BHS MTB 2021 season’s team registration is now open and closes May 21st. Register here or contact us at boulderhighmtb@gmail.com with any questions.
Team Blog
8th Grade Transition / Incoming Freshman Information
BHS MTB is inquiring to learn the details for the typical 8th Grade Transition Night which is an opportunity for incoming freshman to learn about joining the team. Check back for updates. We’d love to have you!
Reply to Spring Feedback Form And Brief Coaches Survey
With Coach Jensen editing, Coach Matt authored the below response to topics in the spring feedback form and brief coaches survey.
Response to BHS MTB Comments
Below are responses to the topics raised on the comment form linked to in this e-newsletter, https://mailchi.mp/5b575b48489e/yah-baby-welcome-to-the-2020-bhs-mtb-team-and-season?e=1f85088cee.
1. How will the groups be split?
Groups will be determined by ongoing management of skill and social compatibility or friends. Two of the top five reasons kids do sports are for fun with their friends and for appropriate challenge that facilitates growth in skills. That means, and the coaches agree, that a better job needs to be done of managing kids who, one, want and merit growth in ability and, two, kids who want to be with their friends.
For 2020, we will start the season by grade in order to establish initial organization. From there, requests and direction will be issued collaboratively between riders and coaches.
The time trial at the beginning of the season is a way to initially sort the groups. Over the course of the season, management from the coaches will facilitate requests from or direction to kids to change groups. Over the course of the season, management of the riding groups including the possible movement of riders between groups for whatever reason, will be overseen and facilitated by the coaches.
There will be exceptions to the days-of-week/grade-level sorting. If a skilled freshman needs to ride with more varsity riders, that freshman will be invited to change practice days.
By going to a four day a week plan, in theory, groups should be smaller and easier to manage. Also, we disperse our use of local trails in combination with Fairview (Fairview is a great partner in all of this). Any coach will tell you, if the ratio of coaches to riders gets more coaches, everything gets better.
2. Older riders mentoring younger ones.
One of the captains suggested already that some experienced riders should have an opportunity to occasionally help lead groups on Mondays and Wednesdays.
This is a way for older riders to mentor younger ones. The benefits are both broad and deep. Look for this to happen this year.
3. Could there be short fun Friday practices or weekend rides?
Yes…but, a problem across BHS MTB is our size, around 150 kids, combined with our volunteer structure. Volunteer coaches are already maxed out making time in their schedules to attend two days a week. Expecting more from volunteers exacerbates the problem. And if you ask a volunteer to do too much, they go away.
Showing up at any trail system with dozens of kids on the weekend makes planning and logistics hard and crowds trails.
Equity figures as an obstacle as well. What about the kids who cannot ride on weekends?
In the past, there were weekend rides but that was before BHS MTB got so big.
On the other hand, there are things like the Bike Wash and Trail Building Days. Thanks to great work by parents last year, there were grade level dinners just for the kids.
4. Coaches should stay with the group by sweeping, never dropping the last rider.
Agreed. Thanks for the comment. Thanks also to Coach Cheri and others who brought up crucial criticisms like this, took them head-on, and made them explicit topics for improvement.
This policy is going to be one of the very few strictly issued regulations from the Team Director and head coaches.
5. Coaches should listen to their riders better…and inquire with them more.
Good comment, thank you. There’s a lot to this one.
Telling a volunteer what they oughtta do is different from helping a volunteer do what they offered to do. Coaches are there in the first place because they care and not every coach can be everything to every rider. Take Grumpy Coach Matt for instance, he’s not too talkative in the first place.
The associated comment went on to talk about the mental health benefits of riding with friends and coaches. Probably every coach has made a deliberate decision to sacrifice of their time and resources to contribute to their community by aiding in healthy activity for high schoolers.
Could it be better? Yes. How? Hard to say. One great idea is Vail Ski And Snowboard Academy which is the first public ski academy. It has an altered academic schedule that allows kids to ride and ski during daylight, off-peak hours. Imagine making healthy activity a built-in part of your school day.
6. If Coach Matt missed anything, tell him at m2muir@gmail.com
Responses to The Brief Inquiry to Coaches
Separate from the feedback form was a brief communication to the coaches asking them what’s on their mind. Below is a response.
