Ranging from a competitive sport to a leisurely pastime, according to the website, Statista, mountain biking is an activity enjoyed by over 9 million people across the United States every year. At Terra Linda High School, there is an established community of cyclists, who love to go on rides with their peers. Although not a well-known sport on campus, mountain biking has the potential to become much more popular with its entertaining nature, and thrilling experience.
Team captain, Lucia Brignetti, a TL junior, has been mountain biking for 13 years. She has been a part of the team for three years, and a captain for two. She really loves the community of bikers here in Marin and states, “It’s a really inclusive community, everyone has different goals.” Although new to mountain biking, Junior Isobel Ganguly, who joined the team last year, adds “The community is so nice, even though I’m a beginner everyone was so supportive.”
The team participates in rides known as GRiT rides, also known as girls riding together. This essentially means that women and girls across Northern California come together and ride together . Both Isobel and Lucia enjoy these rides, describing them as “so much fun” and “very supportive.” In recent years, there has been a large movement to promote more girls in the mountain biking community. Brignetti is largely in support of this program and hopes for more girls on the team this year.
However, having a team doesn’t come without struggles. This year, Brignetti is hoping to recruit more members and get the team more recognition within the school. Although all the students on the team are student-athletes, the mountain biking team is not officially recognized as a school sport. According to Brignetti, “The club has been around for almost 20 years, we’ve never really gotten recognition for our athletic achievements,” she also mentions, “The school doesn’t post anything about us, we have to buy our own uniforms, it’s not something that comes for OneTL, all we get is the club money.” It doesn’t help that last year the team was rather small in size, with seven people. However, only five of the seven members competed in races. This year there are also only three returning members, but Lucia hopes to bring those numbers up by improving publicity and promotion.
Nevertheless, Brignetti has also set a personal goal for herself this upcoming season. She states, “The races can be really stressful, but they’re also a lot of fun if you want to make them.” She adds that she would still like to push herself and get top 10 at least once. She would also like to give some special recognition to coach John Cheetham. Detailing him as “going above and beyond as a coach”. Here at TL, the mountain biking team’s pre-season began in the fall, the season officially starts in December and ends in May. There are four races in the spring, and five if you make it to the championships. Ganguly states that her goal is to “Improve and be a lot more active in the team, and go to all the races.”
Despite struggles with the team’s publicity, they still try their best to thrive and keep the community as safe and welcoming as possible. For those who are interested in mountain biking and cycling, there’s a spot on Terra Linda’s Mountain Biking team waiting just for you.
