Tayte is a Cyclocrossing, MTBing Shred Girl IRL

Tayte Proulx just turned 9 and she loves riding—and her passion for riding started at an early age. Tayte has now raced for 3 seasons in cross country and has raced 2 seasons at Crankworx in Whistler. This fall, Tayte fell in love with cyclocross—and we caught up with her to get her best tips for shredding!

“I like riding in the sunset, riding with my family and I especially like stopping at Teddy Bear Junction in Kelowna, B.C to eat gummy bears, look at the view and play with my dog Ruby. If I had one wish I would hope that all girls could try riding. It’s soo much fun and you get to see some amazing forests and wild life. I feel that when I am outside and riding my bike that I am free”.

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 know it’s not riding season but I’m still getting out skiing—but I love talking about bikes! I started riding as soon as I could get on the run bike. I started with BMX. I changed to mountain biking and downhilling, and cyclocross.

When did you decide you wanted to start riding more seriously and want to start racing? I know you’re new to it, so what’s been the most fun so far?

Two years ago when I finished BMX and wanted to try mountain biking in Canmore. I love cyclocross though! It’s cool that you get to do lots of laps of one course, and there’s a leader that you can chase. Me and my friends are really young but we can all push really hard to get to the finish.

Favorite part about riding?

I like nature and just being on my bike all the time.

Least favorite part about riding?

In BMX, I didn’t like crashing on cement—that’s not comfortable! But I still do it.

Have you made friends through racing? (If so, any tips for talking to new people? I’m always scared of that—so is the main character in the first Shred Girls book!)

I’ve made one good friend, her name is Brooke and she did cyclocross with me. To talk to new people, I just congratulate them when they finish or say good luck before the race starts.

Coolest trick or accomplishment you’ve had with riding?

I did a drop in Calgary that was really cool.

What does a week of training/riding look like for you?

Doing Zwift on Mondays! Doing cross-country skiing on the weekends is good cross-training, and when I do Zwift, I want to beat my parents… and squirt my water bottle at my brother!

Best tip for someone your age or younger who’d love to get started riding/racing, but doesn’t know anyone else to ride with?

You should join a biking club or academy, and just get to know everyone. Be confident.

Best tip for tackling a scary section of a cross or MTB course?

If you’re racing, you should do a practice run the day before. And I think you need to commit and just try things and do them.

Absolute favorite piece of gear?

I love my socks!!

Favorite rider and why?

I have three: Emily Batty and Jolanda Neff. And Casey Brown! I like Casey because there aren’t many girls who do downhill racing and I think it’s cool that she can do the stuff that the guys can do. Jolanda Neff has great sportsmanship and she’s a good racer. And Emily Batty! She never gives up, and she keeps going even when she’s hurt. And they’re all really brave.

Favorite place to ride?

Fish Creek in Calgary—it’s a really nice place to start and it’s really fun. It’s not too technical, just flowy.

What would you tell a girl your age who wanted to try riding but was scared?

Try an academy. You should just try new things—try cyclocross, try downhill, try whatever you want!