- [Narrator] Welcome to Wisconsin.
America's dairy land,
and home of the deep-fried cheese curd.
I haven't seen a mountain for four days,
but you don't need a mountain to ride a mountain bike.
(Energetic music)
- [Austin] Hi, Austin McInerny.
I am the president of the National Interscholastic
Cycling Association, otherwise known as "NICA,"
and we're here today at the Trek Trails System
in Wisconsin League,
as part of the State Championship Race.
And today, right now, there's 700 riders here racing.
- [Narrator] These kids are traveling from place to place with
their friends and family,
and getting to ride in some pretty sweet spots.
- [Travis] Normally, the only people who are
riding these trails are Trek employees and
their families, and maybe some guests who come in.
This weekend, we opened it up to high school students and
their families, and we're hosting this
big mountain bike ride here. Big race.
- [Narrator] Yeah. It is a pretty big event.
And hey, you might even see someone that you know.
- [Emily] Being back here at the NICA event is
so inspiring to me,
and just getting to see some of the same kids that
I've seen over the last couple of years and
seeing the relationships that have developed and
how they're maturing as athletes and people in general
and... yeah, you can see that comradery.
They're coming up and chatting as groups and
they just look like they're having fun,
and they actually enjoy what they're doing here.
- [Narrator] Yep. The kids are stoked, and they're good sports.
And you know what? The parents are stoked, too.
- [Father] It's awesome. (all laughing)
Yeah. - [Mother] It is.
- You get to ride all the time with the kids.
(music stops) (cricket chirping)
- And then I started
making friends and last year the team just...
I dunno. It just made me fall in love.
- [Opal] My name's Opal McLovana,
and I'm a freshman, and I race for the
Madison West High School Mountain Bike Team.
My first year on the team,
I would say that I was not the best mountain biker,
but as the years have progressed,
I have gotten a lot more skills,
and I've been able to climb harder climbs,
and also I've realized that I just love mountain biking.
I really wanna continue doing it.
- [Mike] Our team has grown...
Just by leaps and bounds every year,
and it's people that have maybe mountain-biked a little bit,
kinda been into it.
And then that first race, seeing their skill progression
from when we start out doing skill stuff
to that first race is huge,
and then when they cross that finish line and they
get a new of "Mountain Bike Racer,"
and I think that's huge for me.
- I love seeing the kids just find success.
The beginning of the season, some of these kids
are so nervous about how they're riding,
and riding over a log or rocks,
and we work with them,
and then by the end of the season,
they've just built up their confidence so much.
- [Narrator] Practice, practice, practice.
If it wasn't for the sun going down,
these kids might never get off their bike.
(lo-fi hip hop music)
- [Narrator] It's called outsourcing.
- What I'm always impressed with
is how selfless the kids are.
They seem to care more about how their teammates do
then their own results.
- [Narrator] And the best part? Everyone gets to play.
There's no bench in this sport.
All you gotta do is show up, and give it your best shot.
- It doesn't make a difference if you're gonna win a race,
or if your goal is just to finish a race.
There's a place for you on that team,
and it's inclusive and focusing on those core values
of making it fun, treating everyone equally,
providing equity so everyone can participate.
No one's turned away. And building
strong body, mind and character at the team level.
That's the secret sauce, and the communities that are embracing it
now have over 100 riders on some of these teams.
- But of course, it's not all fun and games.
- [Man] To see a kid go through the process
of tackling an obstacle, both figurative and literal,
and to see them have the grit and determination
that if they fall down, they go and they keep
sessioning it until they do it right.
That, to me, is awesome.
- You're gonna crash every once in a while.
It's fine. It's getting back up and learning from it
and finding that line, y'know.
We're mountain bikers. We're tough.
- [Jake] Last year, one kid brought his dinosaur costume,
and now everybody's been dressing up.
- The heckle game is strong out here in Wisconsin,
and these folks got the biggest cowbell I've ever seen.
(crowd cheering)
- [Lily] When you're trying to get up a hill,
and there's a lot of noise and a lot of people
cheering you on, it gets you up the hill faster.
(Horn being blown)
(upbeat music) (cheering)
- The racing almost feels like a byproduct
of the whole experience as well.
The simplest goal is that we just
want the kids to love mountain biking.
- So NICA is about a lot more than just putting people
on bikes and helping them learn
how to ride that bike safely.
What we're really doing is using the bicycle
as a tool to help teenagers figure out life,
and what they're gonna do after high school.
- Bikes are awesome. They make a lot of people happy,
and they bring a lot of people together.
And when you're part of a community like this,
everyone walks away with a "W."
So go pick up a bike, and go for a ride.
It could change your life.
(Cheerful music)
- I had so many friends that you could just see had
so many talents within and they just didn't know
that they had those.
And nobody ever saw or noticed that.
Seeing, y'know, talent and just the characters
getting nurtured through the sport
I think is pretty phenomenal.
(Happy music)
- When we all come together for camping like this,
suddenly this team of kids becomes a family.
(happy music)
And the parents all connect,
and so we cook together, we have fun together,
we joke together and it makes riding
even that much more fun.
(Cheerful music)
- NICA has over 18,500 students on nearly
1,000 teams in 25 state leagues.
There's always room for one more rider,
one more coach, or one more state.
Get involved at "nationalmtb.org"
(cheerful guitar music)