I can’t believe how much women’s BMX has grown! From a time when only a handful of girls were riding around the world, to now seeing a crew of women riding together and creating their scene! Today we are getting to know The Gorlz BMX, a group of riders who created a scene in Scotland! We asked the Gorlz how they met each other and how they came to be.
Erin Finnigan
I met Ashley years ago (after years of following her and looking up to her throughout my childhood) and she was just as lovely as I expected!! I met Roksana at Livingston skatepark and we quickly became tight homies, I met Abigail at Unit23 and was absolutely in awe of her riding the bowl, introduced myself and we also became good pals. I then met Heidi at Saughton skatepark in Edinburgh with her dad and I just kinda thought wow, I’m so lucky that on this teeny wee freezing cold part of the world, I’ve got 4 girls that I can ride with that all live in the same tiny wee freezing cold part of the world 😂 I chucked everyone into a group chat to get the awkwardness out the way and from there we just all clicked over our mutual love of riding bikes.
We started meeting once a month all over the place mainly at outdoor parks. But living in Scotland means it’s 0 degrees, wet, snowy and dark for 80% of the day for about 5 months of the year. We’re really lucky to have Unit 23 quite close by for most of us as it’s dry, warm enough and a really welcoming space for everyone who wants to ride! We mostly meet there for now whilst we fight the winter!
The reason behind The Gorlz BMX was to get all the girls I knew that rode in Scotland to get to know each other and plan sessions etc but it’s turned out to be a lot more than that, we talk about everything and anything, support each other on and off the bikes, and have a good laugh together. It’s really brought us all so close.
What started as a group chat with the 5 of us is now like a wee page for anybody who wants to come ride with us, especially the girlies who want to ride with other girlies. So far we’ve had friends join us at every session from all parts of the UK it’s been pretty sick to be fair. Makes you love your bike even more than before. Seeing the girls progress and gain confidence fills my heart with so much love.
I chucked everyone into a group chat to get the awkwardness out the way and from there we just all clicked over our mutual love of riding bikes.
Roksanna
It all came from this one group chat that Erin made, (She is the brains behind the page! Whether it is replying to messages or making reels for our page.) Erin got all girls from Scotland that ride BMX together. We started The Gorlz BMX page to inspire and empower other ladies and encourage them to start riding BMX. We want to share our love for BMX and pass it on! We meet up monthly, mostly at Unit 23 but we are trying to venture out to different areas! I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today, without this lovely group of ladies. With each session, we are getting more and more girls involved.
Heidi
Since riding with the girls, my confidence in riding has gone up a lot, we’re here to show other girls who might want to try BMX that it’s a sport for anyone and everyone, no matter what age or gender!
Ash
It’s a good way to connect with other girls who ride BMX or want to get into it. It’s an outlet to share progress with the wider community. Riding BMX in North-East of Scotland can be pretty lonely! So it’s nice to have a group of gals to connect with!
Abigail
I feel like I’ve learned so much since riding with The Gorlz, they push me to be the best version of myself and I’ve made friends for life with The Gorlz!
