Caroline Washam 

why i Ride & Race

As a kid, I would stand on the sidelines and cheer on my dad as he competed in crits and road races. He’d tell me stories of his trip across the country on two wheels and I’d listen with wide eyes. When I was 10, my brother started BMX racing and it didn’t take me long to get off the bleachers and onto the track. I didn’t know it then, but when I purchased that Gary Fisher Lush Rush with my carefully hoarded allowance it changed my life forever. 22 years later, and I’m still hooked on bikes.

Although racing has ebbed and flowed with life, I’ve always felt drawn to compete. Following two successful collegiate racing seasons and a few years focusing on my career, in 2016 I found myself in the position to purchase a downhill bike again. So, I bought a pro license. I had a ton of fun and surprised myself by getting 2nd at the Pro GRT in Snowshoe, WV in gnarly conditions against stiff competition. At the start of 2017 - with my sights set on winning - I got a coach and had a blast taking the season one race at a time. In 2018, I went all-in and when things got a little too hectic with my full-time job, traveling the country to race, and coaching, I went part-time at work and drove to Mont Sainte-Anne, Canada to race my first World Cup.

When it comes to racing, my motto is: have fun, go fast! I race to see new places; to get outside; to feel free. I race to challenge myself; and to push the limits of my own body and defeat the voices in my head telling me I can’t.

why i coach

Feb, 2013: I had been racing for 15 years, but as I headed to Ray’s MTB Park for Women’s Weekend, I was nervous. I had taught myself how to jump, manual and ride downhill, always surrounded by testosterone. Luckily, my fears disappeared when I walked through the door. I spent the rest of the weekend shredding with 200 other awesome women. When I returned home I was amped, not only on my own riding progression, but on getting more chicks on bikes.

One month and a trip out to Los Angeles, CA later, I had accepted a job to work with Liv, spreading stoke for women’s cycling across the Western United States. I spent two years riding and working out west, got my PMBIA coaching certification in Whistler, and began teaching women how to become more in-control and confident on two wheels.

When I got married and put down roots back home in North Carolina in 2015, I knew I wanted to continue to pursue my love for coaching and help get more people in my community STOKED on mountain biking. Spoked, LLC was born from that passion and the need for MTB instruction in the Southeast. When it comes to coaching, I see no limit to the opportunities.

Caroline's Stats 

• PMBIA Level 2 Certified MTB Coach since 2013

• Owner of Spoked, LLC MTB Coaching since 2015

• CPR/ First Aid Certified

• Wilderness First Aid Certified

• Professional Gravity MTB Athlete since 2015

• Pro GRT Series (US National Series) Overall Winner 2019

• Raced in and qualified for my first World Cup in 2018 at the age of 30

• Represented the United States at World Championships in 2019

• Content Coordinator Contractor with Liv Cycling 2015-present

• BA in Communication, Journalism (Appalachian State University, 2010)

• BA in Technical Photography (Appalachian State University, 2010)