Brave Endeavors is on a mission to help you ride with more confidence and more fun.
Brave Endeavors believes mountain biking is an analogy for life: as we improve on the bike, we improve in our lives.
Brave Endeavors values empowering women and girls to challenge the status quo.
Equity Matters. Brave Endeavors is actively working towards providing MTB opportunities to populations traditionally under-represented on mountain bikes. You can help. Find out more here.
Based in Hood River, OR Brave Endeavors provides MTB clinics for kids and adults, as well as on line strength training specific for mountain bikers. Mindset is at the forefront of all Brave Endeavors programs and we actively work to foster a growth mindset in our students.
Women First Programming. The majority of Brave Endeavors programs are coed. However, our programming is geared towards women. Just the way women have been thriving in a “man’s world” for centuries, men will benefit from our offerings. But we design and coach to prioritize women’s needs over men’s.
Bekah Rottenberg
Bekah Rottenberg is the founder and head coach of Brave Endeavors. Bekah’s unique approach to coaching is steeped in her 12+ years as a classroom educator. It’s never just about the bike or the weights. Be it mountain bike skills with kids or adults, or strength training, every session starts with mindset and involves thought questions or analogies related to how mountain biking and strength training can improve multiple aspects of your life.
Bekah is a professional mountain bike instructor (PMBI certified) as well as a NASM certified personal trainer. She is also a Patagonia MTB Ambassador and Propain Bikes Athlete. Bekah raced enduro at the professional level between 2014-2018 before retiring to focus on coaching and strength training.
When you sign up for a Brave Endeavors program you will be challenged mentally and physically. Mindset, curiosity, and meticulous attention to curriculum coalesce on the trail and in a gym-like setting to ultimately help you Be. More. Brave. Bekah lives in Hood River, OR with her wife, dog Moxi, and 4 chickens. email: bekah@bravendeavors.com for specific questions.
Keeley Brownback
Born and raised in Hood River, Keeley has an extensive background as a Freeride ski coach and takes her knowledge and passion of coaching to the mountain bike trails.
Keeley excels at helping young learners find joy and work through challenges on the trails. Keeley has a knack for meeting kids where they’re at and making all kids feel welcome and included!
Look for Keeley out riding, but as soon as the snow falls, you’ll find her on the slopes. We are so fortunate to have Keeley join the Brave Endeavors team.
Annick Chalier
Meet Annick, or Head Unicorn-fun inspirerer! Annick is a longtime Pacific Northwesterner, calling the gorge home since 2019. She has a passion for all things bikes. Annick’s race experience is extensive. From professional road racing to winning gravel stage races, to cyclocross, to endurance mountain bike racing, if you’re searching for Annick, you’ll most likely find her on two wheels!
Through her years of training for skinny tire racing, mountain biking has always remained a counterbalance to structured intervals... a way to be creative and connect with nature. To dance down the trail hootin' and hollerin' with friends or campers, and find distance from the outside world by sinking into a flow state on the mountain bike.
After becoming a snowboard instructor at Mount Hood Meadows, assisting with several mountain bike clinics, and having experienced the benefit of receiving mountain bike instruction at several camps and lessons, Annick became a PMBIA Level 1 certified mountain bike coach in 2021 and also holds her PMBI Kids certification. Annick loves the process of helping others unlock capabilities they didn't realize they had within themselves. The confidence that inspires is infectiously powerful and can transform a person's life. In addition to coaching kids and adults on the mountain bike, Annick coaches gravel bikes too! Reach out for a private lesson. Annick is also an Endurance Coach for Special Blend. Annick has played an integral role in the Brave Endeavors team since 2022!!
Laura Valion
Laura Vallion is an assistant skills coach and head guide for our “Ride with a Local” program. She has been with B.E. Since our inception in 2020. At that same time she retired early from corporate life and has since been logging miles and miles on her mountain and gravel bikes. If you don’t see Laura on the ski or nordic slopes, or volunteering at the Hood River food bank, you will find her on the bike!
Laura picked up mountain biking, gravel riding and bikepacking in her early 50’s. She subsequently jumped into cyclocross, gravel, and mtb racing. She has a passion for self-organized bikepacking adventures both locally and abroad and loves to share her knowledge and experience with others.
Laura brings her enthusiasm for cycling to the team and loves nothing more than to help you conquer new skills and to see the big smile on your face after a great ride. Laura is a wealth of knowledge for trail beta - both MTB and gravel and will be sure to leave no detail uncovered. If you’re looking for someone else to pick the perfect route and give you tips to help you level up your skills along the way, Laura is who you want on your ride! Book your Ride with a Local today!
Biz McLandress
Biz joins Brave Endeavors for her second season!
Born in Hood River, but spent much of her childhood in Saudi Arabia. Biz has experience working with special needs children and loves breaking down skills into simple, achievable steps. Biz is positive, kind, and patient. Biz is excited to take her passion for the outdoors and love of education to the mountain bike trails. Biz will be taking a lead role with the Littles programs for 2026!
Jonathan Erble
Coach Jonathan brings a wealth of coach experience from years as a professional kite and wing coach. Jonathan is playful yet diagnostic. Serious, yet goofy. He has a keen eye for movement analysis but will make the best blue whale impression you’ve ever heard! Jonathan is the U12 TEAM coach, and is available for private lessons, or Ride with a Local tours!
Look for Jonathan riding his mountain bike, or surfing downwinders!
Jennifer Phillips
Jennifer Phillips is a lifelong Oregonian who believes that life is to be spent outdoors with nature whether its gardening, mushroom hunting, rafting, or fishing. Jennifer started as a runner, triathlete and raced cyclocross until she found mountain biking and hung up her skinny bikes.
Coach Jenn received her coaching ICP level 1 certification the Spring of 2022 and has been volunteer coaching with NWTA, Betties 360, The Sun Program, and every other volunteer coaching opportunity to come her way. Jenn was Assistant Coach to Bekah and Annick for several seasons with Brave Endeavors and fell in love with coaching kids and leading them through the process of challenges, rewards, and perseverance through skills focus and mindset. She deeply believes that getting kids on bikes is a positive experience that translates to being successful in all aspects of life.
Julie Browning
Julie grew up in a small town in England, where she discovered her love for challenging herself physically. After competing as a swimmer, modern pentathlete (running, swimming, shooting, horse riding, and fencing: in case you’re wondering…the five disciplines required to be a King or Queen’s messenger!) triathlete, and road cyclist, she decided to give cyclocross a try. She quickly realized that to be a better cross racer she needed to be better at riding off-road. Enter mountain bikes into her life…finally. And she’s never looked back. Cross racing quickly took a back seat as Julie discovered that mountain biking was truly what she’d been searching for. It checked all the boxes: physical challenge, mental challenge, sense of community, exploring, and being outside in nature. Julie enjoys being a student of the sport with a strong focus on progression. She embraces the power of a supportive community, the empowerment that comes with trying to do challenging things, and the ‘I did it’ big smiles. Julie will be coaching the Young Brave Explorers, Ultra Beginner Women, and Foundations classes. Julie is also available for private lessons and Ride with a Local tours.