Sylvie Allen
Sweet Skills coaches are local experts with amazing credentials and tons of experience. We are passionate about delivering the best mountain bike experience out there. Because, awesome is exactly what we strive for in every one of our own rides.
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Sweet Skills Boss Lady & Founder. Sylvie first came across the joys and pains of mountain biking while rehabilitating from her first (of 4) knee surgeries in 1992. She soon learnt how to ride technical trails by trial and error and uh... chasing the guys. Soon after she started entering in any kind of mountain bike race she could find. 10 years later she worked her way up to travelling internationally racing both downhill and cross country, and finished her more serious racing career in 2002 after being crowned Canadian National Downhill Champion. Sylvie's passion for biking is fueled by backcountry adventures with friends and helping other riders explore beyond their boundaries and improve their skills. She's been coaching mountain biking for over 25 years, offering thousands of women of all levels new ways to discover their potential on the bike. Founding Sweet Skills in 2006 with the goal of offer custom local programs for women and organically growing with demand to offering backcountry camps along with international destinations. When not helping people on their bike, Sylvie is guiding them in the gym. She is certified as a Personal Trainer through BCRPA and has taken countless certification courses for mobility training, kettlebell, and rehabilitation. Inspiring others to reach their goals whether those goals are athletic, injury rehab, increased mobility, or weight loss. Sylvie has over 20 years experience and works hard to assist clients in reaching that next level of performance by first addressing imbalances to minimize risk of injury and creating a strong base for strength training.
Born and raised in Northern BC, Stacey has recently relocated to Whistler / Pemberton for her permanent home. Utilizing her 15 years of competitive equestrian riding and yoga teaching experience, she is very articulate with her instructional techniques, and is dialled into the benefits that correct position and balance will provide for riders of all levels. Her passion for the sport is demonstrated through her desire to motivate more mountain bikers to ride and progress their skills. Stacey believes the confidence we gain on the bike directly translates to other areas of our lives and is excited to be a part of your journey. Stacey is sure to be the ultimate enthusiast at any camp you attend!
Lynne, aka- the original Air Maiden! Lynne started mountain biking in her mid twenties and quickly fell in love with going down! After a few seasons racing, realized she was more of the 'freeride type' and spent the next while touring around as part of a bike stunt team in her native Scotland an exploring the amazing trails in BC. Lynne has been coaching women and girls since 2008 and spent the last 10 years running a womens' freeride event in an attempt to breakdown barriers to women who would like to get more comfortable in the air. She recently relocated back to Pemberton with her family and looks forward to being part of the Sweet Skills team where she hopes to help more women conquer and enjoy the awesome trails in her backyard. You have a 100% chance of laughing in any of Lynne's groups!
Laurie was born and raised in East Vancouver and grew up playing multiple team sports. In 2011 after damaging her knees playing soccer, she turned to cycling for rehab. She saw a mountain bike in the back of her local bike shop, looked up some videos about the sport and decided to take a women’s specific mountain bike camp (wearing Lululemon tights, soccer shin pads and Puma high-tops) - the rest is history! The new friends she met enjoyed racing, which led her to compete in over 30 downhill races including racing at the World Cup in Mont Sainte-Anne as an elite and winning a BC Provincial and a Canadian National title. With a BSc in Kinesiology/Psychology from UBC and years of experience training athletes in the gym, Laurie has a keen eye and appreciation for body position and movement efficiency on the bike. Her friends joke that she is “Captain Boring” because she rides difficult sections smoothly and effortlessly (as opposed to Captain Sketchy). Laurie has travelled all across North America coaching everyone from beginners to advanced and from kids on run-bikes to seniors wanting to ride with their grandchildren. There is always something to learn or refine and she is so excited to help you have more fun riding with your new-found skills! Lauria AKA Captain Awesome!
From a small town in Quebec, Meredith moved to BC 16 years ago for the skiing but stayed for the mountain biking. After competing on the Freeskiing Tour, her competition experience transitioned into a coaching role, both on skis and bikes. As a level 2 certified ski and bike instructor, she now coaches for the Whistler Freeride Club and for her own camp 'Rippin Chix', in the winter and coaches Mountain biking for a handful of companies in the summer. We are more than stoked to have Meredith a part of the Sweet Skills coaching team and so are her clients! Check out all the cool stuff she does here: www.mereditheades.com
Tera's work experience started when she was thirteen years old with coaching gymnastics. Since then she has become a diversified professional with over 25 years in the health and wellness industry. Tera completed professionally as snowboarder in her 20's, in half pipe and boarder-X. Following that was a transition to cycling where she became a professional downhill mountain bike racer. For many years since, Tera has been passionately coaching mountain biking to a wide range of students and adults. In 2010, Tera founded a personal training company called Tera Meade Training based out of Kamloops, BC, where she works with clients of varying abilities. She trains in her private home gym, outdoors, and offers corporate classes. Incorporating fitness information while coaching and riding in the backcountry is a dream come true for Tera.
Eliza was born in Quebec and quickly fell in love with the mountains. Her journey on the bike started here in the Sea to Sky in 2017 and she soon started coaching to meet more girls to ride with. Her own riding skills accelerated and she got her Level 2 PMBIA and starting coaching with Sweet Skills in 2023. Riding her bike is a way to feel more alive, as she stands on top of a difficult feature, fear turns to excitement. Eliza is so passionate about helping people break through their barriers no matter what level of rider. In the summer you'll find her in local races, on alpine adventures, or dirt biking. And in the winter, shredding powder on her snowboard or snowmobile. Her other job finds her booking helicopter trips for a local tour operator, making dreams come true one way or the other.
