The Mercer Island Mountain Bike Team wrapped up the fall race season this month. This was a short two-race season but we still had a great time with this group of kids. The MI MTB Fall 2023 team consisted of 23 student-athletes ranging between 6th and 11th grade. The team was facilitated by 12 volunteer coaches – all are parents of riders on the team. As always a highlight was getting our new 6th grader riders their first race experiences!

As usual, the team practiced weekly on Mercer Island riding in Pioneer Park, Island Park, and the trails on the south end of the the island. We capped off the last on-island practice with a new-to-us game of bike tractor pull – pulling a car tire behind your bike.

The team visited several local trail systems for longer weekend rides including Grand Ridge, Duthie Hill, Raging River, and Tiger Mountain.

The first race of the season was in Port Gamble where the team was treated to a great set of trails. MI MTB had 18 athletes race in this event. 3 riders placed in the top 10 in their categories and June Bailey finished on the podium in 3rd place in her first two-lap race. Full team results are on the WSCL results page.

The second and final race was in the Squilchuck State Park outside of Wenatchee. In the final race of the season MI MTB team had 21 athletes racing – making MI MTB one of the largest teams in the race. The course lived up to the name of Hilly Squilly and provided some great performances and saw two MI MTB 6th graders compete in their first MTB race. 4 riders placed in the top 10 in their categories and 3 riders finished on the podium including Zane Shiers 2nd in 8th grade, June Bailey 4th in high school intermediate, and Hayden Bond 4th in high school JV. Full team results are on the WSCL results page.

The coaches are extremely proud of the efforts at these races and throughout the season. We are already planning for our Spring 2024 season. Registration will open on January 15th. Keep updated at MercerIslandMTB.org.