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Recommended Reading for Strong Girls
Recommended Reading for Strong Girls
A few of our favorite books about strong girls from Strong Girl Publishing plus our authors + editors childhood (and current) faves!   MIDDLE GRADE Book Favorites   The Strong... Read more...
Interview with Poet Mackenzie Myatt
Interview with Poet Mackenzie Myatt
Mackenzie Myatt as our first author putting out a book with Strong Girl Publishing. Her book of poetry, In Defense of Big Dreams, will be out this fall. If you’re... Read more...
The Funny Story of How NOT Making the Cheerleading Squad Changed My Life
The Funny Story of How NOT Making the Cheerleading Squad Changed My Life
So, funny story (at least, funny for anyone who has known me for the last 25 or so years...): When I was 11 years old, just an awkward, shy sixth... Read more...
Maghalie Rochette on CX Fever + Goal Setting
Maghalie Rochette on CX Fever + Goal Setting
Recently, I had cyclocross superstar (and gravel racer/MTBer/bikepacker) Maghalie Rochette on my podcast, The Consummate Athlete. It's a great episode for any shred girl with big goals—and one of my... Read more...
How to Watch—and Who to Watch—in the Tour de France Femmes!
How to Watch—and Who to Watch—in the Tour de France Femmes!
I (Shred Girls author Molly Hurford) am a) SO STOKED that there's finally a women's version of the Tour de France—the eight-day Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift—happening July 24-31... Read more...
Zanna Logar is a Shred Girl Across Disciplines!
Zanna Logar is a Shred Girl Across Disciplines!
Often, I hear stories about how girls got into cycling because of a dad or a brother, so when I heard about the Logar sisters, who came to cycling together... Read more...
IRL Shred Girl Raina Logar Loves Having an Older Sister to Chase!
IRL Shred Girl Raina Logar Loves Having an Older Sister to Chase!
Often, I hear stories about how girls got into cycling because of a dad or a brother, so when I heard about the Logar sisters, who came to cycling together... Read more...
Meet Downhiller Rachel Pageau, the Newest Jukebox Cycling Member
Meet Downhiller Rachel Pageau, the Newest Jukebox Cycling Member
Lately, I've been working with more and more cycling teams to create content—fun articles and blogs—about their riders, and I'm really excited about this announcement from Jukebox Cycling. The team... Read more...
Cyclocross World Championships Came to the US: A Few Photos of Shred Girls IRL
Cyclocross World Championships Came to the US: A Few Photos of Shred Girls IRL
Check out a few of my favorite photos from Cyclocross World Championships in Fayetteville, AK, this weekend! — and make sure you're watching the UCI YouTube Channel if you missed... Read more...
Sneak Peek: Jen's Gratitude Journal from Shred Girls Book 3
Sneak Peek: Jen's Gratitude Journal from Shred Girls Book 3
Earlier this week, Jen's Bumpy Ride came out! One of the big things I wanted to explore in this one was the idea of a gratitude journal. The girls tried... Read more...
Lily Malinchak Isn't Afraid of Downhills
Lily Malinchak grew up in a bike-crazy family: her dad Ryan is one of the most dedicated cyclocross fans I know, and he's helped Lily develop a serious love of all type of biking, from cyclocross to playing in indoor bike parks working on jumps to downhill mountain biking. Here, Lily shares a few of her favorite parts of the ride! When did you get started in cycling? How old were you and what made you like it? I was two and a half when I started, and I could... Read more...
Lessons from Olympians
With the Olympics starting in just a couple short weeks, I wanted to drop in here with a huge congrats to everyone who's heading to Tokyo—and also acknowledge the HUGE number of women who didn't make the selections. The women's cycling field has grown so much in the last decade, and it's so cool to see that there are so many women vying for these spots. It's always been competitive, but I think it's gotten even more so in recent years. If you're looking for some inspiration as the Games... Read more...
