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If the girls of the Little Bellas have their way, "Dab" is sure to become the next Olympic sport. And if it does reach the upper echelons of international competition, you can believe there will be some Little Bellas up on the podium, collecting some precious metals.
Don't worry if you're not familiar with Dab, a fierce game of balance, stamina, mental fortitude and shear grit with a few laughs and a couple of falls thrown in for good measure. The girls of Little Bellas, a mountain biking mentor program for girls ages eight to 12 in Burlington, Vt., would be glad to show you how, as long as you don't mind your ego getting crushed by small children.
Here's a quick run-down of Dab: mountain bikers ride around an assigned area without stopping. The goal is to be the last biker in the saddle. If you put your foot down, or dab, you stop riding. You then become an obstacle for the remaining riders. Anything goes in Dab. Trackstand in front of someone so they fall over. Chase someone so they run into a human obstacle. Force someone out of bounds. And if you're a Little Bella, do not, under any circumstances, let an adult win.
After their weekly hour and a half of mountain biking and instruction, as well as a quick pit-stop to refuel, the Little Bellas, never fail to organize their own game of Dab. It is a testament to their love of two wheels, as well as healthy competition. It's always a chore for the parents to drag their girls away, who are only too happy to play Dab until the sun goes down.
The girls' love of Dab is a fostered by sisters Lea and Sabra Davison, who gladly join in the game when they can. Occasionally, these pros win. But not often.
The Little Bellas group is the brainchild of the Jericho, Vt.-based Davisons. Lea, who rides professionally for the TREK/VW Factory Team, and Sabra, a professional cyclist as well as triathlete, wanted to provide girls in northwest Vermont with the opportunity to learn the basics of mountain biking in a non-threatening, non-competitive environment. By holding weekly sessions that encourage bike-handling skills, rather than racing, the Davisons hope to instill a lifelong love of mountain biking that will keep the girls in the saddle well into adulthood.
The pair started by recruiting adult women who loved to mountain bike to serve as mentors for the girls. Each week, the mentors ride with the girls on different trails in the region, as well as conduct sessions on bike maintenance, bike safety and general life skills. When the Davisons aren't competing, they're leading the girls, who hang on the sisters' every word.
So far, the results have been astounding. Girls who were timid and shaky on their bikes at the start are now bombing down hills and floating over obstacles with ease. Many have gotten their parents to invest in clipless pedals and shoes and they've learned how to use them with little difficulty. Some have even started racing in local kids races, at which Lea and Sabra are often present biking alongside and providing much-needed encouragement.
In addition to the weekly sessions, the Little Bellas and the mentors have also participated in a pizza and movie night, where they watched clips from mountain biking movies. And about a dozen of the girls and a number of the mentors drove down to Mt. Snow to watch Lea and Sabra race in the National Mountain Bike Championships. The girls made signs and wore their TREK jerseys and were quite the hit with the announcers. As Lea raced in the pro women's short track event, the girls lined the course and banged the boards, no doubt pushing their favorite rider to one of her best professional finishes ever.
After the race, the girls hosted a lemonade social for the professional women's field. They made invitations and wrote questions to ask the pros. Many of the pros, including TREK/VW Factory Team rider Sue Haywood, graciously took the time to speak with the girls about their experience as professional mountain bikers. By the Little Bellas' beaming smiles, it was clear the day was a success.
It's safe to say that the Little Bellas are almost always having a good time. If their enthusiasm for Dab isn't illustrative enough, one need only look at the program's attendance rates to see the impact that the program is having on the girls. Despite summer camps, family vacations and lazy days that might be better spent poolside, the Little Bellas keep coming back. And as long as the girls come, the Davisons and the other mentors will be there to ride with them.
