14
| on the mountain winter 2013-2014
T
he fall of 2013 saw the introduction of an organized
mountain biking program to our beloved mountain.
Under the leadership of coaches Wim Sprenger
(
foreign languages chair) and Taras Ferencevych (history),
nine brave souls set out daily to tackle the trails of Black Rock
Forest and various other fine mountain biking areas in the
Hudson Valley such as Stewart State Forest, Lippman Park,
Blue Mountain Reservation, to name a few. At first the going
was tough, as most of the students had never done this type
of cycling before. Students’ learning curves had various slopes,
requiring more or less coaching and encouragement. Most
modern mountain bikes have a minimum of 24-27 gears to
make riding in various terrain possible. Mastering those while
trying to navigate through trees, loose gravel, rock gardens and
various other obstacles resulted in some scrapes and bruises,
and a constant pushing of limits — but resulted in a fine group
of riders by the end of the term. Each of the riders made great
gains in technique and fitness.
In the spring of 2014 SKS’s mountain biking will continue
its development when the school officially joins the National
Interscholastic Cycling Association (www.nationalmtb.org) as
one of the inaugural members of the New York High School
Cycling League (www.newyorkmtb.org). A full schedule
of races is already on the docket, culminating in the league
championship right in our backyard (Stewart State
Forest) on June 8, 2014.
SKS INTRODUCES
MOUNTAIN BIKING
PROGRAM
Outdoor Education Continues to Expand
By Taras Ferencevych
JOHN KENNEY AND KEN PIVAK