Aleiah Martin on Mountain Biking + Focusing on Fun Over Results
Aleiah Martin, a GRiT Ambassador for North Carolina Interscholastic Cycling League, found mountain biking a couple of years ago, and really ran with it, getting super involved in her local cycling scene as well as with the NICA Girls Riding Together (GRiT) program. What I loved about talking to her is that she knows that you can start riding mountain bikes without a fancy bike—and that going over the handlebars on occasion isn't a bad thing! (Psst... you can follow along with Aleiah's adventures here on Instagram!) How did you... Read more...
Want to See More Girls in Sport? Let Your School Yearbook Know
I came across a recent study that really underlined what I've said often about why girls aren't in sport: Because we don't see ourselves in it. And for those of us in school, where's one major place we see our talents and our highlights? In our school yearbooks, of course! A study looked at thousands of yearbooks, assessing the difference in the ways girls and boys sports teams were represented. Their findings showed that: In solo photos, boys were more likely to be in uniform than girls. In group sport... Read more...
Meet Adventurer and Multi-Sport Athlete Jett Jardeleza-Toole
I wanted to talk to 15-year-old Jett Jardeleza-Toole for a few reasons. She's awesome on the bike, but she also embraces a ton of other adventures, including a recent winter camping trip that she did totally solo. I talk to a lot of girls on here who are very serious about racing, and while I love that, I also want to make sure that girls who just love to ride their bikes but are excited about a bunch of other outdoor adventure are also highlighted. Because there is no wrong... Read more...
A Quick Guide to Goal-Setting: Learn the ABCs
I've been giving a lot of talks about the mental side of sports and one topic that we keep coming back to is around goal-setting, so I wanted to just touch on my best tip for creating a good goal to work towards. Anyway, my friend, Frank L. Smoll Ph.D., explained this simple goal-setting concept to me, and it's one of my favorites. Every goal should follow the ABCs: Achievable, Believable and Commit-able. After talking about the ABCs to a group of awesome NICA GRIT girls from NY earlier this... Read more...
What You Need to Know About RED-S
RED-S, or Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, can be sneaky. Even if you're eating enough total calories during the day, if you're not eating enough around and during your rides, you can get yourself into trouble. I wanted to just quickly talk about a few of the sneakier signs and symptoms of RED-S: Feeling tired ALL the time Being irritable for no good reason, constantly Feeling slow in every workout Being sad for no good reason, constantly Getting sick with colds/flus/stomach bugs/ear infections etc. often These can all be warnings... Read more...
You Can Do Your Longest Ride Ever—And Shred Girl IRL Luly Kaye Explains How
Shred Girl IRL Luly Kaye is awesome—she's a mountain biking superstar and this summer, she decided she wanted to tackle some bigger, longer races (for fun!), including the 120-mile UnPaved challenge in Pennsylvania earlier this month. After she finished—in under 13 hours!—she shared how the race went and her advice for how you can tackle a big challenge too! (You can also read Luly's first interview right here!) Tell me about raceday! It was amazing. It was so much fun. There was one spot where I really felt horrible. Because... Read more...
Haley Smith + Why You Need a Confidence Journal
Professional Mountain Biker Haley Smith races for Norco, and has had some seriously amazing results on the World Cup circuit in recent years. She came on Shred Girls author Molly Hurford's podcast, The Consummate Athlete, to talk about how she got into MTB, her best tips for beginners, why yoga matters for athletes, and how a confidence journal changed her life. You can listen to the episode (and read about the confidence journal concept!) below, or head to iTunes to listen there! https://consummateathlete.com/keep-a-confidence-journal-haley-smiths-advice-on-journalling-for-mental-health-athletic-success/ Haley is also hopping onto the Shred... Read more...
Meet MTB-er Turned Virtual Racing Shred Girl Adele Winker
You may remember Adele Winker from her interview last week talking about the junior virtual cycling series in Canada... After talking to her briefly about her virtual race experiences, I wanted to find out more about the BC-based mountain biker who traded in her knobby tires for a borrowed smart trainer to take part in the virtual series because she missed racing! How did your most recent virtual stage race go? It went really well. I didn't really know what I was doing. When I signed up for it. Nobody... Read more...
