Biking club continues to grow

Ryan Glover l Digital Editor

The Lebanon Valley Mountain Bike Team is a club that not many students or staff know exist, yet the team could be one of the most successful clubs, not by numbers but by strength.

The club was only created last year and is open to both students from Cedar Crest and Lebanon. Alumnus Chase Balmer and a couple of adults were inspired to create the club because of their shared love for mountain biking.

“The inspiration for creating the club came from multiple directions, but largely from the overwhelming support advocation for a biking club,” said Balmer. “Myself and countless other students will be able to benefit from the teachings and opportunities the coaches were going to and were able to bring to the table.”

The club also provides students with more technical help so they can learn to get better and improve their biking skills. This plus the countless advertising led the club to quickly fill up, and students have stayed in the club since its creation.

“My first year was a fun experience, and I really enjoyed it, so I had to comeback,” said sophomore member Tyler Szjada.

Over the summer these students entered a couple of mountain biking races as a team, one of them being what team members call a “local dirt.” The race took place on a farm in Marysville on a six- to seven-mile-long course where they competed against three other teams.

“I came in first winning by one minute,” said sophomore team member Alex Barr.

Barr is one of the best racers on the team and competes on his own. He is ranked fifth in the mid-Atlantic for mountain bike racing, and he also won the PA State Road Biking Race for 15 to 16-year-olds.

All this took place over the summer while racing and practicing continued into the fall. The teams headed to Pittsburgh last Saturday for a race to compete against many other teams.

“I forget a lot of the names of the races, but I am looking forward to all the competitive races ahead.” said new team member Elaina Schneider.