Babes of Bantam hit trail
WORTH TWP — Lady Jeepers young and old gathered near the woods at Cooper's Lake Campground Friday afternoon to ready themselves for the first Babes of Bantam Trail Ride.
The trail ride was created just for women attending the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival, which is in its seventh year.
Female guides and spotters led the ladies through a beginner's trail that was designed with obstacles just for the girls. The trail ride was organized by Wendy Callahan and Christie Vinson.
“No intimidation, no pressure, take your time and feel 100 percent comfortable,” Vinson said as she gave instruction to the first group lined up.
Drivers in groups of 25 navigated their Jeeps around the narrow and winding trail, climbing over logs, up steep hills and through a ditch. After the trail, they were free to roam the Jeep Playground to tackle even more challenging obstacles.
“It's nice to be provided an outlet for other women to wheel without the intimidation factor from other guys,” said Leanne Sutton of Frederick, Md.
Sutton, who was driving a mud-coated 2008 Jeep Wrangler JK, said she learned to off-road from her father almost as soon as she could legally drive. She helped others less experienced air down their tires before the trail ride started.
The ride came together after organizers noticed that they were getting more women in the Jeeping community, Callahan said, but many of them were too intimidated to drive the trails on their own or with their husbands or boyfriends.
So the Babes of Bantam Trail Ride was born.
It is the first fully-instructed trail riding course for the festival. The event, which garnered 100 participants, sold out in just a few weeks after it opened for registration, Callahan said.
Helaine Connor of Bellevue said guys tend to underestimate women, so it was fun to ride with all girls. While she's gone wheeling before, she went on the trail ride to learn even more.
“I had anxiety going over the logs,” Connor said of the log bridge in the Jeep Playground. But the best way to learn is to do it yourself, she said.
Lady Jeepers came from all over the east coast for the trail ride, including Maryland, New York New Jersey, Ohio and even Canada. Many were driving with their husbands or girl friends riding shotgun.
Scott Barnes of Hazlet, N.J., convinced his wife, Judeanne, to hit the trails in his Jeep Wrangler “to empower her” and to help her feel more comfortable driving off-road, he said.
“I want to be able to share more experiences with her,” Barnes said.
For her part, Judeanne Barnes said she was pretty nervous before they started. But she was feeling better once they'd gotten through all the obstacles.
“I am relieved,” she said. “Now I can have fun.”