- From fear and furlough to gratitude for being able to ride and being stuck with family; the coaches unanimously look forward to the season and riding with the kids. The sum total of their payroll from infinitely patient Kay to speedy fast Scotty is $0.00, priceless.
- Coaches often state their desire to upgrade their NICA certification level. The pandemic is a new and powerful barrier to in-person training. Thanks to the Colorado League, a lot of things are being moved to online formats. Things like Wilderness First Aid will eventually require in-person work. No easy answers here at the moment.
- The Colorado League’s efforts to make NICA’s On The Bike Skills class more accessible are supported by BHS MTB team management. With the magnitude of coaches and resources between Fort Collins and Golden alone, it would be great if local coaches could be certified to teach other coaches the On The Bike Skills class or equivalents.
- Dividing the team’s workload through better volunteer management came up. Currently, a committee has been set up to identify (done), describe (done), and better fill volunteer roles across the board. Two principles are working here. One, asking more people to help. Two, getting organized so that helping is more appealing and natural to parents and others.
- Coaches need support with difficult ride groups or individual riders who manifest difficult behavior. Roughly the same topic is heard from both riders and coaches. Anyone who’s been around similar situations knows how hard this is. Part of an answer may lie in the move to shared management and switching to four day a week practice. By relieving a single head coach, such as Ben in the past, from the overwhelming need to do more than possible and by splitting practice days, hopefully, groups will be smaller and support resources will be proportionately larger. The other side of this coin is that BHS MTB has become an organization abnormally large and complex to be run by volunteers who, like everyone, have their own problems.
- BHS MTB can contribute to normalcy during the pandemic. Yes. Thanks to Coach Jensen, even though everything is uncertain these days, we’re going forward in order to provide as much order as we can.
- Basic riding skills or curriculum. Coach Brian is on it! Good suggestion. This one is in the works.
- “I hope the season happens.” That sums it up.
10/23/19
10/23/2019
YAH BABY !
What a race weekend !!!
A bit chilly and windy, making for a challenging and exhilarating course…
82 riders representing Boulder High with NO DNF’S, leaving it all out there with huge efforts during the State Championship races over two days, putting 8 riders on the podium…
and for our team’s efforts…
WE are the 2019 COLORADO STATE CHAMPIONS !!!
All of your coaches couldn’t be prouder of each and every rider that represented Boulder High this season.
We asked you to BE GREAT… and you were… and you ARE…
You competed hard. You gave it your best effort and had no regrets.
You competed with respect and sportsmanship.
Whether you scored points or not. You contributed to our team.
You showed up. You pushed yourself. You overcame self doubt.
You encouraged your teammates.
You rolled up to the starting line prepared to leave it all on the course and you did.
YOU FINISHED IT !!!
Nice work Boulder High. Nice work!
In case you haven’t seen the the results you can see them HERE.
TEAM PHOTOS- TOMORROW, THURSDAY- 10/24
This THURSDAY we will be taking our team photo. WE REALLY WANT EVERYONE TO BE THERE.
We have a great history of team photos.
PLEASE SHOW UP IN YOUR CURRENT 2019 JERSEY and Jeans!!!
It’s a party and a photo shoot… Check it out… Making of the BHS MTB Team Photo
Need I remind you… DON’T WEAR RED !!!
We will start at Boulder High at 4:00PM. YOU DON’T NEED YOUR BIKE. Meet at the front of the school.
Did I say … don’t forget your JERSEY we don’t have extras…
We should be done by 5:30PM.
-Boyer
10/13/19 – Team Email
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8/17/19 Team Update
Great turnout on Wednesday Night and Thursday at Practice.
We had the largest single number of participants at a practice in the history of our team with 112 riders and 28 Coaches !!!
Check out a Time Lapse of the rollout HERE. Thanks Fran Katnik !!!
THANK YOU TO DR. ALEN LIM FROM SKRATCH AND BOULDER CENTRE FOR ORTHOPEDICS FOR A GREAT NIGHT LEARNING ABOUT NUTRITION AND CYCLING !!!
SKRATCH AND THE BOULDER CENTRE FOR ORTHOPEDICS ARE LONG-TIME SPONSORS OF OUR TEAM !!!
