Written by Guangyuan Xue ’18

“Blaze your own trails, make them rideable, and have fun,” said headmaster Mr. Marchetti, a former varsity biker, at the beginning of this mountain bike season. With the great attentions from every Hebron lumberjack, our new mountain bike team debuts under the spotlight on the stage of New England mountain bike race, ready to bring our school glory and honor. Our head coach Mr. Jennings and the bikers have all devoted ourselves into MTB with enthusiasm and passion.

Similar to the strain  when we start pedaling and accelerate our bikes, everything is difficult at the beginning.  As a team, we had  two tough weeks before we broke the ice. Originally, four students signed up for this activity; three of us had bikes; two were new to this sport, and the only skilled rider got a concussion on the second day of practice. Fortunately, the special charm of biking enchanted students in the next week and four more were recruited. With a total number of seven people, the team was officially established.

Our daily practice is made up of trail works and riding. In the woods, we have an advanced trial system based on the work of the former generations, but most of them need development. We spent one week on improving the inner loop, clipping roots and branches, sweeping leaves, and removing rocks. In these trail works, the team members cooperate with each other and build a strong team spirit. There was one time we encountered a boulder in the middle of the trial. The team spent half an hour digging this half-ton rock out of the dirt with shovels and hands, which was now placed next to the trail as a monument to commemorate our team work. We also take on a steep downhill trail as a challenge to our skills. It’s an enjoyable feeling to ride on the trials that were blazed by ourselves as a team.

Biking is more difficult than people usually think. It is a tactical and physical challenge for bikers. People are usually comfortable riding on flat ground, but trials are combined with lots of uphills and downhills; shifting gears is essential to maintain a continuous ride. When we are climbing, the bike has to be on low gear, otherwise we will lose the momentum and fall down. Learning how and when to shift the gear is a skill that can only be developed from experience. I myself cannot remember how many times I have fallen off the bike, now having only scars as reminders. Nevertheless, no pain, no gain. Everyone on our team is highly motivated and dare to challenge ourselves. Our biking skills have been gradually developing from the setbacks, and we have made some accomplishments in the New England biking races. We are looking forward to achieving more goals and contributing more for the MTB team. Go Jacks!