This month's post is an interview with a young electrical engineer who has practised yoga for many years and recently became a Registered Yoga Teacher. And I'm extra proud to be say she's my sister too. =D Read on, ride bikes, and be nimble.

Relatively, I’m still quite new to mountain biking and while I think I’ve learned a lot, there’s also plenty more to learn as I continue to participate in this sport. In the first week of July, I went on vacation with my husband. Here, I’d like to share a few lessons I’ve learned over those nine days.

Sarah (SD): Thanks for chatting with me, Teresa! As with this series, I like to start by asking how you got into mountain biking?

Coach Jaclyn goes in search of a #girlpower adventure on the North Shore. What better place to find it than Ladies Only?

Sarah (SD): Thanks for chatting with me, Duncan! As with all interviews in this series, let’s start with how you got into mountain biking?

Duncan (DJ): Err, I really can't remember. I always had bikes and went to the park with my parents. The first proper mountain bike I had was an ex-rental my parents bought me at the end of a holiday after I spent a week trying to get good at wheelies! (I’m still crap at them)

In this interview, I found out about Chris Allen, who is the owner of North Shore Billet and a resident of Pemberton, BC. Find out below about his mountain biking roots, the PVTA, and some fun loops in the area.

Words: Sarah Devriese

Sometimes we may just get tired of biking… I know, hard to imagine. But it does happen. For me, it can be difficult to be motivated when the weather is cold and the skies are so dark. Or perhaps you’re stuck in a rut and it seems like the same stuff over and over. And over.

Time to freshen things up! Here are five ideas that have helped me.

Adventures on snow
Just when I’m getting a little tired of wet days, a muddy bike, and too much darkness, there’s snow to mix things up. I started snowboarding years before even considering mountain biking. When I moved to BC and started mountain biking too, these two sports nicely balanced each other out. Every six months or so, things got mixed up and neither got old. I then also learned to ski just to try something new and absolutely love it. These days, my winters are divided between the bike, the skis, and my trusty snowboard. It’s enough variation that biking remains novel and exciting, even if I’m just doing simple trails (which is what I stick to when night riding). Then when summer hits, I’m excited again to ride, ride, ride.