Listen to the FREE Audio Version of the Shred Girls Short Story 'Jen's Challenge'
Author Molly Hurford narrates the latest Shred Girls short story, Jen's Challenge, all about Jen finding her footing when a freak storm keeps her from her biggest training week ever. To get the free PDF version of the Shred Girls short story, sign up for the Shred Girls newsletter! (Here's the reading on YouTube if you're trying to listen on a mobile device:) https://youtu.be/VpVpY4nMoKM If you liked this story, make sure you pre-order the next book in the Shred Girls series, Ali's Rocky Ride! Read more...
3 Ways To Stay Motivated to Ride Right Now
It's tough to get motivated to ride right now with no races or group rides happening... But there are a few ways that I'm finding really get me excited about riding. Master a new skill Always wanted to get better at log-hopping on the mountain bike or jumping on your BMX or cornering on your road bike? Now is the time to really work on those skills--especially ones like log hopping that you can do in a backyard and don't require a lot of space. Picking a skill that excites... Read more...
Emilee Shevers is a Paracycling, Track Racing Shred Girl IRL
18-year-old Emilee Shevers is one of the coolest Shred Girls I've met: when it comes to tackling scary stuff, she's got to be one of the bravest girls I know. She was born with Cone dystrophy, a genetic retinal condition that causes her cones to be larger than they should be, which causes her to be light sensitive and be color blind. Essentially, she explains, she has about 10% remaining vision. And now, she's racing on the track... when she's not running Tru Faces with her sister, playing goalball or... Read more...
Shred Girl Ava Holmgren on Crushing it on the MTB and Surviving a Serious Endurance Camp
by Molly Hurford I've known Ava Holmgren for a few years now and watched her race in the youngest categories and steadily age up into being an awesome Shred Girl in the Cadet category in Ontario. This past February, I got to spend a month coaching a camp with Ava and a bunch of other awesome young Ontario cyclists, and Ava really impressed me with her hard work, dedication, and ability to crush it on climbs. So, naturally, I wanted to get her best tips and thoughts on life as... Read more...
Which Shred Girls Character Are You?
Wondering if you're more of a Lindsay, Ali or Jen? Take the Shred Girls Character Quiz to find out! Favorite hobby (other than biking)? A) Reading, of course! B) Being president at model UN C) Hiking in the woods What type of biking do you like the most? A) BMX B) Road C) MTB Secret dream? A) To find out I have superpowers (or, you know, get a signed Wonder Woman comic) B) To get offered a spot on the biggest team in town C) To finally nail that rock... Read more...
Shred Girl IRL Ali Artzberger Balances Cyclocross with Grad School
Ali Artzberger is an engineering graduate student at Colorado School of Mines with a secret desire to use her engineering expertise to make bikes even better... when she's not out training and racing cyclocross! The 23 year old came to cycling later in her college years and admits that she's a newbie when it comes to competitive cycling, but says, "I have passion and desire for days!" Ali was an absolute blast to chat with as she starts to navigate what the world of competitive cyclocross might hold for her,... Read more...
Arianna Urcuyo is an Awesome NICA Mountain Biking Shred Girl
Arianna is a 13-year-old Shred Girl on the Adams County Composite NICA team—I met her at the NICA GRiT camp along with 50 other mountain biking Shred Girls IRL last summer and she has some awesome advice to share. Personally, I love that she offers the reminder that it's OK to go slow. How did you get into mountain biking? My brother joined NICA and said he had a lot of fun, so I decided to go to some practices and see what he was talking about. It was really... Read more...
