Babes In The Dirt 2018

Finding sisterhood on dirt bikes

What happens when you take 700 women, put them in a canyon surrounded by dirt trails and a motocross track, and give them a weekend to camp? Babes In The Dirt, that's what happens. This was the fourth year of the all-women's dirt riding campout, created by Anya Violet and Ashmore Ellis, held at Quail Canyon Motocross track within the Hungry Valley State Vehicle Recreation Area. This was the first year the event took over Quail Canyon, which provided the attendees more privacy from the rest of the park.

The new location afforded lots of room for RV camping (which was sorely needed this year, as campers prepared for windy conditions), a couple of communal fire pits, and a recreation room that housed dancing and karaoke, in addition to the return of Fox Racing’s pop-up shop, Flat Track Coffee, a taco truck, and a fleet of demo bikes from Husqvarna. From goofy costumes, to minibike races, to trails that challenged a lot of riders, this year’s Babes In The Dirt turned out to be a solid 48 hours of pure moto sister fun.

A handful of Babes In The Dirt attendees wore full-body costume jumpsuits, like this lady sporting a rainbow unicorn getup, while riding her Honda.Julia LaPalme
Trails leaving Quail Canyon were mostly Intermediate level, except for a few small loops that offered beginners a chance to ride through some sand and rocks.Julia LaPalme
Megan Griffiths, also known as @megsbraap on Instagram, posed for photos with participants, while she was attending the event as an ambassador for Husqvarna.Julia LaPalme
Honda kindly provided me with a CRF250X to ride for the weekend, which proved to be very tall for me. Riding was fine, it was coming to a stop that was tricky.Julia LaPalme
Two participants head out on the easier trails, accessed through the north entrance to Hungry Valley. We trucked the bikes to get to these trails.Julia LaPalme
California poppies were in full bloom, and we stopped to enjoy the color they added to the landscape. Aside from the wind, the weather was perfect that weekend.Julia LaPalme
Two women stop on the trail to discuss which direction to head next.Julia LaPalme
Riding the easier graded trails near the campground on a pair of Kawasakis.Julia LaPalme
The motocross track provided a few opportunities for riders to find jumps, if they dared.Julia LaPalme
Coach Bonnie, of Coach2Ride, instructs a handful of students to teach them the ways of dirt riding.Julia LaPalme
Stopping mid-ride to check the park map, Calais and Jenny look for the green-diamond trails.Julia LaPalme
Jen Dunstan kicks it out on her Yamaha during one of the many races held in camp on Saturday evening.Julia LaPalme
Two women check out their photos from the dirt bike races.Julia LaPalme
Team members switch bikes and jerseys during the tag team rally race. The chaos at pit stops was comical.Julia LaPalme
Anya chats with her crew during the races on Saturday night. She and her friend Ashmore are the founding members of Babes In The Dirt and Babes Ride Out.Julia LaPalme
Minibike races provided some of the best entertainment during the festivities on Saturday evening.Julia LaPalme
Women gather around one of the fire pits at camp. Due to winds, campers were only allowed to have fire in the metal fire rings, which drew most ladies away from their tents and RVs to socialize and discuss plans for their rides the next day.Julia LaPalme
Inside the recreation room, a full-blown dance party broke out Friday night. Saturday there was karaoke, where most ladies sang along, even if they didn’t have the microphone.Julia LaPalme