Powered by Outside

Racing a Huffy, doing what he can with what he has.

PB Forum :: All Mountain, Enduro & Cross-Country
Racing a Huffy, doing what he can with what he has.

 Post Message | Latest Comment
Author Message
flag RangerLee
O+
Posted: Jul 17, 2018 at 8:47 Quote
I am a volunteer coach with our schools Mountain Bike Team (OJR MTB) which races with in PICL (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Cycling Association which is part of NICA.

This is our 3rd year of having a team, and the students, the parents and of course us coaches love it. We have seen our team double in size each new season. Originally the team was full of students that grew up with parents that rode and of course the kids generally had good experience and decent bikes to go with that. The second year plenty of new kids and a few that were brand new to the sport but had parents that were able to jump in and equip them as expected for a mountain bike season.

This year, we have kids that are taking up mountain bike for the first time, some of the other school sports did not really fit their cup of tea but they saw the mountain bike kids and wanted to give it a shot.We have one that showed up with a Trek Hard tail from 1999, no suspension, but the bike was immaculate, turns out it was his moms, and she rode it a little after high school and then it was kept covered and stored and now has a new life on the trail with her son.

Then there is John in the picture. As he put it, something clicked when he saw the kids mountain biking, and while stick and ball sports did not really click for him, he really wanted to ride. His mom signed him up, and John worked on getting a bike before the season started. He showed up with the huffy you see him standing over.

This guy hammers though, he went through every skills season, and is riding and making everything that his group is going over in practice. He sessions areas that he trouble on until he can make it, and along with that his bike is rattling away with sometimes pieces falling off. I have done my best to keep it together, letting things go that are not needed (i.e. kick stand, some silly cage that was over the rear derailer) while constantly tightening things up on the bike. His handle bars will not stay straight, no matter how much you tighten that stem, they continue to move. Still he does not let it slow him down. I cannot wait to see how well he does on a better bike, and I am keeping my eye out hoping to scrounge something together for him.

I believe he, and other riders like him are the essence of what NICA brought to the table for school mountain bike teams, bringing another way to reach a much more broad area of kids that would not have tried mountain biking at this point in their life.

photo
flag Beecee336
Posted: Jul 17, 2018 at 11:19 Quote
That's awesome, props to that kid for working hard for what he wants. And you too RangerLee for getting these kids into something good instead of video games and trouble.
flag RangerLee
O+
Posted: Jul 18, 2018 at 5:38 Quote
I love what NICA has done bringing mountain biking to middle school and high school sports. Our school district and many others in Pa. jumped in with both feet, so it is up to us Parent and other volunteers to keep the ship moving as it grows.

It becomes obvious when financial factors effect some of the riders and they are out riding Huffys on trails the bikes were not meant for. After this picture I spent a good amount of time fitting his helmet correctly and doing what I could on his bike to make it as safe as possible. If you spent 5 minutes with him on the trail, you would have a smile on your face for days!

At this point I am trying to scrounge up old parts and hopefully a decent frame to square him away with a better bike to ride. He does not know, and hopefully get him on a better ride before the first race.
flag Will1848
Posted: Jul 18, 2018 at 8:08 Quote
This is awesome.

Have you tried to see if you could pair with a local shop to provide entry level bikes at near cost as a form of sponsorship? Sell it as a way to increase future business when they eventually want to buy a higher end bike from the shop.
flag RangerLee
O+
Posted: Jul 18, 2018 at 8:52 Quote
With NICA the student athletes (and level 2/3 coaches) get a decent discount on bikes. Trek is a main sponsor and gives 25% discount on their bikes. Specialized, Giant and several other manufacturers offer 20%. That is a pretty nice when picking up a new ride.

I think the situation in this case is even with the discount, the price is a bit steep, hence me scrounging what I can to try and get a better bike for him. Anything at this point will be better than that Huffy.
flag Beecee336
Posted: Jul 18, 2018 at 15:06 Quote
Have you though about setting up a GoFundMe or doing an athlete fundraiser? I personally would donate to the cause. I bet some others on here might too. Whether its parts or money, everything helps.
flag Luke-205
Posted: Jul 19, 2018 at 12:24 Quote
Although junk, the huffy looks new, and so does everything else in the picture. Have you told his parents his bike blows and needs another one?
flag RangerLee
O+
Posted: Jul 22, 2018 at 18:43 Quote
The mom (single mom) bought what should could. It is either a walmart or kmart bike and the helmet from there as well.
flag Hammer48
Posted: Jul 22, 2018 at 22:50 Quote
Beecee336 wrote:
Have you though about setting up a GoFundMe or doing an athlete fundraiser? I personally would donate to the cause. I bet some others on here might too. Whether its parts or money, everything helps.

I'd be willing to chip in some $$$...Sounds like a good idea to me..
flag Kilo19
Posted: Jul 23, 2018 at 11:45 Quote
Thats 100$ better spent then on a little black box with cables coming out attached to the tv...
flag Skirotica
O+
Posted: Jul 23, 2018 at 12:42 Quote
I have a Sram GX Groupset (BB30 cranks, cassette, shifter, derailluer), Rockshox Reba 29" 120mm fork, a seat post (31.6) and a couple saddles i could donate. I have a decent Focus Black Hills hard tail that is XL i would donate too.
flag reverend27
Posted: Jul 23, 2018 at 13:13 Quote
Wish they had programs like this when I was a kid.
Like the other guys said set something up not just for this kid but others too.
I'm pretty sure if you set up a GoFundMe or similar he would have a new bike within hours.
flag thesmokingman07
Posted: Jul 23, 2018 at 14:42 Quote
Have you made any relations with local shops? They usually have leftovers and takeoffs that they can donate. I donate my time wrenching for a local and young team. I see kids show up with bikes like this a lot. Has your team started any fundraising events? That's a big starting point. Got to get your team financials sorted out. You need some tents and bike valets at events to start.
flag spizike9
Posted: Jul 27, 2018 at 23:05 Quote
I’d donate to a go fund me.
flag Dr-YTMTB
Posted: Jul 28, 2018 at 8:42 Quote
Ive got a barely used race face turbine handlebar that I could likely donate.
  • Previous Page
  • Next Page

 


Copyright © 2000 - 2026. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv65 0.008579
Mobile Version of Website