Lebanon
She couldn’t have known how popular the program would be — both among the young riders to which it caters as well as the volunteers who run it.
“We had spots for 30 girls, which filled up quick,” said LeMasurier, a Norwich resident who was a downhill skier at the University of Vermont and today is a competitive mountain biker. “I put out a notice to people I know in the local mountain biking community, seeking volunteer mentors, and that filled up just as quick. So the response has been awesome.”
Little Bellas was created in 2007 by sisters Lea and Sabra Davison, of Jericho, Vt., who noticed a dearth of female mountain bikers while competing in national circuits. Sabra was a senior at Middlebury College at the time and Lea was a year out of the same school when they launched the pilot version of Little Bellas in Williston, Vt., drawing a dozen girls aged 7-16. LaMasurier, a UVM undergraduate at the time who skied against the Davisons, was an original mentor.
Little Bellas’ goals are less centered on mountain bike skill development and more geared (no pun intended) toward leadership and confidence-building. That’s part of the reason those who front the program are known as mentors instead of coaches or instructors.
“The term coaching has an association of preparing for something, as in getting ready for the game or striving for excellence,” said Sabra Davison in a phone interview. “We wanted this program to cultivate betterment and health without a sense of urgency.”
Upper Valley Little Bellas is one of 15 chapters in 12 states which this year served a total of 750 girls, according to Sabra Davison. LaMasurier’s group meets at the Nature Walk Trailhead off of Old Pine Tree Cemetery Road in Lebanon.
Every outing is augmented with a theme, the one on Aug. 2 being interactive games. Before riding off onto the Nature Walk trails (part of the Boston Lot network), the girls spent time playing Dab, a test of balance and endurance whose winner is the last to touch foot to ground while pedaling a tight circle.
Next was a veggie-off, each girl impersonating vegetables — steamed broccoli or a squishy sweet potato, for example — called out by the mentors. (Sadie Ross performed a knockout version of the latter).
Then it was time for the woods, where the games continued. A small group, comprised of 8-year-olds Annabelle Norris and Emma Fauci as well as 7-year-old Scout Wooten, began with cat-and-mouse.
Their version had a twist. At first, mentors suggested the trio rotate through being a cat and two mice, the cat chasing the other two, but the girls’ imaginations wouldn’t yield.
“One of us has to be the cheese!” said Fauci. “The cat chases the mouse, and the mouse chases the cheese.”
Mentor Leah Gartner agreed, on one condition. “The mouse chases the cheese and the cat chases the mouse, but the cat also chases the cheese,” she said.
The girls agreed. “Yeah, the cat definitely eats cheese,” said Scout with a nod of approval.
Controlled mayhem ensued, the girls rotating through the roles while teaming with mentors to plot covert schemes in order to avoid and catch one another (“tagging” involved simply coming within a couple bike lengths of the pursued).
Next came a single-track version of Simon Says, each girl getting a chance to play Simon — sudden stops proved popular — while negotiating an easy section of the network marked only occasionally with roots or hills.
For the second half of the outing, all of the groups convened back at the trailhead for snacks and discussions about what they’d learned so far, as well as what they hoped to accomplish for the program’s final session this week.
One group, containing some of the older girls, all agreed they’d gotten much better this summer at shifting gears and negotiating trail obstacles such as roots.
Mentors also have noticed the progress.
“It’s almost too bad we’re getting toward the end of the program, because these girls have really been developing together as a group,” said Vanessa Brown, of Lebanon. “It’s been wicked awesome.”
Twelve-year-old Reilly Loughman, of Norwich, said the program has allowed her to improve at her own pace.
“I’d definitely say my confidence has gotten a lot better,” said Loughman, whose younger sisters, Mackenzie and Cassidy, also participate. “In this group, it doesn’t really matter if you’re a beginner or how experienced you are.”
The day ended with the perfect summertime activity: a water balloon relay. The girls carried balloons while they pedaled, the winning team naturally allowed to use the artillery to splash the mentors of their choice. LeMasurier, for all her organizational efforts, perhaps got the most wet.
By the time all the pads and helmets were off and the broken balloons picked up, dusk was beginning to settle in.
It was time to go home, but both girls and mentors would be looking forward to the next week.
“It think it’s been rewarding for all of us,” said mentor Kris Pekala, of Lyme, whose daughter, 15-year-old Maisy, helps lead the group as a junior mentor.
“I’ve been so impressed with the way the girls have come out of their boxes and made a lot of new friends from different corners (of the region). The social aspect, I think, is the most important. Plus it gets them all outside and exercising.”
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.