Thanks to a very generous Norcal league board member, three of our team member we were able to attend an overnight beginner MTB skills camp on a private ranch in Petaluma this January.
The weekend consisted of meeting 30 other high school students new to mountain biking, learning new skills from a dozen coaches, riding a pro pump track, handbuilt singletrack, practicing a mock race, eating great food, camping, s’mores and of course a campfire filled with fun and plenty of stories.
Highlights included a standing ovation and human tunnel for our team rider Jacob as he made his way to the top of a big climb complete with 360 views.
Other highlights included team rider William absolutely lighting up the entire camp with laughter with his positive presence and lively antics at every turn and event. Also, William somehow found some riding glasses and all of a sudden turned into a pro racer before blazing through his first race out on the course.
One of the other champions of the weekend was team rider Lucas who took a spill pushing his limits cornering through a tough switchback. Although he went down, he kept his spirits high and even rallied the next day to get back out and ride with his group. Thumbs up Lucas!
Many games, fun stories, new friendships and memories later we were on our way home reflecting on all that had occurred in the past two days. What a gift! We can’t wait to see everyone at the races for more riding, hanging out and camping.
Here are a couple more photos to show what a great weekend we had.