Facing Fears as a Shred Girl IRL
Right now, it's a scary time, with COVID-19 causing schools to close, group rides to stop, and forcing us to practice social distancing or self-isolation. I was thinking about a few Shred Girl IRL answers to questions about how they tackle scary obstacles. When I asked that question, of course I meant 'how do you get over a scary obstacle on your mountain bike,' or 'how do you overcome being scared of talking to new people.' But as I looked back on the answers, I realized they're very relevant to... Read more...
11-Year-Old Erin Kromis is a MTBing Shred Girl In Real Life
At 11 years old, Erin Kromis is tackling scary technical sections of trail on her mountain bike, meeting her favorite pros, making friends on her rides, and shredding the slopes on a snowboard in her spare time. She finally took a break to answer a few questions, and she has some awesome advice! When did you start riding? I started riding when I was two on a Strider bike. When I was around 4, I started riding a pedal bike. And when I was 6, I started riding and racing... Read more...
Brooke Evans is an Another Rad NICA GRiT Girl!
12-year-old Brooke Evans is in seventh grade and races for Durham Stampede from North Carolina's NICA league. I got to know her and 48 other rad young women last summer at Pennsylvania's NICA GRiT camp and had a blast riding, practicing handstands, singing karaoke, making bad bike puns, talking about school, having scavenger hunts, and so much more fun stuff over the course of three days. If you're a girl interested in MTB, definitely check out your local NICA program and ask about any GRiT (Girls Riding Together) events—even in... Read more...
Kennedy Goodall is a NICA-Racing MTB-ing Shred Girl IRL
BY KIRA ZAZZI I met Kennedy when I was still in high school and participating in the North Carolina NICA league. She approached me in a Chipotle after one of the races, and has stayed in contact with me since then! Being diagnosed with high-functioning autism at a young age, Kennedy faces challenges... but cycling helps her overcome them every time she rides. Now 15, Kennedy rides her bike more than ever to train for NICA, and hopes that her participation in the league will help inspire other neuro-atypical kids... Read more...
Real Life Shred Girl Emma Fastiggi Knows All About Having GRiT
Emma Fastiggi, a 14-year-old Keystone Team rider in NICA has been riding since she was 12! We chatted at Pennsylvania's NICA GRiT camp a few months ago and her advice was awesome. Keep reading to get inspired! How long have you been riding? I've been riding since I was 12. My mom works with our head coach and when the coach said she was starting a mountain bike team, she asked my mom if I'd be interested. I needed something to do, so I said I'd try it. I thought... Read more...
Sarah Vargas Races Track, MTB + Cyclocross — And She Has Awesome Advice!
Sarah Vargas is an 11-year-old triple threat, racing cyclocross, mountain bikes AND track! I was so excited to hear her story and get her best advice. Enjoy! When did you start riding? What type of riding did you start with? Did you change what you liked riding once you got going? I started riding in cyclocross at the end of 2018. Before that I had a kids bike that I rode around my neighborhood a bit but cyclocross was my first experience racing. Now I'm riding cross, mountain bikes and... Read more...
Bookworm Bridget Smith Races Track—And Has Advice for New Riders
11-year-old Bridget Smith of BridgetAndTheBooks.com is definitely a Shred Girl IRL! She recently started racing on the track after spending her younger years on road and mountain bikes, and she's loving life at the velodrome! (PS If you want to read Shred Girls author Molly Hurford's interview over on Bridget's site, click here!) But here, I wanted to find out all about how she came to start racing on the track and her advice for other girls who are curious about it. The track can be a little scary at... Read more...
Luly Kaye Shreds Singletrack with NICA... And Bikepacks on the Side!
I met Luly Kaye last summer at Pennsylvania's NICA GRiT camp where 50 young women came together to practice their mountain biking skills, compete in wheelie competitions, and honestly just have fun hanging out at summer camp. Luly was the girl who got up early to sneak in an extra ride, and was more than happy to compare notes on how to do the most efficient skid or handstand in the field. She's a mountain biker during the summer, though she has finally started to dabble in cyclocross, and got... Read more...
