Five Years of Hangtime: Built by Hannah, Carried by Community
Five years in, Hangtime keeps getting bigger - without losing the reason it exists.
Hannah Bergemann became Tenet's first athlete in 2018, back when our brand was still finding its footing. We believed in the way she approached riding: with drive, humility, and a kind of contagious energy that makes everyone around her want to send something huge.
Eight years later, those same qualities are at the center of Hangtime.
From a small session to something much bigger
Hannah started Hangtime in Bellingham in 2021 with fewer than 20 riders. For its fifth edition, more than 60 invited women came together at Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park, ranging in age from 14 to 48 and traveling from across the United States and Canada, as well as Australia and France.
The numbers are impressive, but they are not the point. Hangtime gives riders the terrain, time, and support to progress without turning every lap into a result. Established pros and emerging riders share the same course, trade techniques, tow one another into new features, build massive trains, and celebrate the attempts as loudly as the makes.
That atmosphere does not happen by accident. It reflects the way Hannah has always ridden and the kind of community she has spent years building around her.
More ways in
This year, Hangtime opened the gates wider. On Saturday, Kat Sweet and Sweetlines led two free jump clinics for intermediate-to-advanced riders. Later that afternoon, the public jump jam brought spectators trailside to see just how far women's freeride has come, and where it is headed next.
That visibility matters. When younger riders can stand next to the course, watch a huge train roll through, and see riders who look like them choosing their own version of progression, what is possible starts to feel real.
The riding was huge, but the weekend was not organized around a podium. Riders voted on awards that recognized creativity, determination, progression, and community. We were especially proud to present the Tenet Spirit Award to Kaia Jensen - a recognition of the energy that makes Hangtime more than a riding event.
Proud from the beginning
We are proud to support Hangtime, but even prouder of the person behind it.
Hannah was Tenet's first athlete because we saw more than talent. We saw someone who rode purely for the love of riding, put in the work to push herself, and shared those experiences with those around her. Hangtime is that same spirit made tangible: ambitious without ego, serious about progression, and rooted in the belief that the best days on bikes are shared.
To watch an idea that began with fewer than 20 riders grow into a weekend for more than 60 - while staying collaborative, welcoming, and unmistakably Hannah - is something special.
Congratulations to every rider who took a new step, every builder and volunteer who made the weekend possible, and every partner who helped create the space. Most of all, congratulations to Hannah. We have been proud to stand behind you since 2018, and we cannot wait to see where you take Hangtime next.
Photo Credit: Robin O'neall and Hannah Sourbeer
Follow @hangtime.bike for more from the weekend.
