The Season
A snapshot of our season
The Club starts monthly meetings at the High School during lunch from late September through June. Registration usually begins a month after Club Day and extends through mid-November. In the fall we offer a few weekend fun rides for potential new riders.
Our active biking season is from January through May. We ride after school on Wednesday and Friday, and a have longer ride Sunday afternoon. We expect riders to attend at least 2 practices per week.
Many weekends from late February through mid-May are spent racing and adventure riding.
Skills and Fitness Training
Early in the season, with rainy weather and short daylight, the team trains indoors using cycling trainers and strength training exercises to build fitness.
Throughout the season we teach mountain biking skills using the NICA approved training plans. Student-athletes will learn how to ride safely and build skills as they progress.
Time Trials
Twice in the season, we will ride a timed uphill course. These "time trials" will give riders a chance to see how much they improve during the season. A hint: it will be a lot. Families are invited to cheer on their rider and participate in a picnic afterwards.
Club Rides
For most of us, this is the reason for being in the club; to ride our bikes. As soon as the trails are dry enough, we will break into groups of similar levels and explore the local trails. We are lucky to have so much nearby rideable terrain in Mount Diablo State Park, the East Bay Regional Parks and Walnut Creek City Parks.
Racing
High school and middle school riders have the option to participate in NorCal League races.
NorCal races are typically full-day events at a venue 1-3 hours away. Many teams race on the same day. Racers are divided into different racing classes generally by grade: 6th, 7th, 8th, Freshman, Sophomore, Junior Varsity and Varsity.
A typical race course is a 5 mile loop with several hundred feet of climbing and relatively basic technical challenges. Racers will complete 1-5 laps depending on the class they are in.
These events are fun to attend. We all cheer on riders at the start, through the race and at the finish. Parents, coaches, riders and friends hang out, eat and socialize in the pit area.
Adventure Riding
Many riders and most of the coaches enjoy riding for lots of reasons other than racing. Our club is trying to build life-long mountain bikers who just want to get outside and ride. Riders who just ride for fun (adventure riding) are just as important to the club as our racers.
On some of our longer Sunday rides we mix up our rides to include trails outside of the Mt Diablo area.
Pasta Feeds & Parties
Our club provides lots of opportunities to build friendships off the bike too. Before most races we have an evening pasta feed party. And we often have pizza or snacks in the parking lot after a practice.
