MOUNTAIN BIKERS GIVE IT THE OLD COLLEGE TRY : WITHOUT MUCH FUNDING OR RESPECT, TEAM MEMBERS FACE UPHILL RIDE.Byline: BRETT PAULY There are no lettermen jackets. No cheerleaders Notable cheerleaders
In fact, mountain-biking teams are so low on the collegiate sports ladder that riders can only joke about it. At a race Saturday over rain-slick fire roads and single-track trails above Castaic Lake Castaic Lake is a lake on Castaic Creek formed by Castaic Dam, in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, near the town of Castaic. The 323,700 acre foot lake (399,000,000 m³) is the terminus of the West Branch of the California Aqueduct, though some comes from the 154 mi² , one UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX mountain bicyclist turned to another and asked when the big football game with USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. was due to kick off. ``We have a football team?'' the Bruins biker responded. The fat-tire enthusiast couldn't help it; it's a spin on the reaction he receives when classmates Classmates can refer to either:
``There's no heavy recruiting. Most people don't even know we exist,'' said UCLA mountain biker Jim Williams Jim or Jimmy Williams can refer to: In American football:
Considered a club activity, mountain biking mountain biking Sports medicine A sport in which participants use specialized bicycles to navigate rough, steep trails covered with unforgiving rocks Injury risk Concussions, fractures, death. See Extreme sport, Novelty seeking behavior. gets less respect than intramural sports Intramural sports or intramurals are recreational sports organized within a school. The term derives from the words intra muros meaning inside the walls,[1] - and not much revenue, either. ``We get the same money the Chess Club gets,'' said Jason Kiredjian, one of the eight or so members of the USC mountain-bike club. Savvy team captains enlist corporate sponsors to cover some costs of bike frames, energy bars, clothing and other essentials, but it usually doesn't amount to much. Races are scheduled in places like Pomona, San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (săn l  `ĭs ōbĭs`pō), city (1990 pop. 41,958), seat of San Luis Obispo co., S Calif., near San Luis Obispo Bay; inc. 1856. and Chico, but clubs aren't eligible for travel reimbursements. They must pay their own way and cough up enough for entry fees, licensing and bike maintenance. For competitive student athletes, financing this expensive hobby is a major dilemma, especially when road trips cut into potential work time. Likewise, keeping up with schoolwork is a problem during the first-semester season. (Road cycling is a second-semester activity.) ``You go away for race weekend, you end up sleeping out there and your studies go right down the tubes,'' said UCLA mountain bike team director Jun Sunseri. While road-racing bike teams are entrenched en·trench also in·trench v. en·trenched, en·trench·ing, en·trench·es v.tr. 1. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending. 2. in college sports, their fat-tire brethren are new to the circuit. The first official mountain-biking race in the Western Collegiate Cycling Conference was hosted by Cal Poly Pomona four years ago. UCLA formed a team in 1993. USC's crew hit the tour just this fall. There are also teams out of Long Beach State, Claremont College, Cal Tech, Cal Poly Pomona, UC Riverside and several other colleges and universities around the state. Cal State Northridge has had competitors in the past but isn't expected to be represented on the racing circuit again until next year. Sunseri, a fifth-year senior, molded the nucleus of UCLA's squad after noticing an alarming trend on campus. ``If you go to any college, at any time you're going to see 500 mountain bikes, and maybe two of them are dirty,'' Sunseri said. ``It's ridiculous. They aren't being used for what they were made for.'' A die-hard mountain biker, he was trying out for the road-cycling squad at the time. ``I showed up so many times on a mountain bike that they finally gave me a road bike,'' he said. He met other crossover athletes and convinced some of them, along with other mountain bikers who weren't using their two-wheelers to the fullest potential, to start the club. The eight riders who got together every so often have blossomed into a core of 25 who meet every Monday night and compete regularly. UCLA finished second at the conference championships its first year on the tour. The team placed second Saturday at Castaic Lake. Sunseri took fourth in his division Saturday and has taken several individual thirds at other events. (There are three men's categories based on ability and two women's.) The next conference race is Saturday at Bonelli Park in San Dimas. The conference championships are slated for Dec. 7-8 at San Diego State. Racing official Sibyl sibyl (sĭb`ĭl), in classical mythology and religion, prophetess. There were said to be as many as 10 sibyls, variously located and represented. The most famous was the Cumaean sibyl, described by Vergil in the Aeneid. Zaden has seen the sport evolve since first refereeing collegiate road-cycling events in 1987 and jumping into mountain biking five years later. ``Road racing is pretty well established, but mountain biking is gaining in popularity. It's going to grow,'' said Zaden, a former bike racer and triathlete tri·ath·lete n. One who competes in a triathlon. . ``Even though there is an intensity and thrill of riding in the dirt, there is also an element of being a little kid playing in the dirt. As with all cycling, it is one of the most intense sports because the only thing between a rider going 30 to 50 mph and the ground is just a helmet. It takes a lot of skill.'' USC mountain biker George Feucht agreed. ``The key to having a good race is to more or less be able to go out there and give it everything you possible have and still walk away smiling in the end,'' Feucht said Saturday after his first collegiate race. ``You finish and your lungs are burning and your throat feels ripped up from the dry air, and for a minute you're thinking, `Why the hell did I ever get into the sport?' Then you say, `That wasn't so bad. That was kind of fun. When's the next race?' '' Feucht, a junior, strives for respect in his sport, which has gained attention since it was integrated in the Olympics at the Summer Games in Atlanta and is enjoying a marketing coup over road bikes. ``Normally, you can only find mountain biking on ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network 2 at 3 in the morning,'' he said. ``It's really a young sport. There are not many people racing. That's what gives it its charm; there is a camaraderie that forms between riders. ``When was the last time you saw USC and UCLA players chatting and getting along before a football game?'' Enjoying yourself and each other is the most important part of racing, Sunseri said. ``I have a bell and streamers Streamers is a play by David Rabe. The last in his Vietnam War trilogy that began with The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and Sticks and Bones on my bike,'' he said. ``I try to remind people that we're having fun.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1) USC's George Feucht says, ``There is a camaraderie that forms between riders.'' (2) UCLA mountain biker Judy Hue battles an incline at Castaic Lake Recreation Area. Brett Pauly / Daily News |
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