The year 2021 proved to be a pretty good time for the Rock Ridge Mountain Bike Team.
The squad was formed that year and has continually grown, thanks to an abundance of good trails on the Iron Range and athletes wanting to take them on.
"It was kind of just the right time,'' said Micah Beukema, who was instrumental in getting the team going.
The area had a lot of trails that had been built by volunteers and with the help of grant programs, she said, including the Redhead Mountain Bike Park, as well as grass roots trails. Mariah Peterson, a Mesabi East teacher also coached the team in its first three seasons.
"In my own family, we needed a sport,'' Beukema said. "We needed something for them to do and we like to do that stuff together.''
The new team had 24 kids (grades 6-12) right away, along with about a dozen volunteer coaches.
The team has continually sported more than 30 athletes and jumped up to 44 students for their season in fall 2024 and 20-plus volunteer coaches.
The team has four regular season races each year and started out strong in 2024. The squad, which has a strong and larger middle school team (grades 6-8) opened in Alexandria by taking first place out of 35 teams, while the high school squad came home third in the same event.
"We were pretty stoked as a team,'' said Frank Roark, the team's coach this season.
At the last race in St. Cloud (easily one of the hardest courses Rock Ridge has ever done), the middle school club came in third.
After building points all season, Wolverine and other mountain bikers are now looking forward to the Minnesota Cycling Association State Championship, which will be held at the Redhead Mountain Bike Park Oct. 12-13. A certain amount of points are required to qualify for state. Redhead in Chisholm and Mankato rotate the state championship every other year.
“It's definitely a big deal for the kids and its nice for them to have it in their backyard,’’ Roark said. "That’s kind of our home turf (at Redhead). So we feel like we have a bit of a home field advantage.''
Spectators are welcome to watch the events, including state. Beukema said that is possible at the start and finish lines, as well as a couple other viewing areas.
"It's a really good vibe.''
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According to Roark, Rock Ridge is a composite team that allows other school districts in as well. The mountain biking team is under the umbrella of Rock Ridge, but also has athletes from Mesabi East, Mountain Iron-Buhl and other kids from the area. With less than 18 high school racers, the Wolverines are a Division II team, while those with 18 or more high school races are Division I.
“We’ve known about the high school cycling team for quite a few years,'' he said. "It's definitely the result of a group of families that have kind of been on board from the start.’’
Roark said a lot of those families had parents who were into cycling or mountain biking and also had kids that were into the sport.
"Once we had enough of those families and kids on the same page it was … 'Hey, we should start a team.' ’’
The team began attracting student athletes and Roark thought it would be good to get 10 or 12 kids. The turnout was significantly better than that.
"Every year we've ended up with over 30 kids,'' he said, "so it's been good.''
Why was the interest so high?
“It’s one of those sports that you can be in in the 6th grade. They want to be a part of something'' if they aren't into fall sports like cross country running, volleyball or football, he added.
Roark said it gives kids who might not have fit into that typical mold of basketball, football or baseball. "It gave them another opportunity for something to do.''
He added there are no bench warmers in the sport. “Everybody who shows up rides.’’
Coming into the season, some of the kids have never mountain biked in their lives, Roark said, but they get that opportunity through a friend and a "tryout ride'' with the team.
“The goal is always to get more kids on bikes and to build strong minds, strong bodies, strong character,’’ he added.
No matter the skill level, mountain biking is not an easy sport.
Each race is held on a four-mile loop. The middle schoolers usually do one loop, while the high schoolers do two-four loops at about 20 minutes per loop.
Roark said it teaches the student athletes how to do difficult things, just like in life.
The athletes have really stepped up over the years, Beukema said, to improve their skills in the endurance sport. "They really work so hard'' and "the parents have been super supportive.''
Roark said the races begin with a mass start of 50 athletes at least in a five-wide format, placed 1-50 based on the person's last race.
The first segment (one quarter mile) of the race is usually a sprint up an include in an 8-10-foot-wide are to get the competitors spread out. Then it turns into a single track (a dirt path designed for mountain biking). In the middle of each race, the course intentionally comes into an open grassy area or a fire road where the mountain bikers will have a better opportunity to pass. They also have to climb in that area, which separates the riders some more.
The final segment is usually 50-100 yards of a "spring for the finish'' where the top contenders are out of their saddles in a full-on race, Roark said.
“The kids come into to the finish line, and they are gassed.’’
Young riders are often nervous coming into their races, but once they accomplish finishing one, "they're hooked,'' according to Roark.
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Anybody that would like information about the team, please email rockridgemtbteam@gmail.com
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