Our Story & Our Team

Sylvi is the founder of Momentum Mountain Biking (formerly Moab Moab Mountain Bike Instruction). Her empathetic leadership style is forged by a decade of experience leading Moab Mountain Bike Instruction and nearly as many years as the North American Program Manager of a mountain bike instructional program that spanned the Western United States and Canada.

Sylvi is professionally certified through the BICP and PMBIA  and has been teaching mountain biking since 2009. One of the things she loves most about mountain biking is the seduction of the trail feature that is barely out of reach. It calls her forward to being a better rider and to continue learning and developing her skills.

Her favorite skill to teach is technical climbing. There’s something special about the sustained level of focus required through multiple obstacles on a climb and that feeling of defying physics as you float over obstacles going uphill.

In developing the curriculum for Momentum Mountain Biking, Sylvi loves crafting lesson plans based on the specific goals of her students and seeing the smiles that come when they achieve so much more than they expected to learn. After hundreds of lessons and honing lesson plans for students of varying abilities, she is equally passionate about supporting the development of these skills in each of Momentum’s coaches.

Beth has been mountain biking since her mom taught her how over 20 years ago. A former downhill and enduro racer, she now enjoys finding more fun and flow in her riding. Beth is professionally certified through both PMBIA and BICP.

She is patient and personable and loves to ride bikes. She has coached countless MTB enthusiasts to be more comfortable and confident.

Her favorite skills to teach are the ready position and the “roll down lunge,” foundational to riding steep, rocky terrain. Beth is the Program Manager and Moab Lead Coach for Momentum Mountian Biking.

Jeff moved to Moab from Bozeman, Montana, in 2017 to fully embrace the life of a mountain bike skills coach and guide. He holds a BICP mountain bike instructor certification, and his favorite skill to teach is cornering.

When he is not on his bike, Jeff also loves whitewater rafting, backcountry skiing, making pottery, and chasing his puppy around.

Julie is a BICP certified mountain bike instructor. She enjoys working with all levels of mountain bikers to ensure a good foundation, build confidence, and gain the skills to progress to more challenging terrain.

Julie’s favorite things to teach are wheel lifts and roll-down lunges because they build confidence on Moab’s technical terrain and make riding more playful and fun! She loves riding technical terrain and breaking down new features into different skills.

Julie has a master’s degree in nutrition and is the director of World Ride, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women globally through mountain biking.

Morgan is a BICP Level 1 Certified Instructor who splits her time between the desert of Moab and the mountains of Colorado.

As someone who got into mountain biking as an adult, she loves spreading skills and stoke through sharing her story and inspiring her students to learn how confidence-building and empowering mountain biking can be at any age.

She loves teaching everything but especially technical climbing, rock gardens, and drops!

Scott is a BICP certified professional mountain bike instructor. He has a deep passion for lifelong learning and teaching all things bike.

Having honed his technical skills in his late 30s, Scott is very conscious of progressive skill-building to avoid injury and maximize fun. He loves all riding styles, from technical downhill and climbing to long-distance bikepack touring.

photo: Mike Curiak

Trained and experienced in various learning environments, Shelly has contributed to several innovative and effective programs. Her path has progressed through the classrooms of typical public schools to the unique challenges of working with students and families serving in the armed services, and on to special needs facilities.

She has coached skiing, mountain biking, gymnastics, freestyle ski jumping, and runs adult mountain bike programs in the Park City area. In her role as Wasatch Regional Trainer for the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), Shelly trains and certifies parents as volunteer ride leaders for their high school mountain bike teams.

She has collectively held certifications with the Professional Mountain Bike Instructor Association (PMBIA), International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA), Bike Instructor Certification Program (BICP), and Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) for the past 17 years.

Shelly is the mother of two daughters and the wife of a U.S. Marine, now a technology executive. "Living in Utah for the past 17 years has allowed me to share and enjoy my love of playing in the mountains in both the snow and on dirt.”

Jonathan is a PMBIA-Certified Instructor based in Grand Junction and Fruita, Colorado. As a former elite road racer, he still enjoys pedaling hard, but now prefers pumping, jumping, floating, and flowing his way up and down the trails. Jonathan also has a Ph.D. in wildlife biology, is a filmmaker and photographer, and loves learning about and sharing the natural history of the region’s flora, fauna, and geological marvels. His goal for every client is at least one “aha,” light-bulb moment that will change the way they ride forever.

Having spent years teaching himself to mountain bike mostly through trial and error as an adult, Jonathan is eager to help fellow riders “soften the learning curve” and “rapidly accelerate their progress” (puns intended!) Whether beginners learning a totally new sport, or experienced riders looking to develop advanced techniques, he loves helping people of all ages and backgrounds build confidence, speed, style, safety, and creativity—while having more fun.

The only thing Jonathan finds more rewarding than big days of mountain biking and backcountry skiing in our region’s stunning landscapes is sharing those skills, passions, and places with others as a teacher, coach, and guide.

Virginia is an accomplished short track, XC, enduro, and marathon racer and teaches art history at the University of Utah and serves on the board of directors for the Professional Mountain Bike Instructor Association, PMBIA . Initially attracted to improving their mountain biking skills to be a faster racer without having to train harder, Virginia now gets the most stoke out of helping their students feel more confident and have more fun on their bikes.

Their favorite skills to teach are cornering and braking. Helping people feel like they have more control over their bikes opens up a whole new world of fun! Plus, what’s more fun to say than “ease the squeeze”?

Virginia is certified through PMBIA and USA Cycling Beginner Racer Program.

Tina is a mom, mountain bike instructor, and entrepreneur. She is certified through PMBIA and BICP and has been teaching mountain biking since 2015. Teaching allows Tina to guide people through deep self-discovery. She loves creating spaces for people to show up and push their boundaries, and she feels that one of the greatest gifts of this work is witnessing someone realize that they can do more than they thought.

Some of her favorite things about mountain biking are the wind through her hair and the feeling of freedom and self-reliance that mountain biking brings. One of Tina’s favorite skills to teach is the pedaling front wheel lift. From the parking lot to using it on the trail to being able to wheelie for dayzzzzz! She loves unicorns and never imagined that she would be an MTB coach when she grew up. Tina is the founder of EveryPedal MTB, an inclusion-focused mountain bike program that cultivates connection, positive self-talk, and healthy core values to become happier, healthier, more connected people.