How to Deal with the Comparison Trap as a Shred Girl
The comparison trap and being an athlete—the two kind of go hand in hand, and can be really tough to navigate. I was writing this article on How to Help Your Athletes Fight the Culture of Comparison for TrueSport a couple of months back, and as I was, I couldn't believe how much of it applied to the Shred Girls I know in real life. That's because when you want to be good at something, in this case, riding bikes, you should surround yourself with great influences—strong women (and men)... Read more...
NICA's Juliet Breit is a MTBing, Cross-Country Running, Power-Lifting Shred Girl IRL
This is the fifth of many interviews from the Pennsylvania MTB NICA League's amazing GRiT (Girls Riding Together) camp that they hosted this summer in PA. I was lucky enough to go and got a chance to meet so many incredible girls with fantastic advice to share (like our first girl from the camp, Madeline Clancy and most recently, Izzy Weinberg.). Another favorite of mine was 15-year-old Juliet Breit of Durham County Composite, who also does power-lifting in addition to shredding on the mountain bike! What sports do you do?... Read more...
Meet MTBing Shred Girl + College Freshman Kira Zazzi
I met Kira Zazzi when pro cyclocrosser Ellen Noble and I were running her girl's camp, the ENCX Quest, in Tucson, Arizona, last year. Kira stood out to me with how relentlessly dedicated she was to cycling, and how hungry she was for any and all knowledge that we could share with her. (We actually started chatting again recently because she was reading my latest book, The Athlete's Guide to Sponsorship!) I'm really excited for everyone to get to know her now! Why did you start riding bikes? I started... Read more...
Izzy Weinberg is a NICA's GRiT Girl—With Some Excellent Climbing Advice!
This is the fourth of many interviews from the Pennsylvania MTB NICA League's amazing GRiT (Girls Riding Together) camp that they hosted this summer in PA. I was lucky enough to go and got a chance to meet so many incredible girls with fantastic advice to share (like our first girl from the camp, Madeline Clancy!). Today, meet Izzy Weinberg, a 16 year old on the Great Valley Mountain Composite Team. How did you get started riding? I've been riding since I was 13. My dad got into the sport... Read more...
NICA's GRiT Girls Know How to Shred! Meet Sarah Howard
This is the second of many interviews from the Pennsylvania MTB NICA League's amazing GRiT (Girls Riding Together) camp that they hosted this summer in PA. I was lucky enough to go and got a chance to meet so many incredible girls with fantastic advice to share (like our first girl from the camp, Madeline Clancy!). Today, meet Sarah Howard, a 13 year old in her first year of riding. How did you get started riding? My science teacher in sixth grade was a coach for the team and he... Read more...
The Best Habit for Young Shred Girls? Getting Enough Sleep... And Most of Us Aren't!
As an athlete, one of the most important things you can do is sleep like an athlete. I've been doing talks at bike shops, schools and colleges about goal-setting and how our daily habits can be the driving force behind our athletic success as much as any practice. When I've asked girls how many are getting at least 8 hours of sleep at night, though, only a couple of girls are raising their hands. YIKES! But also, yeah, I've totally been there. Between school, biking, homework, spending time with friends... Read more...
NICA's GRiT Girls Know How to Shred! Meet Molly Weitzman
This is the second of many interviews from the Pennsylvania MTB NICA League's amazing GRiT (Girls Riding Together) camp that they hosted this summer in PA. I was lucky enough to go and got a chance to meet so many incredible girls with fantastic advice to share (like our first girl from the camp, Madeline Clancy!). Today, meet Molly, an 11 year old on the Downington MTB Team. (Her sister Lily also races—stay tuned for her story as well!) How did you get started riding? This is my first year... Read more...
What's Your Mantra? Real Life Shred Girls Share Their Favorites
I talk to a lot of cyclists, and all of the best ones have one thing in common: They all have a great mantra that they repeat to themselves when the going gets tough. Here are a few of my absolute favorites from Real Life Shred Girls! https://www.instagram.com/p/B3uJWjEFgnh/ “Happy watts!” “Happy watts!” One of my former teammates would always tell me how much faster you are when you are relaxed and having fun on a course. For someone who is known for getting very anxious and stressed before and during... Read more...
