Every rider has different needs when learning mountain biking basics. But some approaches just seem to work better for us women.

Trek Dirt Series Mountain Bike Camps is the longest-running program focused on women’s-specific instruction. After 17 years of staging both women’s and co-ed downhill and cross-country camps across the U.S. and western Canada, coaches have found pathways that seem to help female riders learn faster and happier.

“Women tend to like to know how a skill works, what to do, and when to do it,” said Candace Shadley, director of the mountain bike camp series. Her Dirt Series crew breaks down more tendencies like that right here.

Photo by Sean St. Denis