Beyond the Ride: Meg Alexandra Browning

Author's Note:

Beyond the Ride is our love letter to the people who make mountain biking better. The series is meant to highlight the mechanics, builders, rippers, advocates, storytellers, coaches, land managers, and event organizers who make our sport the best version of itself. Know someone you think deserves a feature? Nominate them here!

Meg Alexandra Browning got a glowing nomination to our Beyond the Ride series by fellow PNW ripper, Kristyn Norman, for both her work as a coach giving back to her local MTB community and for her effervescent attitude at regional races and events. Meg's ability to be everyone's hype-woman (including her own!) is why we're hyped to feature her in the series!

Name, age, current place of residence?

Meg Alexandra Browning, 35, Renton, WA

What do you do (specifically related to mountain biking)?

I am President and Head Coach of the Mt Si MTB team, a youth mountain biking team in the Snoqualmie Valley. Mt Si MTB is a nonprofit organization that has around seventy athletes a year, ranging from elite downhill racers to kids who just want to have fun on bikes with their friends.

I also race a lot of enduros: it's a great way to travel, experience new trails, and make new mountain bike friends. I race in the Pro category, and I am very good at coming in last, but I race for the personal challenge and to hang out with friends, so it works out for me. It can be easy in mountain biking to only hang out with our own ride crew, and racing is such a good way to connect with the local mountain bike community, which is why we encourage our Mt SI MTB athletes to try racing.

Our local enduro race series is called the Cascadia Dirt Cup (CDC). It has an adult race on Saturdays and then the youth race on Sundays, so, I usually race the Saturday race, and then volunteer as a sweep or timer on the Sunday race. In addition to being able to volunteer with an awesome race series, this allows me to provide support and some morning of coaching to the Mt Si MTB racers before the race - and then I also get to see them on course, which is quite fun!

What’s been the bike-related highlight of your year?

Winning the NAEC Privateer contest and racing the NAEC (North American Enduro Cup)! The NAEC was one of my favorite races last year, so I was so excited to see that the race organizers decided to throw a huge amount of support towards the women’s race community with the NAEC Privateer contest.

This year, the NAEC was wild! They had to cancel most of the first day due to a blizzard. Despite challenging conditions, I was hyped by how my stages were going! However, in final stage, I somehow managed to pinch flat my front tire and then I OTB’ed. I was devastated, but I managed to plug the flat and pump my tire back up and finish out the stage! I was stoked to be able to finish, and at least I have a story to go with my last place finish.

I will definitely be back at NAEC next year for some redemption. I really love the entire NAEC weekend: the pre-ride day on Friday is so fun with everyone out on the trails working through the tricky sections together. You never know what the organizers are going to throw at you and you get to ride some of the best and gnarliest trails in Northern Idaho! Plus, the top to bottom full pull stage is iconic.

If you could leave any impact on mountain biking, what would you like to be remembered for?

As I look back on my mountain bike journey there have been many people who helped me both become a better and smarter rider, but also made me feel like I belonged. Some of these people came in and out of my life so quickly, but have had an outsized impact on my mountain biking because of their kindness. These people helped me engage and feel connected to the local PNW mountain bike community.

I would love to be remembered for helping others on their journey and helping people realize that so much more to being a mountain biker than just riding bikes and we are all part of the community and it is our responsibility to make the community better. This is something that I try to emphasize with the athletes I coach and I am always seeking to connect people with others in the community.

I would also really like to build a trail at some point!

What, outside of mountain biking, makes you excited?

This year, I received a rock tumbler for Christmas, and I have been collecting rocks everywhere I go ever since. However, it definitely has a negative impact on my mountain biking because I now spend too much time staring right at the ground near my front wheel looking for cool rocks, haha.

Also berry season! Summer is short and berries are only ripe a couple weeks of the year, so I feel like we all need to spend more time in the woods eating as many berries as we can.

What are your goals for the next year? (They can be anything from race results, to injury recovery, to just trying to ride your bike more)

Big Bike Summer 2025! My friends and I are planning on doing as much bike park and shuttle riding as possible! I have spent so much time this year focused on preparing for races and racing and even still, I think I will hit 500k ft of descending and would really like to see how much descending we can manage next year! Next year, I want to continue to race, but I want to spend a bit more time exploring new trails and new zones.

What’s the most exciting trend in mountain biking you’re seeing right now (and how can we help it)?

I am really excited that there will be a women's event at Red Bull Rampage this year! I am planning on going with some friends to spectate! It should be a fun time!

What’s the worst trend you’re seeing right now (and how would you fix it)?

I do not know if this counts as a trend, but the worst thing is unauthorized trail “maintenance.” Mountain bikers should put in the effort to get to know the local trail builders and reach out to them if you want to help fix up your trails. Trail builders are my favorite people in the entire community, and unfortunately, they are often pretty grumpy. So, if we could all band together with a vow to stop annoying the trail builders, I think we would all be in a better place.

What’s your trail of choice right now (and why?)

Currently, any slab trail. This spring the Pemberton Enduro really got the better of me physically and psychologically. Stage Two was Rudy’s to Rusty Trombone, and the combination of early season fitness, slightly wet trail conditions, and the fact that I had not ridden a single slab since the previous summer combined into a perfect storm where I walked a decent percentage of the technical parts. Beyond being devastated that I spent an entire day riding well below my skill level, Upper Mackenzie Cruise is a rad trail and the dirt conditions were unbelievably good that day! I hardly ever make it up to Pemberton to ride and I was so mad to waste such a good dirt day. So now, I am in my redemption arc training montage and really trying to up my confidence and skills on slabs.

What other question do you wish we’d asked?

If I could encourage women mountain bikers to do one thing, it would be to go out for at least one of your local races every year. I have heard many women complain that there are never enough women out there at races, so in a little way, I feel like I am doing my part to help by being there and racing. By showing up and having fun and trying to create a good vibe, I hope I am making it more fun for everyone. There are way too many dudes at every mountain bike race and I see local race organizers working so hard to try to get more women to come out, so I think we should show up for each other and make racing more fun!

Plus there are junior athletes coming up through the local race fields with big aspirations, and they need people to compete against, so it's another way for us to support them and their goals.

Any sponsors, friends, or family you’d like to thank?

Sponsors: NAEC, Transition, Shimano, Fox, Schwalbe, Pearl Izumi, Lazer, Arum Suspension, CDC, & Montana Enduro Series

Family: Thank you to Alex, my boyfriend who I have dragged into many of my mountain bike adventures.

Friends: Every female mountain biker needs a solid ladies crew, so shout out to Megan Tuttle, who inspires me to ride scarier trails, Sydney Bewernick who pushes me to get out there more often and to Kathryn Dove who reminds me that progress is a journey and to always be kind to myself.