Author: Coach Katie

Need a bike?                  

• Local bike shops can help guide you towards which bike to purchase. In some cases, local bike shops can offer discounts for NICA athletes.
• We generally suggest a bike with hydraulic disc brakes, which are easier for small hands to pull. A front suspension shock is highly recommended; full suspension is not necessary for the trails that we ride and the style of riding that we do.
• We hope to include a buy/ sell/ trade page within TeamSnap where team members can list and search for bikes and team gear. DreamBikes and the WI NICA League Buy/Sell Facebook group can be good sources of second hand bikes. DreamBikes is sometimes able to rent bikes based on their supply.

The Girls Riding Together (GRiT) initiative is an effort by the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) to recruit and retain more female-identifying riders and coaches in NICA programs. #moregirlsonbikes!

At the end of each season, the Madison West mountain bike teams celebrate the season at the Quarry Park trails, taking a few laps before relaxing with food, friends, and coaches. Special thanks to the Hermit of Quarry Park for organizing this festive conclusion to the season!

One of the most unique things about our mountain bike team is the ratio of coaches to student athletes on trail rides at team practices; 6 or fewer students to each Level 2 or higher coach. That coaching ratio doesn’t apply to team practices that don’t involve trail riding, like on-the-bike skills practices or playing games in a field, but NICA’s “Safe Kids Policy” does require anyone who rides with and coaches students be a Level 1 coach or higher.

All NICA coaches start with NICA License Level 1 and take it one step at a time throughout the year as opportunities arise to complete additional requirements. And most of our coaches ride frequently outside of practice and attend our coaches’ trainings, like summer coaches skills practice, in which we run through all the skills we’ll be teaching and refreshing with our student athletes when skills practice begins in July! Sometimes, we have visitors drop in (see below).

Interested in joining the fun and becoming a coach? Learn more about NICA Coach Licensing.

Skills practices are incredibly important to the start of the season. First of all, they provide opportunities for the whole team and coaches to meet each other in a central location. High school riders get teamed up with small riding groups (pods) of middle school riders to demonstrate skills, support younger riders, and act as ambassadors for the team. Coaches run team-building activities, and pods get to know each other with ice breakers and games. Then, pods play tons of games that are super fun and also teach critical technical and safety skills.

Here’s why skills are so important:

• Experienced riders need to refresh their technical and safety skills on a regular basis.
• New riders need to know these key aspects of mountain biking to ride better and stay safe.
• Experienced athletes, including those who road bike or even mountain bike, may not always know these important skills, and it’s essential that they master them before hitting the trails with the team.

This is why we require athletes to attend at least three summer skills practices before they can ride trails with the team–most athletes attend as many as they possibly can to refresh their skills before riding trails.

Skills practice games include a version of “ring toss” to practice bike-body separation, speed control, and braking.

Practicing bike carries over obstacles during ascending dismounts, when your coach, with camera in hand, is the obstacle.

Our summer skills practices are all about getting to know each other, especially within our smaller riding groups, and practicing the fundamental skills we’ll need to stay safe on the trails and ride our mountain bikes with optimal technique. Student athletes learn how to check their bikes before practice, practice bike-body separation and proper body positioning, and practice riding downhill and stopping suddenly. By spending three weeks (six practices) practicing these key skills and more, student athletes and their coaches build and refresh their skills and stamina before hitting the trails in August.

Our mountain bike team is fortunate to have many places to ride in the Madison area, and we show our gratitude by dedicating volunteer time as a team to maintaining those trails. Working on trails in the spring and again in the summer and fall, during our team season, keeps the trails safe, as well as fun and challenging to ride. It also means those trails are maintained for other community members, including kids, parents, and other riders who might want to join us as student athletes or coaches someday. Plus, trail work is fun!

Every spring, student athletes, parents, and coaches volunteer on their own time to maintain our local trail systems. Here are some team members and families at one of our most frequently used sites, Quarry Ridge. We cut back brush, worked on berms, and started constructing a new skills park.

We also work on the Saris Trails, Seminole Trails, and Blackhawk trails, on our own time during the spring, summer, and fall, and often as a team during our fall season. Join us!

Keep an eye on CORP Trails for trail conditions, trail work days, and other activities and events.

For families new to the Madison West High School and middle school bike team, we’ll be hosting a meeting to go over some general background on the team and answer questions.  The meeting will be in person at Madison West on May 12 and is geared towards parents/caregivers, though athletes are welcome. Details are in the Dirt Digest emails all registered athletes and families receive every week.

GRiT stands for Girls Riding Together.  GRiT is NICA’s initiative to increase female participation to 35% overall by 2033. Madison West had 27% female participation last year (across athletes and coaches).  And while we’re proud of this statistic, we have room to grow.  So consider inviting a female friend to join the team.  If they’re not sure what it’s all about, encourage them to come to one of our “try it out” activities.  

Please spread the word to your friends, neighbors and colleagues who could be athletes or coaches this season with Madison West, Madison East, Verona, Memorial, Middleton/Cross Plains, Waunakee, Mt. Horeb, and Sun Prairie – encourage them to come Try-it-OUT!!  Coaches, Please fill out this short form if you can help out!  Our goal is to have female coaches lead the ride groups, but we would gladly accept help from our awesome male coaches, too. 

When: Saturday, May 17 (10am-12pm and/or 1-3pm volunteer shifts; rain date is  May 18)

Where: Blackhawk Ski Club

Athlete Sign up: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14N0_X1LsRjuJ2hTb-6jlpBn39HHAm9NeNGW8tFlrTDY/preview

Coach Sign Up: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1U2GHuwftH7CVuXe7gZ7Kzs-kBpkaW8Ff7JHCcLUzcs4/preview

Questions: coachemily@madisonmtb.org and iverson.elise@gmail.com