Mentorship often happens informally within the outdoor community, but we are keen to create a space for it to happen with intention. Through a mentor-mentee relationship, we’d like to invite people who are curious, but might not have the knowledge, gear or confidence; with those who already have a fair few adventures under their belt.

Roll Models is inspired by a brilliant mentorship scheme in Canada called Mountain Mentors that Roll Models Founder Athlyn was involved in, both as a mentee and mentor. Mountain Mentors has been operating in British Columbia, Canada for over 8 years, pairing over 1,000 people in activities like backcountry skiing and climbing. They’re doing incredible work to support women and other marginalised genders to safely experience and explore outdoors, and we’d like to give a big shout-out to them for what  they’ve created!

Roll Models programming is geared towards women and other marginalised genders comfortable in a space that centres the experience of women in the outdoors. As women ourselves, we know that outdoor communities can often feel intimidating, hostile and inaccessible, which is why through Roll Models, we seek to remove barriers and create a space where all are invited to grow confidence and knowledge.

Due to the in-person nature of the mentorship, we require you to be based in/near Bristol so you’re able to connect as a pair and cohort.

This mentorship is an informal relationship centred around confidence building and knowledge-sharing, and is not formal cycle coaching or guiding. Formal coaching focused on technical skills and safety is offered in many places around Bristol. While mentorship often involves supportive guidance, it is a two-way street, not a teacher/student or leader/follower relationship. Our ethos is that everyone has something to learn, and everyone has something to share.

In order to facilitate pairings, our application process encourages individuals to express both their current experience level, and the level of experience they seek in a mentor or mentee to feel comfortable and safe.

When talking about Roll Models, we’ve heard people say that they don’t think they have enough experience. You don’t need to be a super-fast cyclist or technical off-road rider to be a mentor, you just need to feel excited about the idea of sharing whatever experience you have! Whether you’ve completed bikepacking races, or been on a few overnight camping trips by bike – the knowhow you’ve built along the way may be invaluable to someone who’s keen to get going.

As a mentee, you should be able to ride a bike safely on the road. If you’re not quite at that stage yet, there are [many great organisations in Bristol](https://betterbybike.info/cycling-centres/bristol-cycling-centre/whats-on/family-level-1/#:~:text=Bikeability is government-recognised%2C practical,short comfort%2Fhand washing break.) supporting folks to get rolling.

You’ll need a bike, and that’s about it!

When it comes to overnighters and camping equipment, there’s an opportunity in our application for you to tell us what equipment you already have, and/or how you might access it. If you don’t have any camping kit, we will support pairs with what they need to spend a night under the stars.

Application for mentors/mentees will ask you to provide information on your motivations for joining the programme, your objectives, and a little bit about yourself. Based on this information, Roll Models will then pair mentees with mentors for one-to-one (or two-to-two, as above!) partnerships.

Over a 6-7 month period, Roll Models will support pairs to fulfil their objectives, as well as programming meetups, group rides, overnighters, socials, and other activities.

Bringing the cohort (mentees/mentors) together at a launch event in early 2025, we’d like to co-create this together. While we encourage pairs to set their own rhythms and intentions, we’d suggest that pairs organise:

• An initial meet up to get to know one another once you’ve been matched;

• A goal-setting session together as a pair (this could be in addition to, or part of the above!);

• One in-person meet-up every two months (i.e.. bike ride, planning session, or overnighter);

• Attendance to the Cohort Kickoff Event TBC (Sat 15 March)

• One overnighter per cohort (TBC, but likely bi-annually) – this could be just within pairings, or as part of a bigger group/Roll Models event.

Above all, we ask that you put your best efforts into nurturing your mentorship relationship. If you have any questions about the time commitment or participation in the programme, please reach out to hello.roll.models@gmail.com to discuss.