Team Summit: A Look Back at A Summer Full of Cycling, Food and Family

When I first signed up for the XC MTB head coach job at Team Summit, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was a relatively new coach with little experience that just moved to a new state less than 6 months ago.

In the end, getting the opportunity to coach this team has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I’ve found a family here in Summit County and I’m very fortunate to be part of it.

Thanks to Team Summit, all the parents, coaches and riders who made this such a special year to remember.

Watching the kids develop over the course of the summer has been a truly remarkable experience. They showed true grit and perseverance, taking on mountainous trail systems, harsh weather at times, and other challenges that I never could have imagined going through when I was their age.

From practices and races to team camp trips and plenty of good food, this post gives a recap of the AMAZING bike season we had together as a team and sums up the mission behind Biked Goods: Creating community through cycling, nutrition and youth development services and experiences.

First Week of Practice

What do you do when the first week of practice kicks off, you have 30+ rowdy kids to manage and you’re wondering how the hell you’re to get through this year? Well, you start by teaching them some basic bike skill, playing some fun bike games and giving them cookies at the end of practice.

These Chocolate Chunk Kid Cookies were a HIT during the first week of practice. I had one kid agree to pick weeds around my garden for the summer in exchange for payment by cookies. Another wanted to try and plant a single cookie in my garden to grow it into an endless supply. Needless to say, games and cookies were the answer to a smooth start for the next 3+ months of the Team Summit XC MTB program.

Carter Park & Ice Cream at Higgles

During one practice, a kid went up to coach Mike and told him he thought it’d be a good idea to get ice cream after a Sunday practice. Mike came up to me and asked if it’d be okay if we go grab ice cream after practice someday. YES, of course, we can get ice cream Mike and kid who asked Mike!

I started practice by asking each kid what their ultimate ice cream sundae looked like. This gave them enough motivation to crank out a good practice sesh around Carter Park before rolling down the streets of Breckenridge to Higgles Ice Cream. You would NOT believe the size of some of the ice cream cones they got! They were literally as big as their heads. We sat down on the stairs and enjoyed our ice cream together while licking the remains of chocolate sauce off our mouths. Day complete!

Boreas Pass Rd, Baker’s Tank and Aspen Alley

This is one of the most beautiful rides we took on as a team in the Breckenridge area. Starting from Baker’s Tank trailhead, you slowly climb up Boreas Pass Rd. This gravel/dirt road is lined with aspen trees overlooking Indiana Creek, Blue River and Mt. Argentine. After a 3 mile climb, you get to Baker’s Tank Water Tower, a historic monument where steam locomotives, designed especially for the tight curves and extreme grades found in mountain environments, took on water.

From there you descend all the way down Baker’s Tank Trail, a very technical route filled with sharp rocks and endless tree roots. Baker’s Tank trail then spits you out by the trailhead for Aspen Alley. A local and tourist favorite, Aspen Alley was realigned in 2014, converting it to a very fun, flowy aspen grove touring descent with plenty of gorgeous photo ops.

Dillon and Summit Cove Trail System

The Dillon and Summit Cove system is home to some of my favorite trails in the county. From the Colorado Trail and Hippo Trail to Blairwitch and the Sodar Creek Loop, these trails have a backcountry feel with endless miles of connected flow trail. Plus the views are unbeatable.

The team spent a good amount of time on these trails building their endurance, getting in some sustained climbing and perfecting their descending skills. Oh, and not to forget their staged photo skills as well 👇😉

We also had a team outing after one practice at Last Cove Pizza, a BOMB local pizza joint in Dillon. I swear the pizza was gone before I even set it down. It was THAT good.

Breckenridge Trail System

Breckenridge is home to a vast system of trails around the B&B Mine Trailhead and Carter Park Trailhead. Big climbs, rowdy descents and a bike park in the area made this a prime location for practice and refining our skills. We also had the chance to partake in some extracurricular activities, including a mining and geology class on top of Sallie Barber Rd.

MTB Junior League Race Series

MavSports, a local event and race promoter, puts on a MTB junior league race series each summer for kids to participate in. Team Summit had several team members signed up for the race series in addition to their weekly programming. My job for these race events was to be there to support the team, give them a few race days tips and cheer them on.

It was a proud moment for me to see Team Summit representing the ENTIRE podium several times throughout the year. Although performance and rankings aren’t everything, it was awesome to see the kids take what they learned from practice and apply it during their races while having some fun.

Chacos 15 Mile Loop At Tenderfoot Mountain

This Sunday practice was one of the most ICONIC days of the summer in my mind. It’s where a lot of the riders pushed their physical and mental limits. A type 2 fun kind of day.

Chacos TenFoot loop is a 15+ mile route with 2,000 feet of elevation gain in the Tenderfoot Mountain range. There are five to six miles of climbing with views that are out of this world of Lake Dillon, Swan Mountain, Dillon, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Summit Cove.

Midway through the ride, we had parents meet us for a quick lunch break (A few even got a shuttle ride up :). I knew nutrition would be important to help keep the kids moving and motivated for the rest of the ride. PB & J sandwiches, pretzels and fresh fruit hit the spot to help us get through the second half of the ride.

During the second half of the ride, we hit this BRUTAL uphill, hike-a-bike forest road climb. This was the point of desperation for most. At one point, one of the kids said, “I’d rather throw pine cones all day than ride my bike.” I said back to them, “I’ll sit here and throw pine cones with you all day if that’s what it takes to get us back to where we started.”

