Rowen Collier faced an uphill battle to get the Miramonte mountain bike team started, but his hard work and focus helped build a program that made it to the NorCal Interscholastic Cycling League championship meet.
Rowen Collier wanted to start a mountain biking team at Miramonte – and in its first season, the Matador bikers qualified for the NorCal Interscholastic Cycling League championship meet.
But that makes it sound way too easy.
When he started out, Collier really had no idea what it would take to put together a team. No one could definitively tell him exactly how to go about it, so he took on the mountain of research himself.
He had to figure out the NorCal league requirements, deadlines, insurance, rules, costs, coaches, travel and school sign-off. Plus the very important PE credits.
With the help of Miramonte athletic director Sean Hennessy, Collier navigated the process, and recruited four more riders to join the team. And then Aimee Steinmeier, Anthony Chow, Sira Mobley, Alex Sien and Collier hit the road.
Working through the Contra Costa Composite team, Miramonte competed in the four spring meets, and then moved on to the NorCal championships in May. More than 700 riders rode the 30-mile course, and it completed a strong first season for the Mats.
But Collier, now a senior, is looking to build on that success.
He wants to recruit more riders, and points to the unique structure of the sport as one of its attractions.
“There’s no bench in this sport,” he said. “Everyone races, everyone participates and every rider matters to the team,” Collier said. “It’s a sport where students support each other and push themselves to improve. And it’s not just for guys – girls can absolutely do this too. The NorCal league has strong girls’ teams.”
The team will be in action over the summer, with local rides focused on fun. Anyone interested in joining can contact Collier at rowan@geebo.com.
