ABOUT THE COACHES
Meredith
Grit Clinic owner Meredith Brandt is a mountain biking enthusiast who loves to teach and inspire other women riders. Her goal is to help you improve your mountain biking skills and increase your confidence while teaching you to relax and have fun on the trails. Her most rewarding coaching moment is teaching the ladies how to pop their first wheelie! Meredith has over 10 years experience on the trails in Bend and surrounding areas. She's also explored trails in Canada, Washington, Utah, Idaho, California, Texas, Montana, South America and many other fun places.
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Kelsey
Kelsey is a native Bendite and the town's biggest fan. She picked up mountain biking after her college and travel adventures when she moved back to Bend in 2006. It was love at 1st ride. Since then she's had the opportunity to ride all over the northwest. Her ideal 'bike' day would be to gather all her friends in a van with a shuttle driver and do laps of sick single track goodness. Laughs and banter required- followed by beers of course. Cyclocross and Super D's (races under an hour) are her favorite forms of bike competition. Kelsey's new love is her son who was born on New Years Eve.
Through cycling she has met amazing people (including her husband) and gained confidence and skills that have transferred to all aspects of her life. She loves using this knowledge to inspire other woman. |
Laura
Originally from New Jersey, Laura first began her lifelong love affair with mountain biking in early 2006. After a brief stint of subversive alley cat messenger racing on the busy streets of New Brunswick, Laura decided it was time to take it to the woods. By fall of 2007, Laura was hauling her faded red hardtail to her first ever mountain bike race. Fast forward to present day and she’s still fulfilling her lust for dirt. Riding trail, jumping off of small things, and eating snacks in between are all top priority. And when she’s not out exploring some byzantine trail network, she’s racing mountain, road or cyclocross, trying to keep up with the fast kids. Having pedaled dirt throughout the U.S., Ecuador, and most recently Japan, Laura has come to find solace on long, lone ranger rides, as well as affirmation in the universality of the cycling community at large. Knowing how transformative mountain biking can be, when it comes to getting women involved, up to speed, and confident with themselves and their bikes, Laura is motivated to make things happen. This will be her first season as a Grit Clinics’ coach. Needless to say, she’s pumped.
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Bonnie
Bonnie has been mountain biking for about 20 years, after picking up the sport following a knee injury that resulted in her putting away her running shoes. And is she glad, as now mountain biking is her top passion. As a coach, she is continually rewarded especially when coaching women, because she remembers trying to learn the hard way (no coaching at first) and paying for it. Her goal is to keep you safe, while showing you what fun you can have with just a few tips and tricks. Bonnie has taught mountain bike clinics in the Bay Area for 5+ years before moving to Bend in 2011 and joining the team with the other fabulous Grit Clinic coaches. Her travels include riding in Moab, Crested Butte, Sun Valley, Fruita, Aspen, and Lake Tahoe.
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Leanna
Leanna started mountain biking in Florida in 2004. Florida mountain biking may sound as though it wouldn't be that much fun, but while it may be incorrectly named (no mountains there), the mountain biking is a blast! Rooty, rocky and twisty with short steep drops and climbs that pull G's and an alligator around the corner is Leanna's hometown biking and it is FUN! Learning on technical trails helped her build her skills and prepare her for biking around the country with her husband--whom she met on the trails. Bend is now home for Leanna and she LOVES helping women learn to mountain bike and take their skills to the next level. In 2011, longing to put her background in education to use, she started the Dirt Divas Mountain Biking Program at Pine Mountain Sports and was thrilled to become a coach with Grit Clinics too. Seeing the big grins on the faces of women who are having fun mountain biking is incredibly fulfilling and exciting for Leanna.
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"Just wanted to say thanks so much for the great Grit Clinic I attended in July. The clinic was run so professionally, and at the same time very friendly and informative. I have been using my new skills with confidence. I can’t go down a steep rocky patch anymore without Leana’s voice in my head saying “COWBOY KNEES”. And as I ascend steep hills, I can hear “ELBOWS IN, PUSH DOWN ON YOUR HANDLE BARS”. All that has made Mt biking all the more fun when I am out there. You two ran a top notch clinic!" - Julie |
