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 THE TEAM

Our Co-Founders

CO-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.

CO-FOUNDER

Allyson Sepp

Allyson Sepp (Ally) grew up in Texas and moved to Utah for college. During her college years she spent her summers working as an instructor and guide for outdoor education programs in Southern Utah. She worked with adults seeking a high adventure experience as well as adjudicated youth serving time for crimes. In both situations, she found true joy teaching her students how to thrive in difficult circumstances and to see the natural world as a gift that will help them achieve their personal goals if they would understand and respect it. Following graduation from Utah State University, Ally moved to the East Coast for employment where she met her husband and spent the next twelve years.

In 2015, Ally moved from Coastal Georgia to Utah with her husband and three daughters. She immediately fell in love with the trails near her home in St. George. Daily, she laced up the running shoes and headed for the hills until a trail running injury changed everything.

Fortunately, her husband (an avid mountain biker) seized the opportunity and set her up on a bike. Ally quickly found the pavement was not enough and headed to the hills again, but this time on two wheels. Her passion for cycling grew quickly to match her husband’s, and their daughters began to catch the mountain biking bug not long thereafter. Ally is now a NICA level 3 coach as well as a personal coach for endurance athletes. She has found her true passion in educating and building a community of mountain bikers.

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.

Gwen Sepp | Coach

Gwen is happiest when she is outside: cycling, running, hiking, paddle boarding, or snowshoeing. When she is not enjoying nature's splendor, she is studying Kinesiology at Utah State University, coaching endurance athletes, and wrenching at the campus non profit bike shop--Aggie Blue Bikes. She especially enjoys coaching and mentoring high school cyclists through her involvement in NICA.

Gwen has a competitive streak in her and loves to toe the line with fellow cyclists in cross country distance as well as ultra endurance races. She enjoys racing under her school colors at the national collegiate level. Gwen is passionate about spreading the joy of fitness with everyone around her.

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.