-Calendar
-Sunday Ride and Bike Wash
-Season Launch Celebration
-Race #1-Frisco
Calendar-
* Sunday, August 18, 9:00AM BHS MTB Team BIKE WASH with Boulder Cycle Sport
• Monday, August 19, 11:59PM Registration DEADLINE for Race #1, Firsco
• Tuesday, August 20, 5:00-6:00 PM- NEW PARENT ORIENTATION, Foothills Community Park
• Tuesday, August 20, 6:00 PM – Season Launch Potluck, Foothills Community Park
• Sunday, August 25– Race #1- Frisco, CO
Put these events in ink on your Calendar. You won’t want to miss them…
For Sunday, 8/19…
We will be WASHING Bikes ONLY- NO ride… BOULDER HIGH at 9:00 AM
Get that drive train cleaned up for race weekend. If your bike is already clean, lend a hand to someone else.
Never cleaned your drive train? We will show you how. We will have supplies on hand: hoses, bike stands, degreaser, chain lube, etc… Bring some brushes if you have them (marked with your name). BOULDER CYCLE SPORT will have their Sprinter Van along with Alex to help go through bikes and fix any minor mechanical issues.
WE NEED BIKE STANDS! PLEASE MARK YOUR STAND WITH YOUR NAME AND LET US KNOW YOU ARE BRINGING IT.
TEAM SNAP shows 51 riders ready to ride and wash bikes. IF you plan on coming …
PLEASE CONFIRM VIA THE SURVEY MONKEY AND LET US KNOW IF YOUR BRINGNNG A BIKE STAND.
Sunday, August 18, Ride and Bike Wash
New Parent orientation-
Come early to the Season Launch Celebration and find out the low down on EVERYTHING BHS MTB.
From 5:00-6:00PM, Veteran Parents will shed some insight and answer questions as they walk you through a season of high school Mountain bike racing.
2019 SEASON LAUNCH CELEBRATION, This Tuesday, August 20…
Our 2019 Season Launch Potluck will be on Tuesday evening after practice at Foothills Community Park. It’s an event not to be missed with 300+ attending !!!
This is a chance to come together as a community and get psyched for the upcoming season.
Look what Cuore delivered !!!
Jersey/Kit orders for 2019 will be distributed. If you MISSED the jersey order let me knowHERE. Everyone needs a jersey to race.
Please sign up on the google doc to bring something to share. Lots of needs still:
2019 Season Launch Potluck, Tuesday, 8/20- Foothills Community Park
Race #1- Frisco
Are you ready for the first Race Weekend???
YAH BABY! Only 1 week away. If you haven’t made arrangements for accommodations or checked out the course map you can do that here:
RACE #1 REGISTRATION-
Race registration is available ONLY online through the Pit Zone. Deadline for race #1 registration is Monday, August, 19th, at 11:59 PM MST NO EXCEPTIONS.
EVERYONE NEEDS TO DO THE FOLLOWING:
For this Race only the Town of Frisco is requiring waivers, as well. Download and sign this Town of Frisco Waiver, print, sign and bring to Boyer’s room (1509) this week. I will have a box specifically for collecting these at the front of my room in case I am not there..
Town of Frisco ADDITIONAL LIABILITY WAIVER must be submitted to pick up race number plate in Frisco.
RACE DAY PIT-
At the races we have a pit set up- this includes our trailer and Tents with tables, tools, bike stands etc… I suggest bringing a camp chair for your rider. We will have plenty of water (donated from Eldorado water) and electrolytes (donated from Skratch) along with Honey Stinger gels.
In addition, we like to have some nutritious food available for riders to snack on throughout the day, and some substantial food for after the race including all natural/nitrate-free hot dogs and chicken breasts. We will have gluten-free and vegetarian offerings, as well.
We have put together a wish list of nutritious food.
The Rice Cakes on the list are homemade from The Feed Zone Cookbook. They are super nutritious and are designed with the cyclist in mind. They’ve always been a huge hit. I can email the recipe to whomever has the time to prepare a batch. They take about 30-40 minutes to make and are pretty straight forward. I will have a big ice chest with ice to keep things cold at the race (i.e. chocolate milk)
We WILL NEED other folks willing to to run the grill, hand off bottles in the feed zone, Set up, and Take Down the Pit etc…
Race #1 BHS Pit Food and Help SIGN UP
VOLUNTEERING FOR THE LEAGUE AT RACE #1-
Coach Kay Sweeping !!!