Maghalie Rochette is a Cyclocross-ing Shred Girl with some AMAZING Advice
Maghalie Rochette is one of the cyclocross racers I've interviewed more than any other—because in addition to winning A TON of races, like the recent Cyclocross World Cup in Iowa City and 2018 Pan-American Championships in Ontario, she also gives back a ton to the sport with her CXFEVER initiative and fun projects like her Faces of Cross interviews (she's also interviewed me!). I'm obsessed with the neck gaiters (everyone needs a buff!) that she has out this year, and the proceeds from that go back to Cyclocross Canada, which... Read more...
NICA's GRiT Girls Know How to Shred! Meet Madeline Clancy
This is the first of many interviews from the Pennsylvania MTB NICA League's amazing GRiT (Girls Riding Together) camp that they hosted a few weeks ago in PA. I was lucky enough to go and got a chance to meet so many incredible girls with fantastic advice to share, so stay tuned for even more awesomeness... but for now, let's get started by meeting 13-year-old Madeline Clancy! How did you get started riding? I've been riding for two years. My one friend was talking about it, and convinced me to... Read more...
Zelda Walsh is an 11-Year-Old Shred Girl IRL
Zelda Walsh is one of the coolest Shred Girls IRL I've ever seen—when not shredding on the trails on her mountain bike, she's on the rink playing ice hockey! At 11 years old, this vegetarian bookworm already has the skills—and the right attitude—for staying positive, being herself, and not getting intimidated on the trails. Just keep riding. Have fun. Make new friends. Ignore the boys. They are always getting in the way! Tell us a little about you! My name is Zelda Walsh, and I am 11 years old. I’m... Read more...
Emily Kane Hits College, Shred Girl Style!
When we interviewed Emily Kane last year, we thought she was rad. Riding with her at the NJ NICA race back in May confirmed that. Now, the incoming college freshman shares what she learned in her time with NICA and how she's still Shred-Girl-ing going forward! What are you proudest of in your seasons with NICA? Three years ago I knew nothing about mountain biking. I’ve learned a lot since then, and I have so much more confidence because I joined NICA. What will you miss the most? What I’ll... Read more...
Try This Ponytail Trick to Jump Smoother and Higher on the Bike + Some Other Amazing Tips from Trish Bromley
When I interviewed one of my all-time favorite athletes, Trish Bromley, a few years ago, she blew me away with her super-sweet ponytail tip for nailing jumps on the bike. She's an amazing rider and the first woman to compete in the Red Bull Speed & Style at Crankworx in Whistler (which, hint hint, is sort of featured in book 2 of the Shred Girls series!) When I interviewed her for the Consummate Athlete Podcast, Trish told me about her best tip for how to figure out how a jump... Read more...
Gillian Ellsay is Here to Make Friends
Rally-UHC Cycling's Gillian Ellsay is one of the youngest riders on the team, but she's a total powerhouse climber and has learned a ton in her two years on the team alongside of a squad of amazing women (and her brother Nigel on the men's squad!). After being a figure skater for 7 years, she turned to cycling in the last few years and has a ton of great advice. Her best advice: "Finding a support network is so key. Find a local club or a local bike shop. I... Read more...
Sia Mehta is a Cyclocrossing, Mountain Biking Shred Girl IRL
I met Sia Mehta at Sea Otter Canada a couple of weekends ago, but her dad was telling me about her awesome cyclocross and mountain biking skills a few weeks ago when I ran into him at Hardwood Hills before the Fast & Female event. As soon as he showed me a few videos of her tackling some of the most technical obstacles at Hardwood (see the video below!), I knew I needed to get her onto the Shred Girls site to share her best tips. Why did you start... Read more...