Client Comments

“I guess it is possible, even at my age, for someone to tell you things that really change your life. Despite decades of cycling experience, I never knew riding could be as exhilarating as it became after my husband and I spent a few hours with Andrea having our bikes precision fit and then going out to learn the ways of the road.  What was most important is how she was able to convey ideas about pace line riding, hill climbing, handle bar usage, signaling, and stability skills to both of us. It is great to wake-up pain free after a century ride and be ready to do it all over again. We know this would have been impossible without the many lessons Andrea shared with us.” -- Mary and Tom Walker

"I began mountain biking in the summer of 1997 under Andrea's instruction. By the end of the summer I was fitter than ever before and had the technique to ride any trail I desired. Now I'm racing in the Women's Sport category and winning! Next year -- the EXPERTS! Now that's a program that works!" -- Margot Rode, professional engineer/bike racer

From "Take Back the Bike," by Tricia Brick, in the Boulder Weekly, October 1999:

Colleen asserts that riding with a woman instructor is completely different from hitting the trail with male friends... "Andrea knows that women can do this," Colleen observes. "She's debunking the myth of mountain biking being a man's sport."

From "Easy Riders," by Carol Kauder, in the Daily Camera (Boulder), May 1998:

For Boulder nurse Jo Mayo, learning to fix a flat tire on her mountain bike was a liberating experience. She bought a bike last summer with the intention of taking it out on the open space trails.

"Initially, I was afraid to go much farther than my neighborhood, because I was so afraid of getting a flat tire," said Mayo, 48. With the help of Andrea Tollefsrud, a personal trainer and former nationally ranked mountain-bike racer who now teaches the fundamentals of her sport to beginners, Mayo can now change a tire in five minutes and feels free to wander her favorite trails on two wheels. ...

The first obstacle comes in buying a bicycle... [One] crucial link often lost in a retail transaction is ensuring proper fit of the bike... Having the wrong bike or a bike that doesn't fit can be the first step in a very short mountain-biking career... As part of her Women on Mountain Bikes program, Tollefsrud will go bike shopping with a client to provide knowledgeable and objective advice. She will also help the client make the necessary adjustments.

But buying the bike is only the first step. "I used to work in bike shops, and what I saw was a lot of women would buy these bicycles and never use them," Tollefsrud said. Many women go buy a mountain bike because it is a hobby of their husbands or boyfriends, but because they have the wrong bike, it isn't fun for them, or they can't get past a beginner stage to ride competently with their friends and partners.

So she decided to start WOMB to get women past the beginner stage, so they would feel confident to join up with a group ride or keep up with experienced friends. "There are a lot of women out there who deserve to ride and deserve not to be dropped by their boyfriends. I guess I identified a need," she said. A goal of her program is to be a catalyst so that ultimately they can ride with their partners, who might be better riders but don't take the time to teach them, and have the freedom to go where they want to go.