Each team in the league is assigned a race to help with. The jobs include a diverse array of things from
being a marshall on the course, to helping with registration, to setting up and taking down the course … The tasks are broken down in shifts that are relative short so you can pick a time that doesn’t interfere with watching your daughter or son race. WE HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO HELP OUT WITH RACE # 1.
They ask that we provide a volunteer for every 2 riders on our team. That means 60 volunteers from BHS! Our parents have been great about helping out in the past and most really enjoy their experience and end up volunteering for multiple races.
So far we 41 Boulder High volunteers for Race #1- Only 19 spots away !!!
Here is the link to see what’s available:
Frisco Bay Invitational League Volunteering
Season #10 Just a week away. Yah BABY !!!
-Boyer
Team Email 8/13/19
08/13/2019
Team –
We’ve had some awesome early season rides. The weather has been cooperating, mechanicals have been held to a minimum, and we are putting in some good work heading towards our first race in Frisco. It’s a busy time for everyone as the first day of school arrives.
And so it begins… Let’s do this.
-Calendar
-Nutrition Talk TOMORROW! Everyone invited!
-Parking Bikes on Practice Days
-Season Launch Celebration
-Race #1- Frisco
-Practice Expectations
-Bike Deals
Congratulations to Maddie Munro (Senior), Bjorn Riley (Senior), and Ada Urst (Fairview). These amazing junior cyclist will be representing the US at the UCI Mountain World Championships. Read the article in the Daily Camera HERE.
Coach Aamot and BHS MTB riders getting their trail building hours in !!!
Calendar-
• TOMORROW, August 14, 6:15-7:15 PM- Nutrition Talk with Dr. Alan Lim from SKRATCH
* Sunday, August 18, 8:00AM Sunday Ride and BIKE WASH with Boulder Cycle Sport
• Tuesday, August 20, 5:00-6:00 PM- NEW PARENT ORIENTATION, Foothills Community Park
• Tuesday, August 20, 6:00 PM – Season Launch Potluck, Foothills Community Park
• Sunday, August 25- Race #1- Frisco, CO
Put these events in ink on your Calendar. You won’t want to miss them…
Cycling and Race Nutrition Talk-
Dr. Allen Lim, Founder of Skratch Labs
special Guests: Members of the US Women’s National Collegiate All Star Team and
Dede Barry (silver in the time trial at the Athen’s Olympics
Date: Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Time: 6:15PM- 7:15 PM
Location: BoulderCentre for Orthopedics, 4740 Pearl Parkway, Suite 200
Parking bikes on Practice Days-
Parking bikes on Practice Days-
Containers will be open from 7:55-8:15 AM Please be on time.
We can store approximately 70 bikes… First Come First Served… Plan ahead.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you leave your nice mountain bike locked up in the bike racks or anywhere else. It is NOT safe no matter what lock you use.
Parents: Please do not drop you rider off in the faculty parking lot and absolutely do NOT pull in to a parking space to unload a bike.
Season Launch POTLUCK TUESDAY, 8/20/2019 !!!
Join us for our potluck August 20, Tuesday evening after practice. We will gather at 6:00 PM at the Shelters at FOOTHILLS PARK in North Boulder.
This is a great event that fosters a wonderful sense of community. This year we expect 300+ celebrating the beginning of our season. We will be handing out our team kits for new riders, naming team captains, and sharing the good vibes of the new season ahead.
Please bring something to share by signing up on the google doc : Tuesday, 8/20 Potluck Sign-Up
Race #1- Frisco –
There is NO on-site registration at the races. Everyone must be registered via the Pit Zone by Monday, 8/19 at 11:59PM MST. No Exceptions!!!
EVERYONE SHOULD PLAN TO PRE-RIDE THE COURSE. Pre-riding can occur the day before the race after 2:00PM (highly recommended) or the day of the race before 8:30 AM. Most riders plan to arrive at the venue the day BEFORE the race and pre-ride then stay overnight to be ready for race day. The RACE FLYER has information on League discounts for hotels and available camping.
