News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Team mountain bike racing is available for youth in grades 6-12. PHOTO PROVIDED
Jon Fogarty is on a mission to get more kids on bikes in Sisters.
The coach is building a Sisters-area mountain bike racing team — Deschutes Composite — under the auspices of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA).
“I’ve been involved since the league started in Oregon,” he told The Nugget. “It’s cross-country mountain bike racing, similar to the Stampede.”
The team is open to youth in sixth through 12th grade. Boys and girls are both encouraged to join.
“The big vision of NICA is that every school will have its own team,” Fogarty said. “That takes time. I’m trying to get an Outlaws team that is just a Sisters team.”
It doesn’t take much to get going.
“Ideally, they have a functioning bicycle, and you can go from there,” Fogarty said. “If they have a bike and some enthusiasm, that’s really all they need.”
There is a series of five races that kicks off in September — and three of the races are in Central Oregon, with state championships set for October 30 in Madras.
Training sessions will be two days a week for about two hours, with specifics to be determined based on the needs of the team. Riders have an outstanding set of trails to build their skills on.
“We’re so fortunate to have the resources here that we do,” Fogarty said.
Fogarty had a career as a professional auto racer.
“I come from a background of auto racing — racing is in my blood,” he said.
His son is one of the riders for Deschutes Composite.
Cross-country mountain bike racing is a fast-growing sport, attractive to athletes of all kinds, including many who aren’t motivated by traditional team sports. And it’s a “lifetime” sport; as the Sisters Stampede shows, everyone from kids to seniors can get out on the trails and go for it.
To learn more about Deschutes Composite and NICA, email Jon Fogarty at [email protected]
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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