Here are our rituals, what are yours?

Little Bellas is just about to kick off our 2026 season and before we do that, we wanted to explore what kinds of rituals our team members from across the country engage in and why. First though, what’s a ritual? Let’s start with that!

We asked the nationwide Little Bellas team if they had any rituals they practice, no matter whether it’s pre-season, post-season or anywhere in between. We didn’t realize that the question is loaded with more questions, like “What’s a ritual?” or “When is a ritual just a habit?”

"I really like the shorthand that ritual is a way of making invisible things visible. I mean feelings like gratitude, hope and awe. It’s about embodying them — attaching a feeling to a practice.” — Casper ter Kuile, Jackson, Lauren (2025 November 30) “How to Create Rituals” New York Times 

By this definition, what a ritual may look like for a mountain biker (maybe that’s you), for instance, would be to attempt “the scary rock (or log)” on each routine ride of your favorite trail and congratulate yourself for going over it, or whispering words of encouragement, like “Don’t beat yourself up, there’s always next time,” if you don’t. 

For a first-time Little Bella, who hasn’t yet experienced the joy of mountain biking, a ritual might just be showing up to every session and high fiving the lead at the end. Or it could be throwing her leg over her bike, riding a little farther at every session, and taking credit for what she’s accomplished.

The question to the team was open-ended — they could give any answer they wanted to. But given that these women were all self-motivated to bring Little Bellas to their respective communities — in other words, they called us, we didn’t call them — their responses naturally aligned with a personal drive to get more girls on bikes.

What follow are voluntary rituals that happen across the country in communities where there’s a Little Bellas program:

Jade Fernandez, Asheville, NC

“My pre-season ritual is obsessively riding the trails like I’m 7 so I can experience it from a Bellas POV. It’s so helpful for planning and knowing when we’ll have to walk etc. Riding like a 7 year old to me means, 'Can a 7-year-old handle this feature?' But it also means being really, really joyful — not caring about riding fast, getting distracted by nature, and maybe even making up a song.”

 

Lindsay Norsworthy, Baltimore, Md.

“We deal with a lot of freeze-thaw cycles in the Mid-Atlantic, but I definitely prefer to be outside rather than inside. During the winter, my family skis at local resorts. We all learned to ski just a few years ago, and not surprisingly, my 10- and 8-year-old daughters are now better than me. As for biking, I have a friend who loves to get me out on the trails…we just have to ride when the temps are below freezing to protect them! I have to admit; it can be hard to motivate myself to go ride or hike in the woods when the temps are frigid. That first mile of movement is hard to push through! But then my body warms up, and I get to appreciate the sounds and sights of the woods in winter. It pulls me out of the seasonal doldrums.”

Lori Vosacek, Cuyuna, Minn.

“My end of year ritual: I usually take my bike and the fleet of bikes to be serviced in November. I like getting bikes serviced in the fall at the end of season because bike shops are less busy, and it just feels good to know my Little Bellas fleet is ready to go when the snow melts — all I have to do is put air in the tires. We never know when our trails will open after spring thaw, and sometimes it happens suddenly. I love riding on "trail opener day" after the long winter (and months of non-dirt rides). The bike shops get super busy as soon as trails open, and I feel good about beating the rush. 

 

Kaitlin Graiff, Santa Cruz, Calif.

“Once the rain closes the trails, I will give my bike a much-needed cleaning and maintenance. Giving my bike a thorough cleaning and tune-up is a way of slowing down and resetting before the season begins. It helps me feel connected to my bike and reminds me that taking care of my gear is part of taking care of myself. It’s also a chance to reflect on past rides and head into the first ride with peace of mind, confidence, and excitement.”

Martha Flynn, Saint Paul, Minn.

“Reorganizing program supplies and brainstorming on new games.  Cleaning fleet bikes and tucking them in for the winter.”

Megan Waters, Salt Lake City, Utah

“I clean the old snacks and wrappers out of my bike pack from the season before. Maybe I’ll take a trip or two to the desert to get my butt kicked on technical riding but also to jump start the excitement to be on bikes. I also organize my program box because I’m a procrastinator and don’t do it at the end of the season before.”

When is a ritual just a habit?

To solve a problem, form a habit (though sometimes the habit is the problem, which needs to be replaced by a better habit). For instance, exercising daily can be a habit but riding your mountain bike to the same spot every morning to watch the sun rise and create a haiku about the day, that’s a ritual.

Maybe you already have a ritual or maybe you’d like to create one. Let’s work together on this; here are 10 suggestions to spark your own ritual:

• Power down electronics for a set time each day/week
• Make up your bed in the morning
• Name three things you are grateful for each day
• Prepare one nourishing meal each day
• Recite your favorite motivational quote when stress starts creeping up
• Build a healthy habit into your day (10-minute walk, 5 deep breaths, flossing…) and use it to ground yourself
• Tell your child one thing you love about them every day/week, write it down, and give it to them for X-mas
• Write to a friend and tell them what you like love about them
• Balance on one leg while brushing your teeth and strengthen your will to be healthy
• Do something that inspires you every day

We hope that our rituals and these suggestions are just what you need to build your own ritual(s) into your life!