Ladies Only Ride 2021
This past weekend we finally got to run the Ladies Only Ride!! It was a beautiful day – perfect weather for riding but a little dusty towards the end. Unfortunately we didn’t get any real rain before the event but most of the day we didn’t have an issue with dust. The ride was held on September 11th this year and we started the day at the Log in Emily. The day started with a moment of silence to honor those that we lost in the 9/11 attacks 20 years ago. It’s pretty amazing that it was 20 years ago since it seems like yesterday to so many of us. I remember where I was when I heard the news. I overheard some folks talking about it and I honestly thought they were talking about a movie when I heard them talking about what was happening. I rushed home and turned on the TV to see that it was real. It was a day that none of us will forget and we made sure to honor that before we went out on the trails.
The Over The Hills Gang ATV Club has a new trail system that is eight years in the making and actually opened today – September 15th, 2021, and they let us run that trail early for the Ladies Only Ride. It’s an absolutely beautiful trail that has a selfie station where you can set your phone in one of the holders and take a selfie in front of a gorgeous little lake that has a beaver house in the middle of it. You can upload the selfie you take and it will be posted on the Over The Hills Gang ATV Club’s Facebook page.
After we left the Log in Emily – and after they so graciously opened early for us and served some drinks and breakfast pizzas to those that wanted them, we headed off to the new Emily Blind Lake Connector. The entire ride was about 40 miles round trip. We had 69 women show up for the event – that was 32 SXS and 5 ATVs. That was an amazing turnout given we had 26 machines total last year with 46 women attending. I was so shocked and happy we had so many women participate in the event this year. Skirts N Dirt donated some silly door prizes like pouches with some essential things to keep on your machine and some water bottles that the club donated some stickers for. We also donated some stickers that said Ladies Only Ride 2021 and some Skirts N Dirt stickers too. I’m super happy that we got some new Facebook followers and friends out of the ride!
The day went really well and everyone said they had a lot of fun on the ride. It’s tough sometimes to have that many people and machines on the ride and have everyone have a great time. After leaving the selfie station we made our way over to a pavilion that’s on the trail where the club and Brainerd Waterproofing provided lunch for everyone on the ride. They got these amazing sandwiches from Lake Country Grocery and they provided a bunch of different sandwiches, a variety of chips and bottled water for everyone. The other nice thing they did for us was to provide condiments and fixings on the side so everyone could make their sandwiches however they’d like, including veggies and cheese.
Like I said the day was absolutely beautiful and we couldn’t ask for better weather! Once we left the pavilion we went back the way we came on the trails and headed back to the log. We made a couple more stops along the trail which was super fun because it gave us an opportunity to hang out and get to know the women that came along for the ride. There are three of us that work hard every year to put this ride together and make it fun for everyone so I’m glad this year was a hit! Now it’s time to start planning for next year!