This all-women's biking group takes on Tucson's mountain ranges and beyond 🚴‍♀️

But the group, formally dubbed the Tucson Women Shredders, isn’t an exclusive club or a competitive cycling team. Instead, it’s an “informal women’s mountain bike group,” according to Sarita Mendez, a ride leader and communications coordinator for the group.

“It's not supposed to be super competitive or anything,” she says. “We just like to say that you should just show up, because that's how you'll meet (new) people. And you'll find people that have similar backgrounds, similar riding styles, levels of experience and stuff like that.”

The group spends at least one afternoon a month riding together during their outings typically held in Tucson Mountain Park. And that doesn’t include other additional rides members go on, such as gravel riding or days where they help maintain trails.

“We also have trail days with SDMB, which is Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists,” Mendez says. “And we'll also do stewardship days with Pima County Natural Resources. So those are all things that we try to tie in together because we're not trying to be like this massive group that just like takes over trails. We want to give back and do different things like that.”

After the ladies of the Tucson Women Shredders complete their usual two-hour ride, they meet up for a social hour at Tucson Hop Shop, where Mendez works as a bartender.

“I want people to feel comfortable, confident and empowered,” Mendez says. “I just think that so many women are so strong and they don't necessarily, like... think that or feel that sometimes. And I just hope that they’re like, ‘Hell yeah, I just want to get out on a ride and see what my body can do.’ And just, like, make friends and try to just, like, have a good time out there.”

The Tucson Women Shredders mountain bike group has been around since 2016 when Veronique Pardee initially founded it as the “Bell Joy Ride” program, which was backed by bicycle helmet company Bell. 

The group originally started with less than 10 members, according to Mendez.

Since then, the group has grown to between 50 and 100 members, Mendez estimates, with a steady turnout of 20 to 50 for their monthly mountain bike outings in Tucson Mountain Park, Catalina State Park or even places such as Patagonia and Greer.

“We've been trying to get more people involved from different backgrounds because mountain biking in the last like 10 years was a heavily male-dominated sport,” Mendez says. “So it's just been really cool to have more, like, diversity with that. And then since Tucson is such a cool community, we do have a lot of different people that show up.”

Tucson Women Shredders is WTF (women, transgender, femme) friendly, and both locals and Tucson transplants alike have found a welcoming community in the group.

One of those Tucson transplants includes Natasha Ivanov, who moved to Tucson in 2017 from Chicago. After swapping the Midwest for the Old Pueblo, she picked up mountain biking in 2020 when “all hell broke loose” with the COVID-19 pandemic, she says.

By early 2021, she went on her first ride with the Shredders, who she connected with through mutual friends. Since then, she’s gone on 15 to 20 rides in the last year and a half.

“I went on my first group ride and I was really nervous,” Ivanov says. “But it's just one of the most like inviting, just really easy, groups to get involved with and really have a good time with because no matter what your discipline is or how you ride, everyone just wants you there. So it's really fun.”

A way to connect with the community and nature

With so many ways to bike in Tucson, like riding around The Loop, through the city or at a BMX park, why did the Shredders choose to stay with mountain biking? 

It's simple. It’s a great way to connect with nature and each other and push the boundaries within yourself while surrounded by supportive individuals, according to Mendez.

“I just think that riding on the dirt is just so fun,” she says. “And when you're able to, like, add some challenging climbs through some of our very rocky trails, it's just become more of like a mental and physical challenge for me. So, I think having that option is really nice. I mean, road biking is cool. But yeah, I think that it's more fun for me to, like, have that connection with nature and see animals sometimes.”

Mendez has been mountain biking for around 12 years. As someone who has always been outdoorsy, picking up mountain biking came naturally, she says. Especially because at the beginning of her mountain biking journey, she was working at REI, an outdoor recreation store. 

Mountain biking gives her more focus, which helps her worry less about the stresses of everyday life, she says.

And that focus is vital when attempting more difficult rides on rocky terrain or uphill climbs.

“It's an all-skill level ride,” Ivanov says. “And even if we do book rides that are a little bit harder, we're always encouraging people like, ‘Come and try it,’ you'll always find somebody who's gonna buddy with you, we’re not going to leave you behind. No one gets dropped, essentially ... There are so many people that are like, ‘Oh, you want to practice this? Let's do it three times.’ And we'll just stop and practice stuff and I think that's just so unique, especially sometimes in such a competitive type of community when you're talking about cycling.”

In the future, Mendez would like to see the Shredders include different types of riding into their monthly outings like more gravel riding, off-road cycling and bike packing, where riders load up their gear and sleeping bags and hit the outdoors. She would also like to continue collaborating with other organizations like SDMB, Home Grown MTB and Project Bike Club, which was co-founded by Pardee.

But regardless of how you ride, Mendez encourages you to give the Shredders a shot.

“I just think that we're lucky to have such different unique personalities that join us,” Mendez says. “Because at the end of the day, it's the people that are showing up that, like, make it so beautifully different. So I think that just Tucson itself, you know, has such a nice, welcoming community. I think we're just lucky to have these people show up that are just stoked to ride for a couple of hours. ... I have met some amazing people through this group. And yeah, we have a pretty good thing going on.”

For more information about the Tucson Women Shredders, visit their Instagram page or join their Discord.