RIDE WITH US

MISSION: We build strong body, mind, character and community through the inclusive sport of interscholastic cycling. #morekidsonbikes #keepkidsonbikes

CORE VALUES: Fun, Inclusivity, Equity, Respect, and Community.

Petaluma Composite operates under the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) in the NorCal League in the Repack Region.

HISTORY by Scot Wigert

Act 1: The Cast of Characters

In the spring of 2004 (I think), I was at the end of year school celebration for La Tercera Elementary School. My son Griffin, was a first grader there, and I got to meet his Spanish teacher, Yuri Hauswald. We got to chatting about bicycles and Yuri said we should come check out the Wednesday Dirt Crits up at Howarth Park. At the Dirt Crits, I met Yuri’s wife, Vanessa who was starting the next school as an English teacher at Casa Grande High School. As it turned out, I was also starring the next school year at Casa as a Math teacher.

Vanessa and I both had a lot in common; her love of diagramming sentences and mine of solving equations. While these are basically the same thing, we ultimately settled on bicycles and started the Bike Club. Vanessa took two riders, one being Storm (yes, the OG), to a place called Boggs, to do a race with an organization called NorCal. When Vanessa came back, she said, “this is what we have to do.”

Act 2: The first years

This is still one of my all time favorite pictures! This is Fort Ord 2007--our first race ever. We were a ragtag bunch with jerseys that had ironed on graphics and we had no idea what we were doing. Vanessa Hauswald is second from right and Yuri Hauswald is kneeling in front. I am in the back row with the baseball hat and my son Griffin, who was in 5th grade, is standing in front of me. Vanessa, Yuri and I are still friends with many of this motley bunch. Each race was a new adventure.

Act 3: Exit Stage Left

What started out small has become a huge movement. After four years as Head Coach of the Casa team, Vanessa moved on and took over as NorCal League Director. I lost my co-coach, but high school mountain bike racing gained a whole new level of energy. (This is Granite Bay around 2013). Meanwhile, my son Griffin, was a freshman in high school so it was easy for me to step up and make the commitment to be head coach and team director.

Act 4: The Show Must Go On

Over the next ten years or so riders and coaches came and went, including my son when he graduated. Luckily, this is when Erick Schleth and Matt Muldoon joined me as permanent coaching fixtures. The Casa Grande Team was now a well established NorCal program that seemed to always hit that sweet spot in terms of size; the team had a substantial presence while maintaining a close-knit, familial atmosphere. It was also during this time that each NorCal race felt like a giant family reunion revolving around bicycles.

Act 5: Passing the Torch

Around 2020, I started thinking it was time to “sell the team”, as I realized I didn’t have the energy to continue to make the commitment to #morekidsonbikes as NICA rolled out new and amazing programs. But as with all things COVID, my plans were stalled for a while. Luckily, along came Aaron Majors, who after just one meeting said that he wanted to take over the whole program. I’m really excited about the energy and ideas he is pumping into a program that started out as a ragtag club almost 20 years ago.

Act 6: Epitaph

I’m not gone yet, so it’s not time to write this.

LIFELONG FITNESS

One of the best things about cycling is that it is a sport you can do for the rest of your life.

Cycling is something most people are exposed to as a child with that first two-wheeler and it’s something we can keep doing late in life to support lifelong fitness. It’s also something we can experience in countless ways. From cruising down a quiet dirt road, to group rides, races, even bikepacking, there’s always a new facet to explore. As a coach, I spend a lot of time thinking about how to help athletes be healthy, happy and fulfilled in the sport. Of course we work on getting faster, but that’s almost automatic if we hit those first three goals. Here are some of my best tips for having a lifetime of enjoyment in cycling.

Read the article at: USA Cycling

A thousand mountain bikers to descend on Petaluma...

Five Springs Farm, a few miles to the southeast of the city’s downtown, will host a NorCal Cycling League race.

A few miles to the south and east, a vast, two-wheeled, highly adrenalized tribe will converge. The Five Springs Farm, a working ranch on Adobe Road, will host the fourth and final regular season mountain biking race put on by the NorCal Cycling League.

Organizers are expecting upward of 1,000 competitors from 19 teams in the region, said Todd Smith, assistant head coach of the Annadel Composite Team, which will bring 95 riders to the competition.

The A Team, as it is known, consists of students from 17 middle and high schools stretching from Cloverdale to the north, Petaluma in the south and Forestville in the west.

Read the article at: Press Democrat

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