High School Mountain Bike Team

EASTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL CYCLING TEAM

CHULA VISTA, CA

March 2, 2013

If you are out near the trails of the Otay Reservoir or the open hillsides of Mt San Miguel on a weekday afternoon, chances are you may have seen a group of dedicated high school student athletes on mountain bikes spinning up the hills on the single-track. We are the Eastlake High School Mountain Bike Team, one of two high school mountain bike teams in San Diego County, and a part of the SoCal League of high school mountain bike racers. With 32 teams in the SoCal League, and over 300 riders, we are part of a growing movement that seeks to provide student athletes an arena in which to set and accomplish competitive goals, and to achieve their personal best. 

 

2013 marks the fourth year for the Eastlake High School Mountain Bike Team, comprised of boys and girls from freshman to senior. Our pre-season begins in October, with training consisting of skills clinics for new members, and purposeful trail rides targeted to improving the endurance and bike-handling skills of returning members.

Students come from all different backgrounds and levels of experience. Some have been riding since they can remember, while others have only just got their first bike, and are learning as they go, encouraged by their teammates.

Being a part of a mountain bike team is unique, in that while you are a part of a team and something larger than yourself, the competition is largely an individual effort. Whereas a football player who is new to the sport and perhaps at a physical disadvantage would spend time on the bench on game day, every mountain biker who comes to practice has a chance of competing on race day. If you as a cyclist know that you have put in the practice house to go the distance, and you have completed the necessary skills training to successfully navigate the obstacles on the trail, then you know your race is largely about eating properly and hydrating well in the days before the race, mentally preparing yourself for the race, mentally preparing yourself for any unexpected setbacks such as a flat tire or a crash, and putting it all together on race day so that you start and finish your race well.

If you are interested in learning more about the Eastlake Cycle Team and how you can be a part of the growing movement of enthusiast mountain bikers who want to see the sport grow (e.g., be a ride leader!) and see more young people on mountain bikes, we encourage you to contact us via this blog, through Eastlake High School, the SoCal League, or our Facebook page. And if you see a group of high school students riding together around Eastlake, wave hello and feel free to cheer us on!

Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/EastlakeHSMTB

Riding with Children: Bonita (South SD)

Bonita, CA, just south of San Diego (near CA-54 and I-805) is another great place to ride with children. When my eight-year-old friend Esther was visiting me from New Mexico, I borrowed a Trail-a-bike, hooked it up to my bike, and off we went on our trail adventure!


The Bonita Bike Path is a great ride to do with kids, even if they are on their own bikes and not hooked up to yours, because you are on a dedicated bike path and not riding in traffic. If you don't want to cross Willow Street with children on bikes, park your car at Rohr Park and ride around the golf course to get to the bike path.

Route from Donny's Cafe (link goes to MapMyRide.com)

Location: Start at Donny's Cafe or Rohr Park
Distance: 6 miles out and back to the horse stables
Elevation gain: Almost flat
Riding time: 1-1.5 hours
Road conditions: dirt path
Traffic conditions: pedestrians, horses, bikes
Difficulty: Easy
Equipment: knobby tires work best
Kid-friendly: Yes
Notes: Rest rooms at Donny's Cafe or the Bonita Library. Mostly shaded route.

Esther and I took off from Donny's Cafe, cutting through the Kaiser parking lot, and carefully crossing Willow St to get to the bike path. The bike path skirts the Bonita Golf Course and runs along Bonita Road.

Although the ride can be done on a bike with slick tires, it's best to have knobby tires, so you will have better traction in the dirt.

Once we arrived at the stables, we parked our bikes and asked the owners if we could walk through the stable and look at the horses.

Inside, we found chickens running about. It was more than we expected to find at the end of our bike trail.

From the start of our ride at Donny's Cafe down to the stables was about 3 miles. The horse stable was a good half-way point to get off the bike and stretch our legs a bit. We had some water, then got back on the bike to return home.

It was a very fun, healthy, and interesting way to spend the afternoon.