Mountain Biking club will never get TIREd of inclusivity
January 3, 2023
The Redwood Mountain Biking Club is not considered an official Redwood team; however, the club still fosters a team camaraderie and atmosphere, creating a close team bond, and is unlike any other Redwood sport. Despite the popularity of mountain biking in Marin, few students are aware of the success and sociability of the Mountain Biking Club. In addition to focusing on skill and competition, the club places emphasis on creating a comfortable and welcoming environment. Redwood is renowned for having very competitive athletics, yet the mountain biking club doesn’t cut anyone, nor does it require you to show up to every practice, though it is encouraged.
“Our main motive is to take riders of any skill level. We have riders who have never been on a bike before, and we have had riders who compete on national levels for biking. We don’t turn anyone away, and we don’t have tryouts. If you don’t want to race [in competitions], you don’t have to,” senior captain Bryce Kim said.
Currently, the club practices once a week, but once the spring season starts up, it will transition to three times a week. As a result of the practice flexibility and team inclusivity, the club has around 80 members, all with varying skill levels. Despite how large the club is, the members are still able to form close relationships through practices and competitions. The group splits themselves into differing levels before every practice so that everyone feels comfortable with the difficulty of their ride. Senior co-captain Caroline Goodrich, who started mountain biking during quarantine, highlights the bond formed from biking in smaller groups.
“We have groups one through six, one is the fastest, six is the slowest. That way we’re able to ride and talk and have fun with people who have the same abilities as [us]. You’re able to stick together, and it feels a lot more like a team,” Goodrich said.
Having recently transferred from Marin Catholic (MC), junior Isabelle Landry, who has been mountain biking since eighth grade, says that the Mountain Biking Club is what ultimately convinced her to come to Redwood as opposed to going to Branson.
“[Redwood] is a lot more [focused on] mountain biking because there’s a lot more people [on the team], so there’s less competition. Whereas, [my team at MC] was around 15 people, and everyone made a clear, step-by-step ladder of ‘Oh, this person is the fastest, this person is the slowest, this person is [ranked number] six, this person is [ranked number] eight,’” Landry said. “On a big team, it doesn’t really matter as much. You can let loose and breathe when you’re on rides, which is really nice. I think everyone on the team is just a lot closer and more relaxed because there’s a lot less competition.”
Beyond its positive environment, the club has also been very successful in their racing in the past and is hoping to continue this in the upcoming season.
“We have a lot of good riders this year. Redwood will normally place in the top five or top three of [Northern California]. Our top competitors will often be [Archie Williams] or [Tamalpais] for those placements,” Kim said.
Clearly, regardless of the fact that they are not considered an official Redwood team, the club is nevertheless popular and performs well in competitions. Landry credits a lot of the club’s success to the coaches.
“I love the coaching support. We just have so many coaches, and they’re all really amazing. I think one of the most important parts of a team is having a good coach to motivate you,” Landry said.
In addition to coach motivation, Goodrich says that team motivation during competitions is also a vital aspect of the club members’ relationships, despite mountain biking being a very individualized sport.
“During races, we all cheer each other on because we race at different times. So we’re riding around, yelling at people like ‘Go, go, go!’ We definitely have team spirit, but it’s one of working together, not as much competing together,” Goodrich said. “The races are split up by grade and gender, so there’s a lot of different sections. But overall, you race and whatever time you get [correlates with] a certain amount of points for your team.”
Looking towards this upcoming season, Kim, Goodrich and Landry are all confident in their club’s skill level and are excited to continue spending time with their teammates and representing Redwood out on the trails. Although the club is not one that gets much recognition, the camaraderie and success of the team speaks for itself and shows their commitment to inclusivity and dedication.
