Christine Ma
Owner and Coach
Hi! I’m Christine and I’m originally from Richmond Hill, ON. While I didn’t discover mountain biking until my adult life, it has made me love and appreciate the dedication required to improve that much more.
After 10+ years of experience in the Outdoor Adventure industry around Canada and New Zealand, my skills, knowledge and passion for sharing the joy of biking have led me to create Ridetheory. Who knew that dogsled guiding or working ground crew for a heli-ski company could eventually lead me here?
Using my PMBIA Level 2 Mountain Bike Instructor certification and M.Sc in Kinesiology (Biomechanics), I enjoy helping all demographics improve their mountain bike skills – especially women. Having co-created one of the first women’s only programs in Nelson, NZ, I understand the mental and physical challenges that present themselves in a male dominated sport. Regardless of who you are, I encourage you to get out there and have fun on a bike!
Aidan Jones
Coach and Guide
Aidan grew up on two wheels, following his parents as they raced cross-country mountain bikes in the Eastern United States. This led to his love of bikes, which saw him transition into racing BMX, downhill, and enduro to this day. Outside of racing, Aidan has worked in the bike industry in many roles which include being a bike mechanic, trail builder, guide, and Level 2 coach. Aidan loves to share his passion for bikes with others in any way he can. When not riding his bike or working in the bike industry Aidan owns a photography business that allows him to travel BC, capturing skiing, weddings and landscapes.
Trish Bromley
Coach and Marketing Wiz
As an athlete, coach, and community builder, Trish is one part competitor, one part cheerleader, two parts safety police, and probably your biggest fan. Too many parts? Math isn’t her strong suit, but she knows that you plus two wheels is bound to add up to a good time. From competing in the Pro Men’s division at Crankworx Whistler, to teaching three-year-olds to balance and roll, she is determined to eliminate barriers and invite participation in all levels of cycling.
Simon Leclair
Coach and Guide
Simon is super passionate about everything he does in life and while he only picked up mountain biking 6 years ago, Simon has been riding other disciplines since his youth. Having coached freestyle skiing for 15 years, you may have seen him up at Fernie Alpine Resort coaching the freestyle team in the winter or digging trails in the summer. Simon loves riding rooty, rocky technical trails but can never turn away a good flowy run.
Kelsey Slemko
Coach and Guide
Kelsey is originally from Canmore, Alberta, and recently moved to the Kootenays. Growing up Kelsey raced XC Mountain Biking for the Rundle Mountain Cycling Club and Team Alberta.
She has been a bike coach since 2015 and was a skating coach for 4 years before that.
In addition to coaching, Kelsey is an Engineer-In-Training with a local mechanical engineering firm. She loves to share the stoke for Mountain Biking, watching others improve as riders and overcome challenges. Kelsey loves riding technical steep trails but also loves a smooth ride on the flows. When not riding, Kelsey is out hiking with her pup or paddling on a lake!
David Golls
Coach and Guide
David has been playing around on bikes since 1989, starting by riding hardtails and bouncing around with only one inch of travel. David honed his skills through riding the technical single track in Whistler, BC during the early 1990s and progressed into XC racing before retiring from racing in 2000. David turned to Coaching 10 years ago and along with being a Dakine and TREK brand Ambassador, David is rolling through life on two wheels. When he is not mountain biking, he can be found teaching snowboarding, backcountry split boarding, or chilling on a paddleboard at some lake or slow-moving river.
Amanda Coon Sorfleet
Coach and Guide
Bio coming soon!
Clayton Cardarelli
Coach and Guide – Cranbrook/Kimberley
Clayton was born in North Idaho to a bike family. Some of his earliest memories are being packed around by his parents in a chariot (with lots of snacks, of course!), going up gravel passes and riding on ferries in the Kootenays. Growing up with those experiences, he learned how you can use bikes to explore.
At the age of 19, Clayton took a year off work and school to bike tour from Idaho to St. John’s, Newfoundland. All was well until his chain snapped outside of Highland Mountain Bike Park in New Hampshire. The folks at the shop laughed while working on his touring rig in the stands typically reserved for downhill bikes, and they showed him around the Bike Park. Ever since that day, Clayton traded out his touring gear to explore the gravity elements of riding, and of course, the endless access to amazing terrain that trail riding affords those who venture.
Clayton firmly believes in the magic of bikes to empower people of all ages and to provide a life of rich experiences. He’s stoked to share this passion as a coach, helping build confidence and ability to enjoy mountain biking as a life-long journey on some of his favourite trails in the world, here in the East Kootenays.
Jena Greaser
Coach and Guide
Jena has ranked as a professional bike race athlete in the top 10 Nationally (USA) with both cyclocross and cross country mountain biking, is the reigning US Fat Biking National Champion, became a British Columbian cross-country marathon mountain bike Provincials Champion, has taken the overall win (and podiums) in several prominent international mountain bike stage races, and in her first year of racing elite enduro, qualified to partake in the Enduro World Series circuit.
In addition to coaching for Ridetheory, she currently instructs clinics with Youth Action Sparwood and is an Early Childhood Educator Assistant. Aside from various cycling coach experience, she has a career background in downhill ski-race coaching and ski instruction, outdoor education and leadership, youth and family activity programming, community athletic event planning, garden and nutrition education, rock climbing and high/low ropes specialist, summer camp assistant directorship, and a teacher in the realms of preschool, grade-school substitute, and special needs.
Jena is a technically dominant rider. She loves the authentic challenge of raw, natural terrain and features. The rootier and rockier, the better!
Val Turbak
Ride Leader and Mechanics Instructor
Val leads our Women’s Social Rides and co-teaches our bike maintenance classes. She has been riding in the Fernie area for over 7 years and proclaims it’s where she fell in love with the sport. She loves exploring the trails and sharing her passion for biking while building community.
Testimonials
What People Are Saying
“Jena was great! Informed, positive, enthusiastic. She did such a great job of sharing her knowledge, providing lessons, and encouragement. She had great information and was great at helping everyone out.”
“I'm so incredibly glad to have taken a lesson with Ridetheory- Christine was fantastic at creating a safe, comfortable setting and tailored the class to move at my pace. I was admittedly pretty nervous while approaching some difficult skills, but I found her positive reinforcement, encouragement, and obvious enthusiasm for sharing the sport made the lesson so much fun. I would highly recommend Ridetheory to anyone who else who is interested in the sport but unsure how to begin!”
"As a somewhat new beginner, I was looking for instruction to help me gain confidence on the trails and the two private lessons allowed us to work at my pace. My instructor was great at finding ways to explain new techniques to me, then gave me practical ways to practice them. I highly recommend Ridetheory!"