Students who attend San Luis Obispo High School find themselves involved in mountain biking. During the school year, SLOHS hosts a mountain biking club at lunch on Tuesday’s, but over summer the group finds times to go on rides individually, with their family, or with their friends. Expressions took time to interview a couple mountain bikers on campus.
Expressions: What style of mountain biking do you prefer?
Junior Nick Overby: Downhill biking is my favorite. You just get to go fast.
Sophomore Tate Isaacs : My favorite style is enduro, enduro mountain biking is a stage race. Normally three to five stages. They are all downhill and at each top stage they start the time and at the bottom your time stops. In between, you have to climb up each stage but the climbs aren’t timed or you get a large time window to climb.
Expressions: Where is your favorite place to mountain bike in our area?
Overby: Definitely Cuesta Grade. I love getting shuttled up and then riding down.
Isaacs: That’s a tough one, there are so many good places to mountain bike. Probably Montana de Oro, cause there is a mix of flowy and steep trails.
Expressions: Why do you mountain bike?
Overby: I mountain bike because it keeps me active and out in nature. I also just really enjoy riding fast and going down steep rocky trails.
Isaacs: I like being out in nature, to exercise, and hanging out with my friends. It is also an indescribable feeling of flow when your going down the trails.
Expressions: How often do you find yourself mountain biking over summer?
Overby: I just try to get out on my bike everyday of summer whenever I’m not backpacking. I mean I just try to get out on my bike whenever I can.
Isaacs: Over summer I will be doing two enduro races and riding every weekend. I will be riding three or four times a week.
Expressions: Do you have anything extra you want people to know about mountain biking?
Overby: I wish more people would get involved and out on the trails to see the influence mountain biking can have.
Isaacs: I would like people to know mountain biking doesn’t have to be a dangerous sport. We all wear the respective protective gear and you can go on fun non scary or dangerous trails. Just falling off your bike shouldn’t be a reason to stop you from mountain biking.
