Tammy Donahugh is a US freeride/dirtjumper who has been busting out big tricks for years, and we featured a video of her riding back when Martha Hucker first started, called Girls Rock (see it here). She’s just put together a sequel, and we caught up with her to talk about her riding.
Hey Tammy! How long have you been riding, and how did you get into it?
I’m pretty sure I’ve been riding long enough that I could be eligible to receive a lifetime achievement award :) ! Back when I was a rebel teenager my boyfriend and his buddies started getting into mountain biking and mtb racing, so I wanted to tag along. I got addicted to everything about it, and before I knew it riding bikes was a major part of my life.
Who do you ride with normally, and where do you ride? Any other girls that shred in your area?
I ride with my talented hubby mostly. It’s hard to find girls that want to ride dirt jumps and skate parks, so it ends up just being myself & my music a lot of the time. There are a ton of talented riders in the area, so unless there’s a competition going on, there’s generally a rider or 10 at any given DJ spot. We did have a strong girl posse for a short while here in CO, but a few of them moved out to California for the year round warmth. The OG crew is Lisa Myklak, Emily Johnston, Nadia Steinbrecher, and myself. Hopefully we can all meet up for a much needed reunion soon!
Tammy at Slope Sistair
What motivates you the most to go out and push your riding to the next level?
Anytime I get to ride with my friends and see them learning and pushing their limits gets me pumped to try new things. Progression is always happening out there and it continually amazes me how deep the sea of learning is. I don’t want to end up an old maid either, so that’s some motivation!!
How do you psych yourself up to try new tricks?
I think I need to work on my psyching up methods. Being in my thirties with a career & a mortgage has possibly created some type of wussie cell in my brain.
Although any time someone in the crew nails a new trick I instantly want to try it! Once you get a few that you can throw comfortably it’s like an addiction and you want to get more tricks in your bag. I definitely had a dry spell recently where I was not learning any new specific tricks, but there is SO much more to jumping and riding than throwing a trick.
What’s your worst injury, and what do you when you can’t ride?
Last year I had a pretty bad experience by breaking both my elbows at the same time. One was pretty smashed up as well as the ligaments torn off and needed some hardware to fix it. Obviously not being able to use both of your arms for some time is somewhat traumatic, but an injury I experienced early in my racing days I would count as my worst. I crashed on a DH Nationals course and ended up putting a hole in my face with a rock. It tore off my left nostril and you could see my teeth through my cheek (imagine a pumpkin being impaled). When you cut through the nerves in your face, that area does not work for quite some time. For about 3 months it looked like I had suffered a stroke because one side of my face would not function. I don’t think it could have been fixed & healed much better than it did, but changing the look of your face definitely leaves more of a mental scar.
Somehow I’ve managed to only injure my upper extremities to date, so during my time off the bike I can usually hike, run, spin, etc., to keep me from turning into a professional slack-a-sauras!
Tammy busting out a big X-up at her home jumps for J'ammy Jam
What’s your favorite event of the year, and why?
Aside from the annual Jump Jam we host in our backyard (the raddest most awesome event ehverr! Aka the J’ammy Jam) I wouldn’t say I’ve got one favorite specific event, but definitely a type of event. The slopestyle events that offer pro & amateur classes/courses with a fun festival atmosphere are the ones I will rally to get to. It’s great when they’ve got more than just the main attraction going on too. For example – best trick comps, dual slalom races, clinics, ramps to session, etc. Out of all the events I did in 2009 I would vote the Ranch Jam “most fun”!
Tell us your raddest riding story…
It seems like I could tell a rad story for almost every road trip, race, jump jam, or fun day of DH riding with friends, but I think the raddest story is how riding a bike has made me into the person I am today. I know it sounds cheesy, but bikes have taken me to so many parts of the world I would have never seen, which in turn has created so many experiences. Experiences are what life is all about in my opinion. On top of that, I am pretty sure that I would have never turned into the confident, strong minded person that I’ve become which helps me get through day by day.
Tammy pinning it at Ray's indoor mountain bike park
Anyone you’d like to thank?
I thank Jimmy Donahugh for putting up with me, Terry Seeberg for giving me more than I can put into words, my old school crew from Santa Cruz for teaching me to harden the f*%k up and that boy Jeff Swain who has no idea what he did when he introduced me to bicycles.
Cheers Tammy, and good luck getting that life time achievement award sometime too!
Tammy and ten other rad female freeriders are featuring in a new video project called ‘Awesome Land’. Check out her brief promo for it below, more info at bonesovermetal.com
