing their skill sets.