Our Summer and Fall

We've had a busy few months. Our lives have been mostly consumed by mountain biking since last April. Though it's been a lot of work, it's also been very fulfilling and rewarding to see our daughter shine, our son genuinely support her, and to make a few new close friends. It's been a lot of fun.

Last winter, Brian encouraged Elizabeth to participate in some of the MBAA (Mountain Biking of Association of Arizona) races. The two of them had been hitting the trails on a regular basis, and he thought she might enjoy doing the races like he did. She did two races and though she completed them, no one would say she truly enjoyed them. However, Brian's friend from work has two high school kids who have really loved the high school league. NICA (the National Interscholastic Cycling Association) oversees state leagues like the AICL (Arizona Interscholastic Cycling League). He kept telling Brian it's different from the other league; it's more encouraging, less competitive, and it's good for the kids to be outside, on the trails, and on a team. Plus, he said they were well-organized, and their races were really exciting and fun.

So as the months rolled by, we figured maybe she'd want to join the team at her high school after she graduated from eighth grade. Only we soon realized that she may not be going to the high school we had planned on her attending. She fell in love with her junior high, made awesome friends, and thrived academically. Why would we mess with that? So as it became more and more clear that she would be continuing high school at ACP, we realized that if she wanted to participate in high school mountain biking, we might have to make that happen for her.

In April, Brian attended a coaches' summit in Prescott where he learned all about the league, starting a team, etc. He came back a little overwhelmed but a lot inspired. Once Elizabeth's final decision was made on school and mountain biking, Brian took the plunge and became an official NICA coach. He visited the school to recruit riders. He had parent meetings. He did lots of planning practices and agendas, while I sought out sponsors and talked up the team on social media.

By July, we had nine riders ready to participate. Our season started. They learned mountain bike skills. They rode trails (many for the first time!). We went to a bike shop for a bike maintenance class, and a guest speaker came to a practice to teach us about sports nutrition. Then the races began, and everyone was scared and nervous. They got one under their belt and it was a relief. They were proud and happy. Then they did it three more times, and our grand finale is this weekend. It all went so fast! It's going to be a little bit sad when our season ends, I think.

The next few posts will be race reports from Flagstaff, Prescott, Sierra Vista, and McDowell Mountain. I hope you enjoy hearing about our adventures as much as we've enjoyed living them.