We re-grouped as a team, threw some more pine cones, got in a quick snack and prepared ourselves for the most fun part of the day. The descent down the Tenderfoot Mountain trail.

In the end, it was a 4+ hour day filled with laughs, a few cries, flat tires and a whole lot of fun. I believe the kids learned a lot about themselves this day and helped them realize what they were truly capable of. This is why I love the sport of biking so much, for days like this on Chacos TenFoot loop.

Frisco Adventure Park and Penisula Trails

Frisco is home to an AMAZING bike park and trail system for beginner to advanced riders. From XC flow trails to jump lines and big features, this place was the perfect home for Team Summit to learn, practice and progress our mountain biking skills.

A few team favorite places to ride were the bike park (of course), the Penisula Lakeshore Loop Trail, and Sky Pilot.

Team Bike Wash For The Breck Epic Race

The team was generous enough to let me off for a week to participate in the Breck Epic 6 day MTB stage race. During the event we had Team Summit riders show up at the end of a Sunday practice to help wash the racer’s bikes. Including mine :)

This was an opportunity for the team to wash some very sweet (and expensive pro bikes), get a taste of the Breck Epic Race scene, and give back to the community and trail crews that help build and maintain the trails the Team Summit riders enjoy all summer.

Through colder than usual conditions and a torrential downpour, you still saw Team Summit riders (and PARENTS!) out washing bikes and having a good ole’ time doing it.

Fall Classic Race and Team Picnic

Breckenridge is known for holding its annual Fall Classic MTB Race put on by Mav Sports towards the start of the fall season. We used this week of practice to pre-ride the course and on Sunday we had several Team Summit members participate in the race. For some, it was their first race ever! The course was NO joke. It was 9 miles, had 1,300+ feet of elevation gain (Most of it is in the first 3 miles) and some very technical downhill sections. It was a great accomplishment for the riders.

The rest of the team who didn’t race during this day rode a route to cheer on team members who were racing. We were loud, rowdy and excited to see our team members flying down the racecourse.

At the end of the day, we all came together at Wellington Bike Park for a team picnic. The menu consisted of apple maple cinnamon rolls, banana bread and these Fall Classic Apple Doodle Cookies.

We enjoyed our snacks, talked about memories made from the day and had some fun hitting jumps at the bike park.

Copper Mountain Bike Lift Day

The kids were asking ALL summer to go to Copper Mountain to ride the bike lift so they could ride downhill all day with no climbing. While I didn’t give in right away (we are an XC MTB Team ;), I gave the kids what they earned after months of practice and advancing their skills.

Although….they didn’t quite get away with riding downhill all day. My challenge for them to start the day was to take the bike lift up and then CLIMB our bikes uphill to the top of the resort peak for a team picture. To my surprise, they were up to the challenge. One by one we grinded up the mountainside road. As some made it to the stopping point and waited for the others, they CONTINUED to climb up to see who could climb the most. I felt proud :)

After the team picture, we worked on our descending and technical skills tackling downhills berms, switchbacks, skinnies and rock drops. We enjoyed a day off of climbing (besides the start), using the chair lift as an opportunity to snack on some bars like these Banana Coconut Breakfast Bars N’ Bites and talk nonsense as we made our way to the top to do it all over again.

Peaks Trail and Team Lunch

This Sunday practice was a favorite for many of the kids. We started the day with a yoga warm-up instructed by coach Haley. This helped the kids stretch out, work on their balance and practice breathing techniques for on the bike. From there we took on the rocky, rooty trails of Peaks Trail.

The ride ended with a sweet downhill section, splashing through mud puddles and winding through aspen trees along the way. At the end of the ride, we had two of the kid's parents shuttle us back to our place afterward for a team lunch! (You could say they we’re all pretty stoked about the ride back because the bike back was a brutal uphill climb!)

We came back hungry and ready to EAT! Tacos were on the menu. Before we dove in for our meal, I told everyone how fortunate I felt to be part of this group and how they should be, too. We get to ride bikes together. We get to see awesome places together. And we get to enjoy good food as a team together. A part of my ultimate vision for Biked Goods.

(And not to forget to mention the fooseball games played after lunch. Screams were probably able to be heard across the county. That’s how loud and rowdy it got on Peaks Trail and Team Lunch day)

End of Year Camp Trip and Shuttle Up to Bakers Tank For The Ultimate Downhill Day

It was hard for me to believe this day came so fast. Starting back in mid-June I had a handful of 30+ kids who wanted to have fun and were eager to learn to ride bikes. By the end of the program in mid-September, we had formed a team that shared some AMAZING experiences together. We rode trails across the county together. We enjoyed team lunches and snacks together. And most importantly we became a family together.

So for the last weekend of the year, we put together a team camp trip at Frisco Penisula and organized a shuttle ride up to Baker’s Tank the following day to celebrate the summer’s achievements.

We enjoyed a camp BBQ, rode brand new trails at Frisco (with Porter the pup!), ate one too many S’mores and told spooky ghost stories around the fire.

The following day we enjoyed one of the longest descents of the year, starting from Baker’s tank and ending down Carter Park switchbacks. We ended in fashion with speeches from the coaches, a team picture and one last team lunch.

It was a bittersweet ending, but I know this summer was just the start of something amazing with Team Summit and these kids.

Interested in Joining TheTeam Summit Community?

Team Summit is a youth development organization empowering athletes to realize and celebrate their personal podiums through athletics, education, and life skills by participating in innovative programming at world-class venues. To learn more and join the team, go to their website or contact me directly at my email.