We’ve got a new Ambassador – well, two actually. The Gehrig Twins need little introduction if you follow the enduro scene. And if you don’t you’ll soon see why we’re excited to welcome them onto our official Ambassador program.
It was four years between the day they watched their first downhill comp from the sidelines, and the day they bought their own bikes but Caro and Anita haven’t looked back since. Hailing from Flims, Switzerland, the twins are icons on the enduro scene. However, dig a little deeper and it’s obvious that although they love competing, the real stoke comes from going downhill, fast, and immersing themselves completely in the mountains.
Apart from their enduro prowess, the Gehrig twins are dab hands at latte art – and at 5’9 (1.8m), they are tall! Want to know more random facts about the sisters? Read on!
Describe yourself in three words
Tall, girls, shredders
Flat pedals or clips?
Clips
How did you get into mountain biking?
Our brother used to do cross country racing. When he was racing as a junior at the XC World Champs in Lugano, Switzerland we went to cheer. That’s where we saw a downhill race for the first time. The action and speed absolutely blew our minds and we were hooked! A few years later we finally managed to get the money together to buy DH bikes for ourselves and basically started racing downhill immediately. It’s questionable whether this was a good idea to start with but we learned things the hard way and have come a long way since.
29 or 27,5? (That’s tire size in millimeters in case you’re wondering.)
29! Big wheels for the win!
Gloves or no gloves?
Gloves, our palms sweat way too much.
After ride beer or protein shake?
First shake, then beer…? 😉
What motivates you to get outside and explore?
It’s hard not to have a good time outdoors. We’ve barely ever regretted a decision to go outside instead of staying indoors. Our mountain playground is almost unlimited and it’s a gift that we can go out and explore it. I just love standing on top of a mountain, taking in the scenery.
Tell us about your most epic ride yet.
Our most memorable ride was definitely a 3-day self-supported overnight trip in British Columbia, Canada a few years ago. We had massive backpacks, long, hard days on the bike and on our second day we were so far out in the middle of nowhere that there was only a hand-drawn line next to the map to point us where to go. Crossing rivers, seeing grizzly bears, campfires and a bunch of good friends – this was an epic trip we will never forget!
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done in the name of MTB?
I don’t know, some people say the trails we ride down are crazy. Some people think it’s crazy to get back on the bike after a heavy injury or can’t understand how many times we’ve been broke at the end of the season – all in the name of MTB and an epic summer. It just always depends on your perspective…
In the current climate with limitations on getting outside, how are you using komoot to keep your adventure-fire stoked?
As we are basically stuck at home, but riding is still allowed, we are trying to find new rides around our home of Flims, Graubünden. Being home for an unforeseeable amount of time is something absolutely new to us and we are definitely going to try to make the best out of it and explore as much as we can. Komoot gives us the best tools for finding new routes in our local area that we didn’t know about or hadn’t thought about in a while. I hope we’ll still be allowed to ride in the next few weeks, but let’s hope for the best. Something is for sure, you don’t take it for granted anymore to be able to go out and ride. It’s a very humbling experience…
Why do you recommend komoot?
We recommend komoot to anyone who wants to spend the best time outdoors exploring a little further than your own area. There are so many ideas for new Tours and exploring new places that you only have to make up your mind which one to choose! The maps are really reliable and give you a lot of information ahead and therefore planning becomes really easy and you can spend more time doing what you actually love: riding!
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