Erica's story: Skinny Tire Spring Festival

BaseCamp athlete Erica Ramos shared her experience at the 2026 Skinny Tire Spring Festival bike ride in Utah.

Almost exactly two years ago, I had foot surgery and was on bed rest or in a boot or in physical therapy for almost 6 months. After all of that, I was anxious to get back to riding and found BaseCamp's winter cycling program and had such a great experience, I kept working with my coach Lorri Lown and did winter BaseCamp again this year.

A year ago, I never would have thought I could do this event. I wasn't even sure when I signed up this fall. But the coaches and athletes of BaseCamp are the best at building the mental and physical confidence to take risks and push harder and I'm so thankful to everyone who encouraged me - directly and indirectly - to go for it! My brain always believed "I'm not a climber," and as I was riding through the parks, I had to change that belief, because over the 4 day event I rode 140.68 miles with 8,288 ft of climbing. When I was preparing for the day in Arches, I told my coach, "It looks like 5 repeats of Torrey Pines (a substantial local climb)," so she encouraged me to do a few repeats before I left, something I never would have done voluntarily before.

The event itself was amazing - riding through the national parks in Moab is otherworldly. Day 1 was a solid climb - ~2500 feet for the first 24 miles - and while I stopped a few times to stretch out my back, it felt completely doable. I cut the ride a little short, because my back and asthma were both acting up a bit and I wasn't sure how I would feel for the next few days, but I finished 52 miles, which was still my longest ride. Day 2 was miserable - super cold and incredibly windy with big gusts that were blowing us around the road. Still rode about 30 miles and got to ride back with fellow BaseCamper Brenda Moden. Day 3 was the big day for me - Arches National Park. When you ride past Arches, the first thing you see is a long line of cars going up switchbacks to enter the park, and it was a little intimidating. But the park is absolutely stunning, and it was a really fun ride with perfect weather. It was a strong start to the season and a great way to cap off winter BaseCamp!