Name: Petra Davis
Hometown: Anchorage, Alaska
Major: Exercise Science
Occupation: Spinning Instructor at Elevate Cycling
Hobbies: Mountain biking (especially endurance races), Alpine and Nordic skiing, hanging out in coffee shops, shopping, snowshoeing and snowbiking — it’s the hot new thing.
Why did you move to Montana? I wanted to go to school in Bozeman because the culture and climate are incredible. It has warm falls and mild winters and is a cute town with many active people and things to do. It seemed like a perfect fit.
What is a day you will never forget? One day while coaching a close friend, the young girl told me how I made a difference in her riding, saying, “Coach Petra, I want to be just like you.” I will never forget that experience. I’m sure she doesn’t realize, but those words made a lasting impression, especially considering how talented the young athlete is.
If you could do anything for a day, what would it be? Riding in New Zealand. It’s exotic; it’s mountain biking. It sounds perfect.
As a student at MSU, Davis is getting her undergraduate degree in exercise science. This combines her passion of mountain biking with physical therapy. Although Davis isn’t 100 percent sure whether she would like to do it the rest of her life, attaining a degree in exercise science is important because of her love for riding bikes.
Currently working as a spinning instructor at Elevate Cycling, Davis pursues all things mountain biking. Davis is also a youth mountain biking coach and loves the thrill of coaching and improving the skill sets of young bikers.
Helping kids share the thrill of mountain biking is what Davis considers “absolutely one of my favorite parts of riding.” Growing up in Alaska, Davis’ love for the outdoors was instilled very early in life. As an 11-year-old girl, Davis and her three girlfriends, “The Pedaling Pixies,” competed in a 24-hour endurance race. Currently, Davis races for an endurance team, Team Kaladi. For Davis, the camaraderie and sense of accomplishment achieved by competing in an endurance race outweighs the pain.
