“It’s good exercise and a lot of fun,” Colbourne said Wednesday after a short ride on a mountain biking trail in Massey Drive.
Colbourne, eight-year-old daughter of Corner Brook’s Dennis and Valetta Colbourne, is one of the smiling faces that make up the West Coast Cycling Belles — an exclusive cycling group for young females ages 5-15 who love to ride for fun and adventure.
She hits the trails with a cycling group where the numbers grew from 15 to 32 in just one year and meet every Wednesday at 5 p.m. with the ride destination changing through the various levels of progression during their development.
The group was born out of a desire of a handful of parents and avid cyclists who wanted to get more females involved with the sport and get their own children involved.
Christine Elliott, Kailey Pauls and Juliah Wight are some of the people who are providing the leadership for the group. Back in May of 2016, Pauls was able to set up a leadership training course through the Sprockids Program — the innovative program designed by Doug Detwiller, an elementary school teacher who lives in British Columbia who hopes the program proves to be helpful in growing the sport across the country.
The trio attended the one-day course and got a better understanding of the 55 specific skills the program teaches in an effort to enable young riders to safely and successfully enjoy mountain biking.
“We don’t see enough females on bikes,” Elliott said.
That’s something she hopes to change.
Colbourne, meanwhile, is an active youngster who loves being outside and eager to try anything with her friends. Kickboxing and speed skating are just two other things that keep her parents on their toes.
“It keeps you healthy,” she said.
