{"id":2449664,"date":"2019-10-09T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-09T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=314029"},"modified":"2019-10-09T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-10-09T11:00:00","slug":"after-school-program-introduces-middle-schoolers-to-mountain-biking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/after-school-program-introduces-middle-schoolers-to-mountain-biking\/","title":{"rendered":"After school program introduces middle schoolers to mountain biking"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Will Bryant, 12, right, does a wheelie in front of Aspen Middle School closely followed by coach Nick Becker before the final Roaring Fork Cycling meet-up for the season in Aspen on Thursday, October 3, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong>
Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

In late September, hundreds of high school cyclists from across the state competed on Fanny Hill during the Snowmassive Chase mountain biking race series.<\/p>\n

It was a milestone for Aspen, Snowmass and Basalt riders to race on their home course for the first time in Colorado High School Cycling League history,<\/a> and for their coaches with Roaring Fork Cycling aiming to grow and empower more local teens through the sport.<\/p>\n

But while encouraging more high school students to compete is part of RFC\u2019s mission, it\u2019s not the nonprofit\u2019s sole focus. RFC also is working to make mountain biking more accessible for teens earlier through its after school program for fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth graders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really like everything about it, it\u2019s just a lot of fun,\u201d said Zeeland Bowers of Snowmass, a sixth grader at Aspen Middle School.<\/p>\n

Bowers said he\u2019s been mountain biking since he was about 5-years-old, and joined the after school program last year as a fifth grader.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we did longer rides this year,\u201d Bowers said. \u201cWe go on a lot of good trails, \u2026 it\u2019s a lot of fun but challenging at the same time. I think everyone should try the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Oct. 3, Bowers met with about 30 other Aspen-Snowmass middle schoolers for the last after school ride of the season, pedaling to Paradise Bakery in Aspen for ice cream and back.<\/p>\n

It was a nice culmination to end the fall program, according to RFC managing director and coach Tyler Durham.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a time in people\u2019s lives where so much is changing, but if we can establish the enjoyment of being active and outside, it sticks with them,\u201d Durham said of the program.<\/p>\n

According to Durham, the after school mountain biking program predates RFC, which was founded roughly three years ago.<\/p>\n

This year, over 150 teens from Snowmass, Aspen, Basalt, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs met RFC coaches every Tuesday and Thursday outside of their schools to ride, and over two-dozen loaner mountain bikes were available so there was no barrier for students to participate, Durham said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make the sport more accessible for more people. If you\u2019ve never ridden a bike before that doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d Durham said.<\/p>\n

As Durham and Becky Church, another RFC coach, high-fived Aspen-Snowmass students and shook hands with parents after the final ride of the fall season, they talked about how much they\u2019ve watched the middle schoolers grow as cyclists and as people over the weeks-long program.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps builds confidence, we\u2019ve seen some kids grow immensely,\u201d Church said of the after school mountain biking program. \u201cIt gives them something they can do on their own and something not a lot of kids have an opportunity to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you ride with these groups and see the transformations, it\u2019s hard not to get really fired up,\u201d Durham added, laughing.<\/p>\n

Church and Durham also said that although the program has been around for roughly four years, this was the first fall RFC partnered with Access AfterSchool, a nonprofit that aims to provide enriching opportunities for teens outside of the classroom, to help put it on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt worked out well because they have the administrative resources to help us set up the program. They handled all of the registration this year and helped prwovide snacks,\u201d Durham said of this year\u2019s partnership with Access AfterSchool. \u201cIt helped elevate the whole program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Access AfterSchool offers enrichment activities like dance, sewing, creative writing and more for middle school students at the end of the school day across the valley, according to Mindi Cabe, program director for the nonprofit.<\/p>\n

Cabe said she feels the mountain biking partnership with RFC fits into Access AfterSchool\u2019s program and mission to provide as many positive experiences for kids as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe after school time frame is critical for middle school students. They start to gain independence and responsibility so we want to help them make good choices,\u201d Cabe said. \u201cWhen they fill that time with positive activities and build relationships with positive mentors, it guides them on a good path.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moving forward, Durham and Church hope to continue working with Access Afterschool, and to expand their program even more.<\/p>\n

The growing popularity of RFC\u2019s summer mountain biking kids camps proves there\u2019s room for growth in programming at the elementary and middle school levels, the coaches said. But expansion only works if RFC can ensure it has enough resources to provide a fun, safe, accessible experience for everyone involved, Durham said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done a lot in our three years of existence and would definitely like to expand our influence, but it adds another level of complexity,\u201d Durham said. \u201cIn this valley, the one way an organization like ours can thrive is by having access to the environment we do and so many dedicated people who believe in this program. \u2026 We are lucky for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

mvincent@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Will Bryant, 12, right, does a wheelie in front of Aspen Middle School closely followed by coach Nick Becker before the final Roaring Fork Cycling meet-up for the season in Aspen on Thursday, October 3, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times In late September, hundreds of high school cyclists from across the state […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2449664","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-28 00:32:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2449664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449664\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2449664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2449664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2449664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}