Dripping Springs Century News | By Bonnie Gonzalez, Editor
Helmets on and eager to put their two wheels on the dirt, some Dripping Springs kids have come together for the area’s first mountain bike team.
It all started when their Coach, Lance Thornton, had the idea of offering the sport to middle school students. Little did he know, that due to the great amount of interest, it would grow into something more.
“I thought I’d have just twenty kids or so and then the high school principal got involved and we extended it to the high school and now we have almost eighty kids involved,” Thornton said.
The team is open to kids who are in grades six through twelve and who live in Dripping Springs and the surrounding area.
“We’ve made the team a composite team, so we can take those students that are home schooled or maybe from private schools,” Thornton explained.
He said they are a club affiliated with Dripping Springs High School but they are its own entity. The team is also associated with the National Interscholastic Cycling Association or NICA.
“Their goal is to have mountain biking in schools nationwide by 2020,” Thornton said.
“We’ve been doing it in Texas for I believe seven years and there are now close to forty teams in Texas.There’s a Dallas composite. San Marcos has a team, Bowie has a team in Austin. Lake Travis has a team. They’ve won the championship the last three years.”
So although the sport is not new for Texas, with Dripping coming on board, it means some more competition added to the mix.
“Texas has their own series and there are five races in a series and all the high school, middle school teams come to those races to compete for a state championship,” Thornton said.
The first race isn’t until February 6, but the preparation starts now. The group is already getting some practice in at various trails and parks like Reimers Ranch. That’s one of the main reasons these young mountain bikers wanted to join the club, to be outside and enjoy nature.
“I love the downhill jumps and all the rocks,” thirteen year old Kyle Brunken said. Not to mention, he knows it’s great exercise.
“I know you use your lower body and your core a lot more so it’s helping you get strength in your lower body and core,” Brunken said.
It’s a similar story for seventeen year Kate Marsan, who is also on the team.
“It’s kind of challenging because you do have to maneuver through different obstacles, rocks and things like that. It does take a lot of endurance and for me that’s something that I need to work on,” She said.
Marsen, Brunken and the rest of the team are excited about their first competition in the spring.
Different grades race different distances according to Thornton.
Middle schoolers and freshman will ride a seven to eight mile course while a senior could do a twenty to twenty-four mile course.
Regardless of miles covered, the bottom line is for the kids to have fun. Although the Dripping Springs Mountain Bike Team will compete against other teams in the state, Thornton explained his goal is to operate as more of a club.
“It’s going to be a club that races,” He said. “You don’t have to race. Come out to the trail, bring your family.”
For more information about the Dripping Springs Mountain Bike Team, you can visit their Facebook page www.facebook.com/DrippingSpringsMountainBikeTeam or call 512-858-3433.
Link to original article: Dripping Springs Century News
