Kelly Milligan - More About Me

Let me introduce myself. My name is Kelly Milligan, formerly Kelly O’Brien, hence the Kelly O’Bikes Instagram handle. My husband and I married in 2022, two years after taking up mountain biking together. Therefore, I am what you would call a “Covid rider”, but as the Covid wave of riding seems to calm down, my love of riding keeps getting stronger. I recently gave birth to my firstborn which means this introduction coincides with my resurgence back into the sport after the greater part of a year out of the saddle. So, my perspective will be from multiples angles; a woman, a mother, and someone who is working to get back to a place she was before giving birth to her son.

Let’s start from the start and answer, “why mountain biking?” The pandemic lockdowns were an obvious catalyst for myself and many others, but truth-be-told I was interested in mountain biking before the pandemic as I have always gravitated to exhilarating sports and a coworker of mine had been talking up mountain biking to me for some time before I ever pressed a dropper post lever.

For our first ride ever, my husband and I grabbed a couple of demo bikes. I believe his had 140mm of rear suspension and mine 135mm. Head to toe in our gym clothes and wearing our road bike helmets we first set out for Santiago Oaks Park in Orange, CA. It was in the middle of the day on May 23rd of 2020 and our unconditioned climbing abilities quickly wilted in the heat. So, we decided to go somewhere closer to the ocean and hopefully cooler in Aliso Viejo where we ventured down the infamous Rock-It trail which at the time was terrifying.

After our first day and despite the near heat exhaustion and intimidation we were as motivated as ever to get back out there and find some amount of mountain bike success. There was something about the nature of the sport, both physical and mental, that drew us to it. Each weekend for the next few weeks we would demo bikes and visit a new spot, looking for the bikes and the trails that were just the right fit for our abilities and aspirations. 

After we had purchased our first bikes and dedicated mountain bike apparel, we went on our first group ride. It was one of those groups that are on Facebook and open to everyone. There we had a fun ride in Ladera Ranch and met some great people, some of whom we still ride with to this day. For the next few months my husband and I after work would take the front wheels off our bikes, load them in the back of my SUV, drive over to the Santa Margarita Water District parking lot, and do laps at the same spot in Ladera Ranch until the sun went down. It is so funny to think about how intimidating some of the features there were at the time.

Since those days, I have expanded my riding across Southern California all the way to the Whistler Bike Park. It was a surreal feeling to be standing at the top of the Garbonzo chair lift in Whistler with some of my closest riding friends getting ready to drop in on a black diamond trail. The ups and downs of mountain biking, no pun intended, have taught me quality personal lessons, created new relationships, strengthened existing ones, and added another thing to look forward to week-after-week. I look forward to sharing more of my experiences with you.

As far as challenges and milestones in getting into the sport I would say the first is just building the endurance to be able to get out there and do a few trails. It won’t come immediately. Next is getting the understanding of just how capable your bike is, and bikes these days are incredibly capable. And lastly, push yourself to try new things but don’t have a “just send it” mentality. If you come across a new trail or feature and think your nerves might cloud your abilities, just come back another day. You might be surprised the next time at how much easier it may look, and nothing hurts your progression more than being hurt. My husband and I always say, the more you ride the smaller and flatter everything gets, so just give it time. 

If you are a woman interested in the sport, I would encourage you to give it an honest chance. There are many incredibly supportive women and women’s riding networks that you can ride with. And eventually, you will add to that league of support for new women riders such as yourself.

So, as I get back into this sport that I love I really look forward to sharing my wins and challenges with you. Sharing with you the bikes, gear, and tips that I find useful. And most of all, I hope to see you on the trail.