roamfest

Sayonara, Sedona Roamfest

~ reluctantroadie ~ Leave a comment

What is Roamfest? It’s a mountain biking festival for the ladies that lasts a full weekend! Lots of group rides, vendors selling tons of mountain bike stuff, free food and swag, panel speakers, a film screening, and the most fun “silent disco” you’ll ever experience. 🙂 This year is the last year that Roamfest occurred in Sedona, so I really wanted to go. Starting in 2024, Roamfest will only happen in one place — Fruita, Colorado.

I had the great opportunity to volunteer at the Sedona Roamfest this year for the first time. Because this year was my third time attending the Sedona Roamfest, I wanted to get a different perspective and volunteer. I got to help at the registration desk all weekend, checking people in and answering questions. It was really fun and I met a lot of people that way.

I drove up to Sedona with my friend and roommate, Liezl (we stayed at the Wildflower Inn, which is a 2 minute walk from the festival venue), then after parking in the hotel lot, we headed over to check in. It was great to reunite with some friends from various mountain biking events I went to over the past year. (I’m looking at YOU, Jes, Danielle, Christina, Lani, Jen, Loni, Joanna, Hannah….so many familiar faces!) After checking in, I found the volunteer coordinator and got myself situated to start my first of three volunteer shifts. I decided to volunteer first thing in the morning all weekend, because that gave me the rest of the day to ride, check out workshops, hang out, or just sit down and catch my breath! The weekend went SO FAST….I got very little sleep, as expected….it was such a lovely time. I’ll end this post with some pictures. If you have any questions about Roamfest, let me know!

Check in time!
Some of the vendors.
Another view of the venue site.
Jen and I at the check in desk.
The weekend schedule.
Jes, Danielle, and me pausing for a picture during our Friday afternoon ride.
Gotta have a pic of my Sassy Cat in Sedona!
Lani and I did a fun ride together Saturday morning.
Informative derailleur workshop.
My costume for the silent disco dance party. Of COURSE I went as a cat!
Jes, Danielle, and me right before we started the silent disco dance party.
The raffle prizes (I didn’t win anything, booooo!)
The Roamfest staff dressed to impress, haha.
Me and Liezl at the disco!
Joanna and me sporting her cool hats. She’s a mountain bike coach based in Sedona and has a jewelry line found at http://www.mtbvibes.com. We see each other a few times a year and it’s always fun to connect with her!
View of the silent disco. We all wear headphones that have 2 music channels and choose which channel to dance to. If you take your headphones off, you won’t hear any music….perhaps some off key singing…therefore, it’s a “silent” disco!

Roamfest Sedona 2022

~ reluctantroadie ~ 1 Comment

During the first weekend of November, I went to Roamfest Sedona, a women’s mountain biking festival weekend. This event is essentially a party on bikes all weekend! I went last year and had such a good time that I decided to go again. The format was the same as last year: lots of group rides, workshops, and general hang out time with old and new friends; good food and drink all weekend; lots of free stuff provided by the festival and the onsite vendors; clean portapotties, haha. The biggest difference this year is that I knew what to expect and therefore, was MUCH more efficient in what I packed. I drove up with a couple of friends and shared a hotel room with a friend 5 minutes away from the festival venue, which was VERY convenient!

The festival provided demo bikes for people to test ride. I demoed 6 bikes and rode them on the same trail to make it easier to compare the bikes. The bikes I tried, in order of the photos below, are: 1) Transition Scout, XS frame and S frame, 2) Pivot Shadowcat XS frame, 3) Rocky Mountain Instinct, S frame, 4) Rocky Mountain Element, S frame, 5) Pivot Mach 6, XS frame. I really liked the Shadowcat, Instinct, and Scout. Did not like the Pivot Mach 6 at all. I’m slowly narrowing down potential new bike options…

The non-biking activities I participated in included a climate advocacy discussion, a bracelet making session, and a silent disco. The disco is one of the funniest group activities I’ve ever done! Everyone had their own headphones, which connected to 2 different music playlists. You chose the song you wanted to dance to. When I took my headphones off, it was hilarious to hear the (somewhat off-key) singing of all the ladies, but no actual music recording. Most of the group wore costumes, which added to the fun.

Of course, riding mountain bikes in Sedona means sharing beautiful views with lovely people. Looking forward to next year!

End of year round-up, catch-up, summary post–part 1 of several.

~ reluctantroadie ~ 1 Comment

Happy holidays, dear readers! Here we are at the end of 2021…already! I hope that this holiday season is a bit more “normal” for you than last year’s. I recall last year when we all were hoping for a “normal” 2021….well, parts of life went back to “normal,” but a lot of life was still — is still — affected by COVID and its family member variants, such as Delta and Omnicron. However, we need to grab hold of the things that bring us joy and sanity and for me, staying active does that. To that end, here is my first of several “catch-up” posts for your reading pleasure (yes, I know my last two posts were “catch-up” posts….apparently, I haven’t had a lot of time to document my outdoor adventures!).

Way back in November (haha, I know that isn’t THAT long ago, but it sure feels like it!), I went to my first mountain bike festival. I attended ROAMfest in Sedona mainly because it is an all-ladies’ mountain bike festival. What do you do at a mountain bike festival? So many things. You hang out with other people who like riding, you go on group rides, you eat great food, you watch films about mountain biking, you get to test ride fancy (read: expensive) bikes, you get to see all the coolest bike stuff…etc., etc., all in beautiful Sedona. The “vibe” was really positive and inclusive and, no joke, the portapotties were the cleanest I’ve ever seen in my life. There was even a hand washing station next to the portapotties, complete with a working faucet that you operated by foot! (I told my friends that the yummy food and clean facilities were no surprise because WOMEN organized the event!) I split the hotel room and driving with a friend and we made the most of our weekend, seeing and doing as much as we could. I would definitely go again. Let me know if you have any questions!

Waiting to enter the festival venue.
One of many bike shuttles.
Beautiful Sedona.
I “demoed” (i.e., borrowed a bike to test out on a ride) a Pivot Mach 6.
Heidi and I being dorky.
The vegan meal option on Friday night. Kimchi!
Movie night on Friday night.
Mountain biking can be dangerous.
There was a panel with several speakers who talked about diversity and inclusion in mountain biking.
The Friday group ride.
The Saturday group ride.
Near the end of the Saturday ride.