Members of Brooks Secondary School’s mountain biking team share one common thought about their sport: that it is fun, or, in their language, “rad.”
“It’s very rad,” said team member Leo Head, 13. “It’s nice downhills and stuff. The more you go up, the more downhills.”
Brooks teacher and team coach Chris Bratseth said he expects students to have fun, challenge themselves and set individual goals.
“Mountain biking attracts students who have grit, fortitude and want to challenge themselves physically,” said Bratseth. “It’s a sport that’s really exciting and fun, but also demands a level of fitness different from other skill-based sports; it’s difficult.”
Bratseth said the team is more like a club than a competitive group, but 10 members have enrolled to compete in the BC School Sports provincial championships on May 26 in Cumberland.
“We’ll pre-ride the course the day before and then race that day,” said Bratseth. “We’ll be there about four times beforehand to ride.”
Terrain is different in Cumberland, he added, with more open, flowing and fast trails compared to the technical trails in Powell River.
“I’d say our trails are more multipurpose trails for hiking, running and mountain biking,” said Bratseth. “The trails that are built there are built specific for enduro, cross country and downhill mountain biking.”
Brooks mountain bikers will definitely place in the top 10 at provincials, according to Bratseth. One student who has a chance to win is 16-year-old Trent Sundberg, a mountain-biking veteran who has been with the club for three years.
Sundberg said it is great to go out after school for a weekly ride with the team and get some exercise.
“It’s still just for fun, but we race now,” said Sundberg. “We have provincials and do the odd day trip over to the island where we race.”
Currently, the only female on the co-ed team is Noemi Mazurek, who said she has been biking for a long time because of her parents’ enthusiasm for the sport.
“I wish there were other girls,” said Mazurek, 16.
Mazurek said she has spoken to friends about participating, “but they’re too busy.”
Bratseth said Brooks is trying to engage more girls in mountain biking through Wild Women Cycling Club (WWCC), a women’s only group connected to Powell River Cycling Association.
WWCC members Sally Watson and Wanda Griffioen are leading a girls-only club at Brooks that is open to everyone at the school, according to Bratseth, who expects more students to join the cycling team once they fulfill commitments with other school groups.
“We have kids who are in cross country and mountain biking,” said Bratseth. “For the most part, the kids who are here are involved with lots of different things at Brooks. A few students will join us at provincials who are playing soccer and doing cross country.”
Eli Forsyth, 13, said he loves the mountain biking and being part of the team because he’s meeting a new group of friends and the trails are really fun.
Bratseth said fun is the number one goal and expectation of the program.
