Ramapo-Indian Hills Mountain Biking Team
Coach Burton and some interested students trying the mountain bikes at Pochella.
June 9, 2023
From Club to Team
Many Ramapo students are aware of the Mountain Biking Club run by Mr. Russo, but what most of you don’t know is that Mr. Russo has turned this club into a team this year across both RIH schools. The mountain biking club was started by some avid bikers, includinglike Juniors Casey Sulborsky and Xavier Van Cleef. Now, they are the captains of the newly formed team. The community is what really drew these two in as Casey described his experience with the team:, “it’s a nice community and everyone has fun and is there just to ride bikes.” If you like riding bikes competitively or for your own progression, this team is definitely something to consider.
The Competition
The Ramapo and Indian Hills mountain biking team competes state-wide in five5 competitions this year. Their upcoming competition is the Rowan Ramble in Rowan, NJ. In the team’s most recent competition, the Scarlet Scramble, all competitors finished their race. The reason this is a huge feat is because JV riders race 10 miles and Varsity riders race 15! The aim of the game in these competitions is pace and stamina as well as getting through the first lap and understanding how to become more efficient on the turns. The team finished 17th overall in the competition – an impressive jump from last year’s 22nd place finish.
Coaches and Organization
The team is run by biking enthusiasts Mr. Russo and Mr. Burton. Mr. Russo is also the coach of the Ramapo Fishing Club. His leadership team-leading abilities are the heart of the team. When asked about the success of turning the club into a team, Mr. Russo said, “The Ramapo-Indian Hills mountain biking has been a great success in bringing teammates from both schools together and competing at a varsity and JV level across the state.” The RIH district provides Hardtail mountain bikes for every racer, each of which have excellent quality for their success. Of course, the district cannot provide XC bikes for world tour competition level, but the dividends of the new bikes have been high. The team meets every Wednesday at Hills and every Thursday at Po. New members are always welcome, and the team is looking to grow in order to get that top 10 finish!
High Hopes in the Future
The team, although already thriving, expects much success in the future. With the junior captains being seniors next year and more incoming students expected, the team is welcoming all for an exciting rest of this and next year. Even if you are not skilled in mountain biking, it is something to improve upon and challenge yourself in which is always something good to do. Get out there and join!
