On a hot Wednesday in November, the Skyline x Queenstown Mountain Bike Club’s Women’s Ride kicked off from the top of Skyline. The third in the series saw eighty women rallying at 5.30 pm, ready to ride - and with the support of Queenstown Mountain Bike Club, Skyline, World Bar, and Mons Royale, it was always going to be more than just a roll down the hill.
The idea was simple: break the mould, ride together, and turn a midweek evening into a marker of what this scene is capable of.
Across the hill, the riding looked different depending on where you were - some groups took the smooth route down, others hit lines that pushed the limits of a midweek mental reset. There were moments of clean flow, some dirt-naps, and plenty of helping hands. The kind of riding where no one’s keeping score, but everyone’s paying attention.
The strength of the scene wasn’t just in who was leading the groups; it was in how everyone showed up for each other. Trailside chats, brake checks, someone calling “all good?” from behind - it was all there, unforced and easy. No racing. No hierarchy. Just 80 women taking over the trails on their terms, with the women of the Queenstown Mountain Bike Club and Skyline leading the charge (pictured below).
By 7 pm, the riding wrapped up, and the energy moved to World Bar. It was warm enough to stay outside, so that’s where the crew landed - drinks in hand, fries on every table, and trail recaps flying.
There were spot prizes and Trail Hero nominations - a low-key way to shout out the people who made the ride better. It didn’t take long for the votes to pile up. Sandra’s name came up more than a few times - for riding up the access road instead of taking the gondy. The unofficial Trail Hero, by unanimous decision.
Midweek? All good! It turns out, whipping down a run with your eyes streaming from the wind is just the gateway to the community waiting for you at the bottom.
If this ride is anything to go by, Queenstown’s women’s scene doesn’t need building - it’s already here. And it’s only getting louder.
