Athletes from across state race mountain bikes in Richland Township
Sep. 19—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Mountain bikers from across Pennsylvania competed in the Johnstown Showdown on Saturday and Sunday at Highland Regional Park in Richland Township.
The two-day event sponsored by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Cycling League (PICL) brought together 680 riders from around the state, including high school senior Caleb Sarka, of Westmont, and high school sophomore Marcus Coy, of Homer City.
Middle school and high school athletes rode in 14 races, lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to 2.5 hours, based on skill and ability for males and females.
Sarka, 17, and Coy, 15, are members of the Johnstown Ridgebacks, a mountain biking team coached by Richard Maher. They competed Sunday in the JV3 division.
"I've been racing for five years," Sarka said. "This is my fifth season doing the PICL. Mainly, I like the downhill, the trails and just playing around."
Coy said he's been racing for about seven years and joined the Johnstown Ridgebacks after viewing a social media post.
"We saw their Facebook post and came out for a ride and decided we liked it," he said. "This is a really good team."
Maher's Johnstown Ridgebacks is a cycling team for kids in sixth through 12th grades.
"We want to get kids off their phones and off the couch," Maher said.
The team's values are speak, build, ride and respect.
"You want to speak a good word about camaraderie and friendship," Maher said. "If you don't build trails, who's going to do it? We ride because we enjoy riding. Respect your teammates, parents, the land and the park. That what it's all about."
