The Idaho Interscholastic Cycling League finished off the fall race series with the state championship at Bogus Basin on Saturday.
On this course riders have to climb from the base lodge to the top of the mountain and descend back down twice, they have been training for this all year long.
"The grit you put into it and not giving up you can apply that to life," said Zoe Spangenberg of the McCall Area Composite Mountain Bike Team. "When something hard comes along you don’t just give up, you keep going and keep pedaling."
It has been a long journey to get to this point as these high school and middle school kids have rode through the spring, the summer and the fall NICA series, which put together six races at different ski resorts this fall, each team got two byes so the state championship brought everybody together for the fifth and final race.
"Easton has always been the dandelion picker of the team," said Angela Jolley, Eason's mother and a coach with the Canyon County Composite Team. "He’s never been really competitive until this year."
Easton Kohlmeier started racing in 6th grade, he finished 46th in his first race, six years later he came in sixth at the state championship for junior varsity two.
"It feels great," said Easton. "It took a ton a lot of work, a lot of strength training and a lot of time on the bike."
The confidence mountain biking gives these kids spills over into other aspects of their lives and don't underestimate the social aspect of the sport.
"I wouldn't see myself as myself if I didn’t have this family, it’s kind of a huge part of me now," said Spangenber. "I have no idea what I would be doing," said Mia Rider. "Yeah, it has helped a lot making friends and family, replied Jack Henderson.
We won't know the results for a couple of days, going into the race Wood River High School sat in first place, followed by McCall, Jackson Hole and the Boise Brave in fourth.
The weather was a lot nicer than it was a year ago, it was a perfect day for mountain biking while many of us remember last year as being really cold.
