MISSION STATEMENT
The cornerstone of Artemisia Cycling is to build and maintain a thriving community of women cyclists ages 14 and older. We firmly believe that creating a cycling program focused on women’s health, wellness, inclusivity, education, and fun will ultimately lead to a community of women that are empowered to make a difference in all their circles of influence. Artemisia Cycling will be open to female cyclists of all abilities and will provide opportunities to regularly engage in physical activity as well as educational programs to promote wellness and encourage building a strong, diverse group of women cyclists.
WHAT IS ARTEMISIA?
What’s in a name…Artemisia is the genus name for the giant sagebrush of the west (Artemisia tridentata). Often referred to as the icon of the west, sagebrush is the cornerstone of the high desert ecosystems in Utah. This subtle, understated plant provides food, shelter, and stability to the desert environment. Scientists have found that when sagebrush is destroyed by fires, wildlife and livestock suffer, water tables drop, topsoil becomes unstable and all other native species of plants fail to thrive. These arid communities can only be restored to full health when sagebrush once again takes root. Further, Artemisia tridentata serves as the guardian of desert communities, when it senses an environmental threat, it sends signals to all other plants to prepare for challenges. The word root of Artemisia is Artemis the Greek Goddess of the hunt and guardian of wildlife. There is much to be found in a name. Artemisia tridentata serves as the symbol for Artemisia Women’s Cycling Club because it unites and heals the desert communities throughout much of Utah and as a community of women cyclists, we have that same power.
Meet Our Founder
Shirley Leydsman
Shirley is a Southern Utah native. Originally from Cedar City, and has lived in St George for 24 years.
She has been married 33 years to her high school sweetheart and has been blessed with 3 amazing children and 2 darling grandkids as well!
Shirley started riding and racing over 20 years ago. Her passion started with triathlons, where she competed in all distances. Sprint to Full Ironman. Shirley quickly realized that her love for cycling was gong to be a lifestyle and a life time passion. Over the years, she’s trained, raced, and loved road, mountain, and gravel cycling.
Women in cycling has always been dear to her heart. Shirley truly believes women have the power to do anything they put their minds to. She’s dedicated a great portion of her life to helping women in our cycling community. Over the years she's organized hundreds of women's group rides, clinics, and events.
Shirley was blessed to work at our local bike shop, Red Rock Bicycle, for almost a decade as the Visual Merchandiser, where she created a retail space that was educational and comfortable for women in our cycling community.
Shirley is beyond thrilled to be a part of Artemisia Women's Cycling Club.
Lynda Wallenfels | Coach
Lynda, a native of Scotland, has lived in St George for 27 years. The desert dirt is part of her soul and you can often see her playing in it and wearing it She has been coaching mountain bikers and racing for 29 years and has loved every minute of it! She is owner and bossy head coach at LW Coaching. Her tag line is mom-coach-racer, not always in that order.
Lynda has a passion for both learning and teaching skills. At the age of 40 she took up motorcycle dirt bike riding and at 50 she started whitewater packrafting! She finds nurturing a learning mindset and studying the process of skill accumulation endlessly engaging! Her favorite part of coaching mountain bike skills clinics is seeing the joy explosion in athletes when they learn new skills they thought were out of their reach!
Lynda is honored to be part of the Artemisia Cycling community.
Dee Brklacich | Coach
Dee has lived in Utah her whole life, calling St. George and Ivins home for 31 years. She loves the southwest desert climate and enjoys biking, hiking, running, golfing, and camping.
She discovered mountain biking in 2016 through a women’s skills clinic, where she gained confidence, skills, and a strong community. Her passion led her to continued training and coaching, becoming a NICA Level 2 coach for the Snow Canyon High School Mountain Bike Team in 2024.
Dee is dedicated to giving back, volunteering with the Trail Alliance of Southern Utah and the Bicycle Collective. She retired after 28 years in St. George City's finance department and now enjoys life with her husband of 20+ years, their son in California, and two spoiled dogs. Their family loves golfing, mountain biking, and traveling to MLB stadiums.
She is excited to be part of Artemisia because of the support and community it offers.
Cami Meinkey | Gravel Ambassador
Cami grew up in Cedar City, Utah. After graduating High School she moved to St George and has lived here for 22 years. She has been married to her love for 19 years and has 3 amazing children.
Cami has been Mountain Biking for 17 years. She had major surgery on her leg when she was 13 and biking seemed like a good way for her to get outside and have fun with little impact on her leg. She quickly fell in love with the sport and has been riding ever since.
Fast forward to today and she is doing it all, hiking, backpacking, climbing, paddling and trail running. Riding her bike made her realize she could push the limit and see what her leg was capable of. She loves sharing her passion for cycling and showing that you can push yourself even with a physical limitation.
Jenny Beykirch | Marketing
Jenny learned to mountain bike chasing the boys down the trail while in college. She and her husband have enjoyed raising their children to ride and when her oldest joined the local NICA league, mountain biking became the family passion. Her best Saturdays are those spent on a long family ride. She has volunteered as a NICA coach for 5 years and is now a skills trainer for a local high school team where she teaches all the new volunteer coaches the basics of riding and teaching skills. She is passionate about helping beginning riders develop foundational skills so they can enjoy the sport without fear.
Off the bike, she has spent time managing and owning several businesses with her husband and teaching at several cooking schools. She has a college degree in English and has worked as a freelance writer on and off for the past 7 years, writing websites and social media content for all sizes of companies and non-profit organizations. She spends a good portion of her time volunteering and loves to help make a difference wherever she can.
CORE VALUES
Health
A healthy community begins with healthy individuals. Artemisia cycling is committed to helping club members care for their minds and bodies.
Inclusivity
All women, no matter what their cycling background are welcome and encouraged to join Artemisia Cycling. A health community thrives when individuals from all backgrounds are involved.
Education
Knowledge empowers women to become the best version of themselves. Artemisia Cycling is committed to providing education opportunities to all members.
Fun
Riding bikes on dirt is fun, when all is said and done, that’s why we do it.
Bi-monthly group rides are designed to bring members together to have fun.