MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM UPDATE
Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Will this be the fate of the Mammoth Mountain Bike Team?
The Mammoth Mountain Bike Team has been second place at their last two races, fighting for the top step with the Carson City Senators. Out of 2,000 points per race, Mammoth has trailed an average of 50 points behind the Senators. Individual racers earn about 500 points for a win with 31st place still earning 326 points, which means every athlete’s finish place counts and the battle for the fastest team is tight! There are two races remaining in the mountain bike season. One at Hidden Valley Regional Park in Reno/Sparks and one race in Carson City. Unfortunately, Mammoth’s home race was canceled due to cold forecasted temperatures; precipitation and lightning making all five races travel events to the Reno/Tahoe area for the Mammoth team.
The Mammoth Mountain Bike Team has 48 athletes in Middle School and High School. As a cross-country bike team they pedal up, down and all around our trails in Mammoth and at the Mammoth Mountain Bike Park. Some athletes love to compete while others join the team to ride bikes with their friends.
Throughout the season, the team works on technical riding skills such as braking, shifting, cornering, descending and climbing. This summer and fall, the athletes enjoyed adventure rides from Mammoth to Whitmore Pool (about 15 miles); from Mammoth to Layton Cold Springs (about 21 miles); to the ice cream store; to a pop-up Popsicle stand at the Lakes Basin; climbed over a hale bale with their bike during an Obstacle Course race and played carnival games on their bikes. They hydro dipped and painted team hats, made art and jewelry out of bike parts, scouted items in a scavenger hunt and camped at Yerington for one of their races. There were plenty of days to sprint, sweat, climb and ride hard during the season as well, but the bike team includes a lot more than hard work and training for races. There are activities and practices to appeal to the hard chargers as well as the social riders.
The Mammoth Mountain Bike Team is part of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) and the Northern Nevada League (NICL). Guided by values of fun, inclusivity, equity, respect and community NICA’s motto is #MoreKidsonBikes. With 31 leagues and over 25,000 athletes spread out over fall and spring seasons young athletes nationwide are getting the opportunity to ride with their friends, become more confident riders and join a lifetime community of cyclists. Our Northern Nevada League has about 600 athletes and races can see 300 athletes competing across the Reno/Tahoe/Mammoth areas.
MMCF SUPPORT
MMCF works hard to break down the financial barriers to make mountain biking more accessible.
We work with the Mountain Bike Team leadership to offer a bike lending program that allows students to borrow a mountain bike all season long, free of charge to the families.
We also offer a reimbursement scholarships directly to team families to offset the costs of team practice and traveling to competitions. This reimbursement scholarship is currently open for applications.
