Claire Shafer

This Member Highlight comes from Claire Shafer who in her own words describes what the GRT community is all about.

“My name is Claire Shafer and I’m originally from Ohio and have been in Colorado for the last 4 years. I moved to Colorado to cook at Zapata Ranch for a season, wanting to be closer to nature and take a break from architecture. I immediately fell in love with the mountains, the freedom you have to explore public lands and everyone’s love of the outdoors.

I grew up riding dirt bikes a bit, but didn’t have a dirt bike when I moved to Colorado. I attended Babes Ride Out in the Dirt in California in 2017 and then I got to meet other women who rode and they were so inspiring to me! Later, with my friend Kirstin, we created a group Bitches & Ditches to meet other women in Northern Colorado and provide a fun, encouraging space to learn. In turn, we then met all the awesome people at Girls Ride Too™! I didn’t have much track experience until recently, but I’ve learned so much and realize how helpful it is for trail riding too. Now we’re all helping other women start riding on their own. Growing up, I didn’t know any other women that rode. And now I’m glad to say I’m part of a whole community! It’s a tough sport to get into, but with the help of other supportive people in the community, it’s a lot easier and more enjoyable to share the journey with.

My goal moving to Colorado was to get a dirt bike, a dog, and a truck. To me, these things meant freedom to explore, pure joy, and a good challenge. With the help of my partner, Ryan, I’ve been able to have all of that and it’s been an incredible adventure learning and exploring. I recently started my own residential architecture and interior design business- Fine Feather Design - and spend my free time training our rescue dog Rosie, hiking, camping, and learning how to ride my YZ125. Dirt biking has been a lot of different things to me over the years- empowering, freeing, a means of escape, a way to conquer fear, a way to stay strong mentally and physically. But most of all, it’s just so much fun to get on and ride.”

Thank you for sharing your story with us Claire!