No Section

Gearing up for a new school sport

The Minnesota High School Cycling League, which begins its first season in August, is pulling in teams from around the north metro and beyond.

For the Minnesota Star Tribune

May 29, 2012 at 9:55PM

Adam DeCurtins, 15, left, and John Garbe, 15, both of Savage, went for a spin at Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan. Both boys are interested in biking as a school sport. Biking at Lenabo (Dml - Star Tribune Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

On Tuesday afternoons, members of a new mountain bike club at Anoka High School often pedal their way to the scenic trails at Elm Creek Park in Champlin.

The 14-member club is preparing for the inaugural season of the Minnesota High School Cycling League, which starts in August.

Club adviser Scott Birklid, who teaches science and outdoor adventures classes at the school, said a group of students initiated the extracurricular activity, which is all about maneuvering on natural dirt paths.

"It's another way to get kids outside. I'm up for it," said Birklid, who's also an experienced cyclist.

To get others involved, the club is hosting a meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Ramsey Bicycle, 6825 U.S. Hwy. 10, Ramsey.

Anoka is one of many teams across the north metro and beyond that are gearing up for the new league, which is sanctioned through the California-based National Interscholastic Cycling Association. It was in California that high school mountain bike leagues originated about a decade ago.

Local retailers Erik's Bike and Board Shop and Penn Cycle helped found the Minnesota High School Cycling League, according to Gary Sjoquist, who heads the league. The longtime bike advocate also runs the all-ages Minnesota Mountain Bike Series, a number of races that are held across the state and raise money for "Trips for Kids." That program gives inner-city children the chance to go mountain biking and also will support the new league.

Sjoquist has made a special effort in recent years to involve more young people in that series, and the fact that general participation in it has gone up by 40 percent since 2003 makes him feel like he's on the right track, he said.

A lifelong sport

In general, mountain bike riders tend to be people who aren't interested in "ball-and-stick" sports, Sjoquist said.

One of the sport's biggest advantages is that it's open to anyone. The teams are made up of girls and boys.

Unlike in some other sports where some players get benched during the game, Sjoquist said, "if you can make a lap, you can score points for the team."

It's also something "that kids can learn and carry on beyond high school," he said.

Often, they get their parents or siblings or others involved, too. "The most common comment I hear is, 'I wish I would've had this when I was in high school,'" he said.

"Once people get into it, they find out it's really fun," he said. "It's like being on a roller-coaster through the woods."

It's also a pretty good workout, he said. But for now, he's telling people to take it easy. "It's mostly about getting together and engaging in a healthy activity," he said, adding, "I de-emphasize the hard-core racing aspect."

Getting organized

Nicolette Reker, a junior at Roseville High School, comes from a family of mountain bikers. She also works part-time at County Cycles in Roseville and belongs to a cycling club at Grand Performance Bicycle Shop in St. Paul.

She's planning to participate on her school's team, which is also hosting a recruitment meeting at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the high school. She's always loved mountain biking because "it takes a lot of bike handling skills. You don't necessarily see what's coming all the time."

Whether it's a narrow, winding "single track" up a slope or a bumpy path through the woods, "it's definitely an adventure," she said.

County Cycles owner Ron Kadera, who's helping with the Roseville team, hopes it draws the school's "strong bicycle commuting population."

"There's a lot energy around this right now," he said. "It's the perfect time to get something going on in this area."

Anna Pratt is a Minneapolis freelance writer.