Find all the details for Race #1 here: Race #1- Frisco Race Flyer
RACE DAY PIT-
At the races we have a pit set up- this includes our trailer and Tents with tables, tools, bike stands etc… I suggest bringing a camp chair for your rider. We will have plenty of water (donated from Eldorado water) and electrolytes (donated from Skratch) along with Honey Stinger gels.
In addition, we like to have some nutritious food available for riders to snack on throughout the day, and some substantial food for after the race. We will have gluten-free and vegetarian offerings as well.
We have put together a wish list of nutritious food.
The Rice Cakes on the list are homemade from The Feed Zone Cookbook. They are super nutritious and are designed with the cyclist in mind. They’ve always been a huge hit. I can email the recipe to whomever has the time to prepare a batch. They take about 30-40 minutes to make and are pretty straight forward. I will have a big ice chest with ice to keep things cold at the race (i.e. chocolate milk)
We WILL NEED other folks willing to to run the grill, hand off bottles in the feed zone, Set up, and Take Down the Pit etc…
We of course have a google doc for you to look over and sign up on:
Race #1 BHS Pit Food and Help
VOLUNTEERING FOR THE LEAGUE AT RACE #1-
Each team in the league is assigned a race to help with.
WE HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO HELP OUT WITH RACE #1. They ask that we provide a volunteer for every 2 riders on our team. That means 70 volunteers from BHS!
The jobs include a diverse array of things from being a arshal on the course, to helping with registration, to setting up and taking down the course … The tasks are broken down in shifts that are relative short so you can pick a time that doesn’t interfere with watching your daughter or son race.
Our parents have been great about helping out in the past and most really enjoy their experience and end up volunteering for multiple races. Here is the link to see what’s available:
Expectations for Practice-
BHS MTB 2010- Our First Practice… We’ve come a long way !!!
We are stoked to have such a diversity of riders on our team.
There are some common courtesies that everyone needs to follow to help things stay smooth.
-Be on time.
-KEEP AVAILABILITY IN TEAM SNAP UP-TO-DATE.
-BE Prepared- water, nutrition, spare tube, multitool, RAIN JACKET.
-Arrive with your bike ready to RIDE.
-Follow Open Space and Team rules.
How and When do we cancel a practice due to weather?
We won’t cancel a practice until 3:50PM on the day of the practice. Weather can change quickly.
If its raining or has rained, we take this into account and we choose riding locations that will drain well.
We won’t be riding on saturated trails causing damage…
If prepared with a rain jacket and proper layers, a little moisture and make for a pleasant ride.
Moisture is one thing BUT lightning is another. If there is obvious lightning in a storm or heavy lightning predicted WE WILL NOT RIDE.
Practice Cancellation will go out via TEAM SNAP.
Bike Deals from our sponsors-
Niner has partnered with NICA to offer a 30% discount on bikes.
You can get this deal through our sponsoring bike shop, University Bicycles.
Contact the general manager, Tim Gaczyk directly @ tim@ubikes.com
Boulder Cycle Sport has a “special offer” on some in stock 2019 Scott Spark RC 900’s. attached is a list of sizes available. If there is interest, please reach out to the general Manger, Justin Hoese at justin@bouldercyclesport.com
All right. That’s a lot!
Ride FAST.
-Coach Boyer
Hero Dirt
08/09/2019
Team –
There is a reason mountain bikers call it “hero dirt”…
Heroes are born by overcoming incredible circumstance… but on a day like today, the spirit of a hero can be awakened because of the confluence of conditions that calls to your soul.
Overly poetic? I think not.
As we rolled out from Boulder High School today the drizzle started. A nice rain. Steady, but light. No lightning. No thunder. The kind of rain that that feels good on your face. Enough to cool you down, dampen the dust, and fill the air with ions. The kind of rain that leaves droplets of water on the trees, freshens the air with the smell of Pine, and awakens your spirit. The spirit of a hero.
The damp soil, with that unmistaken texture created by just the right amount of moisture, makes wheels grip and makes corners fast. Bike handling feels effortless. You feel like a hero. You cannot keep the smile off your face nor confine the radiance of your soul. It reminds us why we ride. We feel completely alive in ourselves. Adventures need to be taken and life lived to the fullest.
Today, we felt like heroes.
