Riding With the Madison MTB Team

I have been fortunate enough to ride the past two weeks with the Madison Mountain Bike Team, our local NICA member club in the Idaho Interscholastic Cycling League. This is the third season for the team. When Joe organized the Madison team, there were perhaps a couple of fast kids, but most of the team members were fairly new to the sport.

Student athletes from middle school to high school are eligible to participate, racing against students of similar age and experience. There are about 50 student athletes currently enrolled in the Madison program. The progress of the Madison team has exceeded most expectations. In contrast to the handful of fast kids in the beginning, there is an entire pack of fast confident kids now—like a swarm of hornets or velociraptors on a group ride.

This did not happen by accident. The kids on the team have worked hard. Adult organizers; notably Joe, Tony, and Scott have also invested lots of hours and effort. Support from the parents has been outstanding as well. The logistics of running a high school mountain bike team are daunting. The team participates in races all over Idaho which require extensive planning to provide transportation, lodging/camping, meals, and mechanical support. Even transporting bikes and team members to weekly practices is a significant undertaking. Many parents help with transportation to the practices and the more adventurous parents ride with the team. If you feel like you could help to support the effort as a sponsor or a volunteer, please talk to Joe.

The next race for the Madison team will take place at Grand Targhee on Saturday, The organization is in need of additional adult volunteers. If you can help, please click on the following link:
https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/1948854/false#/invitation

Safety and fun are priorities on the Madison team and throughout NICA. Cycling will not be a lifetime sport for young people if their first exposure is danger, suffering, and misery. The adult volunteers have fun at the practice rides. I believe the kids do as well. I took a couple of pictures at the ride last night. The big group picture shows perhaps two thirds of the participants. It is no simple task to get kids on bikes to stop or congregate in one spot for a photo.