TCHS mountain bike team kicks off season

Temescal Canyon High School mountain bike team kicks off its 2019 season this weekend with the Beach to Boulders race on Feb. 23 and 24 at Perris Lake. This will be the team’s 6th year in competition.

The team is coached by TCHS teachers Robert and Kathy Parks. The couple is responsible for assembling the first official Mountain Biking Club within the Lake Elsinore Unified School District. In 2016, NICA presented the couple with the National Coaches of the Year award. This year, Kathy was chosen to serve as a NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) GRiT (Girls Riding Together) Ambassador.

The 2019 TCHS mountain bike team is made up of 19 riders. Five are returning riders and 15 are new to the team. “This year, we have our largest team ever and the largest number of girls on the team,” said Robert. “Our growth is, in part, due to some serious support and sponsorship this year.”

Haro Bicycles is sponsoring the team this year and has given a mountain bike free of charge to riders who can’t afford a race quality mountain bike. Students are allowed to train and race on the sponsorship bike for the length of the season. When the season ends, they return the bike after having replaced standard consumable components. “This is a big reason we grew so much this year,” said Robert.

Alan’s Bike Shop in Murrieta has expanded its sponsorship this year. The shop hosted a bicycle maintenance and repair clinic for all students and family members at the beginning of the season. The bike shop also helps out the team with tuning, repairs and help selecting products for racing and training.

CycleBar Temecula, a premium spin bike studio, also is sponsoring the team this year. Titan mountain bike riders are training one to two times per week at CycleBar and are guided and coached by their dedicated staff.  This intense fitness training is a big leap forward for the team. Not only are the students training at CycleBar, but several parents have started attending the team spin sessions as well.

Due to the team’s growth, they have moved up from Division 2 to Division 1, which are teams of 12 or more students.

The team will be racing in six races throughout the spring. Locations include Lake Perris, Vail Lake Resort, Keyesville and Tehachapi. The California High School State Championship hosted by the SoCal League will take place on May 18 and 19 in Tehachapi.

The students will be participating in trail maintenance and construction days at both Vail Lake and Canyon Lake this year. Last year, the students put in more than 300 hours of community service working on trails.

This year’s roster includes Jacalyn Ponti, Teresa Iosbaker, Kassie Beauchemin, Arianna Maldonado, Brian Sulli, Jonathan McDonald, Kyle Beauchemin, Landon Schmidt, Wyatt Faught, Michael Karnes, Aiden Hatfield, Aidan Tanny, Steven Iosbaker and Canyon Lake residents Austin Moreno, Megan Moreno, Gavin Viola, Conor Camporredondo, Ethan Thomas and Kyle Wilson.