Abby's End of the Year Message
Every year we enjoy introducing you to one of our athletes and sharing stories of their strength and composure. This year, as you meet Abby, we hope you consider supporting more girls like her through our $10,000 Matching Gift Challenge.
Abby has been a part of The Cycle Effect for the past three years. As she enters her junior year of high school, it’s clear that her confidence and kindness shine through. Every day she shows up to practice as a leader, an outdoor enthusiast, and always ready to “spread smiles” which is one of her favorite catchphrases.
“The Cycle Effect helps us get through obstacles that seem pretty daunting, and helps you realize that we’re all in this together.”
When Abby first joined The Cycle Effect she expected it to be an intense mountain bike team that pushed her to physical extremes. She was surprised when she was met by awesome coaches that helped her focus on biking and also supported her through other challenges. This current year, Abby, along with her teammates and community, faced an incredibly challenging time grieving the loss of a friend by suicide.
“It was hard to see from our friend’s perspective that life was not really worth living. In The Cycle Effect, I have the opportunity to be around so many more people and show them they don’t have to go through anything alone.”
With coaches covering over 60 mentorship topics throughout the year and having personal check-ins with each participant, The Cycle Effect provides a healthy and safe outlet for participants to practice resiliency, build confidence, and talk about sensitive topics with trusted coaches and mentors. For Abby, the coaches have had a major impact on her life.
“The coaches take time out of their day to make sure we’re comfortable. Even though we don’t have the same experiences in our day, The Cycle Effect is where we come together to make it a better day.”
As a natural leader herself, Abby has risen to coach new athletes at practice. Her bilingual skills, as well as her experience growing up in a dual-language school, have helped her develop connections with all of our athletes. This is especially true with our new Latina riders who look up to her. This year she’s the first high schooler to step up to a coaching role, to lead athletes on the trails and connect with them.
“I think getting girls more involved in outdoors and sports and empowering them is really important. Maybe you're more underestimated if you’re a girl because it’s a gnarly sport, but we’re just as tough and can take on the challenge.”
At The Cycle Effect, we are dedicated to empowering young women through mountain biking to create brighter futures and build stronger communities. The program focuses on physical wellness, mentorship and community impact, and building brighter futures. We see our participants' self-esteem, grit, and overall health improve while reaching goals they never thought were possible.
Thanks to friends like you, this year we have been able to provide scholarships to all participants in need. As our world changed in March, we continued to use biking as a tool to support our participants and overcome the challenges of social isolation. From virtual workouts to in-person programming following all social distance protocols, our dedicated coaches and staff provide resources to help our athletes stay physically, socially, and emotionally healthy. With a significant increase in financial assistance requests, we were able to support each participant and deliver our high-quality program that is needed more than ever.
You are the reason that our program continues to thrive. Through our Matching Gift Challenge, we are asking you to show your support of Abby and her teammates, so they may have access to the sport of mountain biking and freedom to explore the outdoors. We hope you will consider making a gift towards our $10,000 Matching Challenge to help spread more smiles and support more young women in 2021.
Donations can be made by mail at: PO Box 1503 Eagle, CO 81631 OR call 970-306-7572 OR visit us online at www.thecycleeffect.org