-Boyer
Team Email 8/1/19
08/01/2019
Team –
BHS MTB 2010-2019- A DECADE OF GREATNESS !!!
Yah Baby! The 2019 High School Mountain Bike Season is here…
Thank you to the 80 riders who fulfilled their commitment and rode the time trial BEFORE the first practice. This helps your team immensely by saving training time as we move towards our first race.
The Time Trial helps us build our training plan and see improvement throughout the season and year-to-year. It’s not just about individual times and fitness. Even if you have been riding all summer and you think we know you as a rider we still need this. It’s your contribution to helping your whole team!!!
-Calendar
-TEAM SNAP
-First practice DETAILS
Calendar-
• TODAY, August 1, 4:00-6:30 PM- FIRST Practice
• Wednesday, August 14, 6:15-7:15 PM- Nutrition Talk with Dr. Alan Lim from SKRATCH
* Sunday, August 18, 8:00AM Sunday Ride and BIKE WASH with Boulder Cycle Sport
• Tuesday, August 20, 5:00-6:00 PM- NEW PARENT ORIENTATION, Foothills Community Park
• Tuesday, August 20, 6:00 PM – Season Launch Potluck, Foothills Community Park
• Sunday, August 25– Race #1- Frisco, CO
Put these events in ink on your Calendar. You won’t want to miss them…
-Team Snap-
You all should have received an invite or if you already have a Team Snap account it should now be included in your “teams”.
We use Team Snap to build RIDE GROUPS. Keep your “AVAILABILITY” Tab up-to-date. PLEASE DON”T JUST LEAVE IT BLANK. COMMUNICATE WITH US !!!
BEFORE YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE FIRST PRACTICE WE MUST VERIFY THAT YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR AVAILABILITY THROUGH AUGUST 25, THE DATE OF OUR FIRST RACE.
IF YOUR AVAILABILITY ISN’T MARKED 24 HOURS BEFORE PRACTICE YOU WONT BE INCLUDED IN A RIDE GROUP.
IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE KNOW WHO IS ATTENDING PRACTICE.
We have 30 volunteer coaches who are donating their time to ride with you. Please respect their commitment by letting us know your availability for EVERY event in the calendar. Our ride groups are dependent on you and whether or not you will be riding affects the entire group. We expect you to ride unless you are ill or injured or have a family emergency. We are a team and EVERYBODY is important. Commit to ride and show up. This is the easiest way for you to improve as a person, as a rider, and as a teammate.
Team Snap also has a message feature that will allow you to communicate with the group. In your Team Snap preferences you can also set it up to receive text messages and reminders for team events.
Log in to TEAM SNAP HERE
BHS MTB First EVER Practice- Betasso August 2010…We’ve come along way…
-First practice- Thursday August 1 4:00PM -6:30PM Boulder High School- outside the Western most doors.
ALL RIDERS NEED TO BRING THEIR SIGNED COMMITMENT TO “BE GREAT” AND THEIR RECEIPT FOR OUR REQUESTED DONATION (UNLES YOU GAVE IT TO US AT THE TT). WE WILL HAVE A CHECK-IN TABLE THAT ALL RIDERS WILL NEED TO VISIT BEFORE PRACTICE.
FIRST PRACTICE CHECK LIST:
• Signed COMMITMENT TO “BE GREAT”
• Receipt for on-line donation
• Verification of Availability through 08/25- we will have have a laptop on site to verify .
LAURA MUNRO, MADDIE’S (SENIOR) MOM, WILL BE AT CHECK-IN TODAY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. IF YOUR FAMILY IS NEW TO THE TEAM AND HAS QUESTIONS… LAURA HAS THE ANSWERS !!!
Our regular schedule of is T/Th 4:15-6:30PM with some optional Sunday rides.
If you are not in town, not a problem join us when you get back… just let us know on Team Snap!
Our first race is Saturday, Aug. 25 in Frisco so we need to get some conditioning, skill-building,
and seat time in before then.
Are you ready to ride?
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Visit our sponsoring Bike Shops to prepare for the season…
All riders get 15% of any retail item in the store at Boulder Cycle Sport and University Bikes.
Tell them you are on our team at checkout.
All right. That’s all for now. More to come soon…
Ride FAST. Finish IT !
-Coach Boyer