Video: On the Outside of Outdoorsy
A combination of clips mountain biking and interviews with Bellingham community members discussing biking and the outdoor recreation community.
Video by Annabelle Stefanoff
Clip 1: Annabelle biking uphill, heavy breathing
Clip 2: Abby Andersen, introduction
Abby: “My name is Abby Andersen, I’m 22, I’m from Boise, Idaho and I am a biochemistry major.”
Clip 3: Francis Neff, introduction
Francis: “My name is Francis Neff, I’m 22, I’m originally from Spokane, Washington and I’m a double major in political science and environmental science.”
Clip 4: Becca Marx, introduction
Becca: “So, my name is Becca, I’m 21 years old, I am from Juneau, Alaska, and I started mountain biking about at the beginning of the pandemic I would say. First time ever on a mountain bike was freshman year of college so that was almost 4 years ago. But the first time starting to regularly go was the beginning of the pandemic.”
Clip 5: Abby Andersen, discussing beginning of mountain biking
Abby: “I started mountain biking in 2022, during COVID.”
Annabelle: “2022?”
Abby: “Or… 2020. 2020!” *laughing*
Clip 6: Francis, discussing beginning of mountain biking
Francis: “I started mountain biking when I was in middle school for a brief amount of time and then stopped and I picked up mountain biking again in the summer of 2021.”
Clip 7: Annabelle biking uphill, breathing heavy, Francis is ahead.
Annabelle: “I’d like it more if it was slightly downhill instead of up.”
Clip 8: Becca, discussing the challenges of biking when she first started
Becca: “Starting off mountain biking — being a beginner — was definitely really hard just feeling intimidated even by my friends that I was going with just because I didn’t know how to bike uphill on the trail effectively at all, or bike downhill effectively at all. Just falling off and not knowing what to do and how to hold my body on the bike in any way.”
Clip 9: Annabelle mountain biking downhill, Francis ahead
Francis: “It’s a little muddy right here. Woah… woah…”
Annabelle: “I did it! Woah, woah, woah woah.”
Clip 10: Abby Andersen, discussing challenges of mountain biking when she first started
Abby: “When I first came here and started biking I was just kind of thrown into it and I really didn’t know what to expect. Um… but I think that over time I found people that I really enjoyed biking with that were supportive.”
Clip 11: Francis, discussing when biking first clicked for him
Francis “A time when mountain biking really started to click for me was when I first started to put together the jumps and features on the SST trail up at Galbraith in Bellingham. It was a trail I had been doing a lot and was at first intimidated by, but then over time I was just becoming more comfortable with the rocks, roots and tight corners and started to be able to put it together and know how to use my body on my bike to effectively ride the trail.”
Clip 12: Annabelle biking, reaching the top of Galbraith mountain. Francis in the foreground, view of Bellingham Bay in the background. Heavy breathing.
Francis: “Isn’t it pretty?”
Annabelle: “Yeah.”
Clip 13: Becca Marx, discussing her identity/being a woman in the outdoors.
Becca: “I would say, definitely my gender identity, being a woman, is a huge influence on me and also, you know, how I exist in outdoor spaces. I would say that when I’m biking with only guys it definitely feels different than when I’m with only girls. It’s easy to, like, not want to try things because you’re afraid of, like, getting hurt or embarrassing yourself or messing up in some way when you’re, like, with a group of guys. Or also feeling added pressure with them ’cause they’re all doing it and you don’t want to be stereotypical like, ‘Oh, of course the girl’s not gonna hit it,’ like, they’re gonna say shit later. It’s definitely very empowering to bike with lots of girls.”
Clip 14: Abby Andersen, discussing being a woman in the outdoors.
Abby: “Being a woman or a female-identifying person in outdoor community spaces is really challenging because I think that men and masculine energy just take up a lot of space, um, when it comes to recreating outside. And if you’re not, like, doing backflips on skis or going off these huge jumps on your bike you’re not cool enough, or you’re not a good skier or you’re not a good biker. But I think that it just looks different for everyone and I think that with all of that and being in this community as an adult now, I’ve learned to love my hobbies even if I’m not good at them.”
Clip 15: Annabelle mountain biking downhill, going slightly off trail and having to stop
Annabelle: “If it’s scary, we walk.”
Clip 16: Francis’ tip for beginners
Francis: “A tip I would have for anybody who’s looking to get involved in any sort of recreation or outdoor space would just be to bring yourself in your full, authentic self.”
Clip 17: Annabelle riding ahead from Francis’ POV
Francis: “Nice!”
Clip 18: Annabelle riding ahead from Francis’ POV
Francis: “Nice!”