Yeah definitely! The first time I got back on my bike was amazing, especially being whole again.

haha me too!! i have had to work super hard at my photography

thank you for saying that!! i can't really speak for most lady riders, especially since i don't ride with any and have only seen a couple in my neck of the woods. but, for me personally, i don't think any of us want to be treated as if we are more special than a male rider. i want to be treated as an equal. i will be the first to admit that i can't ride as well as the average male rider, but i have just as much passion and devotion to the sport as any man. women aren't built like men, so we have to work ten times harder (and that's with any male-categorized sport). so, no we don't need coddling, we need the respect that we show male riders because we have earned it. people have been discussing the comments that are made on pinkbike and i agree that they can be very derogatory, but it's not just men's fault. if a female rider wants to be taken seriously, she shouldn't post stupid pics of herself. sorry to ramble, but there's one last thing. as a female rider, what has encouraged me most as been having strangers at bikeparks come up to me give me input on my riding. this will help any rider feel welcome to the sport. that's just my two bits...

wow thank you so much for saying that!! yeah it took 3 surgeries for them to fix the damage and they finally had to take part of my hamstring out to tie my shoulder back together haha. you are definitely right about the mental blockage is the worst part! the whole process of getting back on my bike has made me a better rider because i am a lot more focused and driven.

haha just because we don't like having derogatory remarks said about us under our pics, doesn't make us emotional blobs. it means we want to be taken seriously, not for our looks, but for our riding.

haha yeah no worries!! but the getting injured and dirty is awesome too... i was referring to the quote from the article.