Biking to school is an option more and more Skyline students are exploring. Just what is it that helps them brave the psychological and physical difficulties involved with a gruelling athletic lifestyle? Senior Mark Mulka believes “it is very true that repetition is the key to success in riding” and suggests riding different bikes through different places to avoid the typical boredom endurance athletes’ feel. If that is not enough to prevent staleness, try taking a temporary break from biking altogether. Fellow senior Kyle Weaver suggests riding with iPod at the ready.

Armstrong leads the pack

When confronted with uphills and poor weather, bikers tend to prefer toughing it out. Mulka expressed “the best way to deal with adverse conditions is to prepare for them. I always wear a waterproof jacket and use fenders during the winter. Hills just require a little strength and fortitude. Other than that, the best response is to ride faster so you can get done sooner.” Weaver personally felt that “bad weather like rain just makes it more fun to ride”.

The tough training required to get ready for amateur bike races is overcome by bikers’ mutual bonds of friendship. Weaver coined the adage “what some people would call training I would call hanging out with friends”. Mulka also supported group-riding, which he believed “is more beneficial as you get ‘mini-races’ going on between a few competitive riders”.

Preparation also helps cyclists surmount an injustice in their sport, namely the role that copious spending on superior equipment can have in negating skill differences. Mulka revealed “,for the most part, it’s about the rider not the bike. I can easily outride guys riding $7000+ bikes when im riding my $600 ludite bike…The amount of sleep you get the night before a race makes a bigger impact than the bike you ride”.

Mulka began biking because “I originally started biking because I grew up riding motorcycles. I had lived out in the country with alot of land where I could ride them. When my family moved into town, biking was a natural evolution. I got into biking more as my group of friends started to get into it”. He also loves “that it [cycling] is more a culture than a sport, and the combination of power and grace involved”. Weaver was initiated into biking when he decided to try it out with his friend, Nolan, with the two mutually pushing each other to be better in the years to come. Being a paragon of environmental friendliness is also an additional perk that comes with cycling to school.

Last but not least, cyclists for the most part seem to have no trouble living with the public derision that “cycling is an easier alternative to running”. They are content knowing that nobody would continue propagating such a viewpoint once they discover the tactics, technical skill, and fun involved with their sport.