Mountain biking is Sophie's passion and values all the lessons it can teach us from self-reliance to confidence to commitment, to the power of nature. Sophie began her journey in a little country called Aotearoa, New Zealand. She was always adventuring and exploring outside, having fun! Sophie began riding and racing Cross Country as a young teen, but realised she enjoyed the physical and mental challenges that downhill riding provided. She began racing Downhill and found she thrived, this sparked the drive to travel overseas and race on the World Cup Circuit with the world's best! Sophie took a step back from international racing to give her time to cultivate and enjoy new skills. With over 10 years of experience and racing, she has had the privilege to work with some of the top coaches and mentors in the world. She has trained on tracks, in the gym and on the trails to continuously improve her abilities and, most importantly, have as much fun as possible on the bike. She cant wait to share these experiences on the trails with you too!
Upon graduating from University Emily ditched coastal life and hightailed it for the mountains. Ending up in Whistler she discovered mountain biking and became hooked! She's been exploring the mountains throughout the Sea2Sky corridor ever since. Emily loves to share her passion for mountain biking and when she's not out riding with friends you'll find her coaching WORCA youth camps, racing local & international Enduro events, and guiding clients with Tyax Adventures in the South Chilcotin Mountains. Always up for an adventure Emily is stoked to show you the goods. Emily is busy this year with 2 baby twins that have 'popped' into her life - she'll be back! Check this cool article about Emily in PinkBike!
Candace brings twenty years of experience as the founder and director of North America’s original mountain bike camp series, professional coaching and instructing certifications in four different sports, and the belief that every client is the most important one. She also holds a BA in international relations, seasons of dedication to university athletics and provincial sports governance, and so much appreciation for the opportunity to now focus on championing the many friends, businesses and sponsors who have supported her for so long. If you don't see her mountain bike or cheering on her students in the forest, you'll find her shredding the waters all around the globe kite-surfing, her other passion.
Kevin has always had a passion for being on 2 wheels. He bough his first mountain bike in 1986 and never looked back. Growing up at the base of Mount Fromme definitely had some advantages. He got to see, and be apart of the sport progressing to what it is today. In 1989 he entered his first race and got bit by the competitive bug. It wasn't long before he was racing cross country at the elite level and then continuing on to compete in trials, road and downhill over the following years. Being one of the top DH racers in British Columbia at the time was a blast and honed Kevin's technical riding skills. Since buying that first bike over 32 years ago his enthusiasm for riding has only grown!
Sam started mountain biking later in life unlike a lot of her riding buddies. In 2007, after years of running a distribution firm and doing the city run around, she decided to move from the Tri-cities and come to Whistler. It was her mission for life to be the exact opposite of what it had been. She decided to embrace everything Whistler had to offer and mountain biking was at the top of the list. She bought my first bike in 2008 and it has literally been all downhill from there! Mountain biking has truly turned into a passion that fuels life, and her goal is to share and empower others. She now spends her time working with the youth of the Sea to Sky Corridor through the WORCA youth programs, and collaborating with the other amazing advocates in women specifics events around BC
Christine, our Yukon connection! Christine started mountain biking in her early teens in Saskatoon, SK. After university, she moved to Canmore, AB where she lived and played for 15+ years. She was a coach and program manager of Rundle Mountain Cycling Club for 5 years. During that time, she grew the women’s MTB program three-fold, making RMCC one of the biggest clubs in western Canada with 70+ programs each year for 600+ riders of all ages and levels. She recently relocated to Whitehorse, YT and is loving exploring the amazing trails of the North. She's stoked to join the Sweet Skills crew for their camps in Whitehorse! Christine also coaches locally for the Whitehorse Bike Club and teaches cross-country skiing in the winter. Christine is passionate about bikes and about the arts - she is a landscape painter and works for Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity to raise funds that support arts and Indigenous leadership programs. She has two rad boys - Maddox and Hazen - who also love to shred on skis and on bikes.
Andreanne started her coaching sports career early on at 14 years old in Quebec and she has continued on with that for the past 14 years internationally. She was firstly a road cycling athlete and competed in the Quebec games when she was 16 years old and continued her passion onto the dirt when she worked in Chile in 2017. She soon moved to Whistler in 2020 and is thrilled to get others as passionate as she is about mountain biking! She is eager to keep your stoke high and passing on her best tricks & tips!
Emma was not born in Whistler (aka never ever land), but says she feels lucky, excited and proud to call this mountain adventure 'mecca' her home. Her bike journey started with her first job as a paper girl, slipping around wet corners as she delivered (sometimes soggy) papers in a small village in the UK. The sharp learning curve began in 2007 with her first season in the Whistler bike park. Since then she has been an avid biker - DH, XC and (dare she say it) road triathlon! Emma will admit she is a little obsessed with how the body moves best and with her mother being a P.E. teacher it was not a surprise she too became a mountain bike coach (2013), personal trainer (2015) and Yoga Teacher (2017). Emma’s competitive focus lay in triathlon, qualifying for the world long distance triathlon champs and off road Xterra champs in 2015. She now prefers a good old muddy shred day with friends and a more random selection of bike ‘missions’, flowing through a yoga practice or hanging out in the sky on aerial silks.
Pika - Sweet Skills official Mascot! She's been around trails and bikes for 13 years, bringing smiles to everybody around. A bit of a therapy dog sometimes! Quick to get out of the way and let you go first, Pika is there to make your riding more enjoyable. Happy to take detours while waiting for you on the climbs, sniffing for squirrels and rabbits and never complaining about the trail choices or company. Check out her instagram account for all of Pika's adventures: @pika_sneaks