Last year was my first year on a mountain biking team. I learned lots of things and also made a few new friends.
What I liked
One of my favorite parts of the mountain biking season was having something to look forward to after school. Another thing that I liked was that everyone can go at their own pace, regardless of how fast they are.
What races are like
At the beginning of the race, everyone in your group gets called up to staging, that’s where everyone lines up at the starting line. When the race starts, everyone starts going at the same time. After the race, you can stay and help clean up, or you can leave and start heading home, as most of the races are fairly far away.
Once you get started racing it feels just like how you would feel any other time you ride. The duration of a race is usually spent in the woods without any spectators.
A good year
It felt different to get started with mountain biking, but once you get used to practice and races it just feels normal.