Founder Melissa Sheridan has been a mentor for Big Sisters for many years, she is an avid mountain biker and an active volunteer in the community.
In 2011 she was inspired to organize a women's only mountain bike race in Squamish to promote our amazing trail network, to fundraise for Big Brothers, Big Sisters and to celebrate women who like to ride bikes.
The result of her inspiration is Hot On Your Heels, a women's only enduro style mountain bike race.
From Melissa:
I’ve been a mentor to a young girl through Big Brothers Big Sisters for many years. We started hanging out when she was just a kid and I’ve watched her change into a young teen. I’ve realized just how important it is for her to have a strong role model to look up to during these crazy years of junior high.
Big Brothers Big Sisters recently developed a program called Go Girls! Healthy Bodies Healthy Minds
Developed for girls aged 10-14, Go Girls! uses a mentor approach to provide girls with the information and support they need to make informed choices about healthy, active, balanced lifestyles during a particularly challenging stage of development.
This eight week program focuses on three key components: food and nutrition, being active and feeling good about ourselves. Go Girls! participants are paired in small groups with young female mentors who are passionate about leading healthy, active lifestyles.
In each session the girls are given fun and exciting opportunities to be physically active, explore new foods, and reflect on their experiences. Through small group discussion, Go Girls! addresses key issues such as body image, media, bullying, drugs and alcohol, and self esteemwhere they encourage physical activity, healthy eating and the development of a positive self image to young girls. I knew this would be a fantastic program for my Little Sister and I wanted to find a way to help raise funds for this program in the Sea to Sky.
I had been running the cross country toonies through SORCA for a few years and noticed the number of female riders was always so low in comparison to the men. I know so many women who love to mountain bike but they weren’t coming out to the toonies. I would also often have women asking to help volunteer as they wanted to take part but didn’t want to race, they were intimidated by the race factor. So I decided to start Hot On Your Heels, a women’s only mountain bike race.
I wanted to create a day where women could ride their bikes in a race format but without the intimidation. A day to push themselves slightly out of their comfort zones but have plenty of laughs along the way. Hot On Your Heels is so much more than a bike "race", it is about having fun with your friends, making new friends and embracing the amount of women who love to mountain bike!
