CLUB MEMBERSHIP

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Welcome to the 2016 Kirby MTB Club

2016 Kirby Mountain Bike Club Season Info

Club Membership: Any Kirby student may join the Club as long as academic standards are maintained for sports participation. Potential riders who plan to participate on another Kirby sports team and wish to enter the Mountain Bike Club mid season should speak with the coaches first. Club members who are approved to join later should maintain a regular workout schedule and try to ride (with the team or on their own) whenever possible so they are at a reasonable fitness level when they join. Riders who commit to being in the club should plan on attending practices with the club regularly as the fitness and skill level of the group improves each week and the rides become longer and more fun (challenging) as the season progresses. Students who do not ride regularly may not be able to progress with the group and may be asked to return when they can commit to a more regular practice.

NICA NorCal League registration: All riders must be registered in the NorCal Pit Zone system. This process takes a day or so to complete so allow plenty of time for registration process before joining a ride. Riders who are not registered as Ride or Race Ready in the system will not be allowed to ride with the Club or Race Team. The cost is $25 (additional $50 for Race Team members) and sign-ups are done through invitation, which we will send once we have received your rider sign up form (a pdf link is available at top of this page). Please see a MTB team coach with any questions.

Season: The official season for the 2016 Kirby MTB team and club is from Tuesday January 26th (first practice) through May 19th.

Practice Days/Times/pick up:

Weekdays: Rides will be every Tuesday and Thursday. We will begin at 3:45pm and end practice at 5:30pm. Starting March 15th, practices will go to 6:00pm (after Daylight Savings time change). We will always try to ensure that we are back at school as close to 5:30pm (6:00pm in spring) as possible.

Practice Location: Weekday practices will almost always be conducted at UCSC and or Wilder Ranch. We typically will ride from Kirby to get to these areas. One of the many skills we emphasize is to be prepared. It is important that riders arrive at practice with the minimal safety gear as listed below. If a student does not have an approved helmet for any Kirby ride- they will not be allowed to ride.

Weekend Rides: Coaches will plan an official long ride about twice each month, typically on Saturdays, leaving from different places, possibly venturing onto new trails. These long rides will bump up a rider’s abilities and so it is highly recommended that they join as often as possible. Emails will be sent out prior to the weekend rides to notify club (and team members who wish to join) where we will meet. We typically meet at 10 am, but if we plan to drive a ways, we may try to leave earlier. Please note: Weekend Rides are the only activity that will be exclusively announced via email.

Practice Cancellations: We will rarely cancel practice due to inclement weather, however, should a coach cancel a practice due to weather, or any other last minute issues, we will send all parents and riders on our contact list an email. Cancellations due to severe weather may happen as late as 3:30pm. Check your email if the weather looks particularly severe. Students staying late need to check in at the front desk and if there is supervision available, they can go up to study hall. If not, students need to stay in the lobby or cafe.

Pick-Up: Parents, please ensure that you arrive at the scheduled pick-up time/place to pick up your student after practices. We will not leave a student alone at Kirby/etc. after practice hours.

Missed Practice Notification: If you are going to miss practice, the student must contact one of the coaches before the scheduled practice either by calling or texting, or as a last resort, emailing. Do not communicate through your fellow teammates. We suggest that a rider not miss more than 1 weekday ride a month, unless they ride outside of practice.

Bike, Books Storage: After school, students should bring all items out of the school building as it will be closed and locked when we return from practice. Students can leave their books in the Kirby garage until we return from practice, or if a student has a valuable item, they may be able to store it in one of the coaches vehicles. During the week, students can leave their bike in Kirby's lower garage which is accessible via a code (contact Abby Christopher, athletic director, for code)

***You should always take your bike out of the Kirby garage no later than Friday by 6pm as the school's electronic garage lock does not allow entry after 6pm on Fridays and you will not be able to retrieve the bike again until Monday morning. If there is a weekend ride, you will not have access to your bikes if left in the garage on Friday after 6pm!

While the bikes are in Kirby's locked garage may seem relatively safe, we advise all students to use a lock for storage in this area as a bike was stolen from the garage last season.

Riding home after practice: Weekdays, we end practice close to dark and typically when the school building is closed. If your student plans to ride their bike home after a practice, we need written permission to allow a student to ride home from Kirby or our practice site. Keep in mind that practices intend to push your student physically and we do not recommend students have a long bike ride home after a long practice. Talk to others on the team to arrange a carpool, if necessary.

Coach's Code of Conduct: We will not allow any negative or rude comments be made by any team member. All team members are expected to show respect for each other, coaches and parents. Club members should have a positive attitude towards and support each other. We also expect students to have respect for the trails and other people using the trails.

Required Gear: Note – A High end mountain bike equipment is not required to be on the team.

Required Items-

*A well maintained mountain bike. A suspension system (front or rear) is not required. The handlebars should not have “bar ends”. All students should have their bike checked-out before the start of the season at ABS bikes, our official Kirby sponsor.

*An ANSI approved cycling helmet.

*Glasses/Ride goggles. Clear, plastic, safety glasses are available for as low as $10 from any hardware store. Fancier ride goggles can be purchase at ABS or any bike store.

*Gloves: During cold or inclement weather, or the first time a rider takes a spill, they will be very glad to have biking gloves to protect their hands. Leather work-gloves are fine, but they should not be too loose or too tight.

*Bike riding shorts or pants and a lightweight top. Lycra is best as it as it tends to wick moisture away from the skin but provides some wind protection, keeping a person cooler in the heat and warmer in the cold. Cotton is not recommended for cooler climate because once it becomes moist from sweating or rain a student can become chilled. We have some recycled lycra clothing available for all students. For very cold-wet weather, riding pants below the knee may be recommended.

*Light weight wind/rain resistant outer jacket (not cotton)

*Water bottle and cage to mount water bottle on bike or Camelbak

*Energy Bar, PBJ, or some healthy snack food

*Spare Tire and pump (as well as a means for carrying these items). Camelbacks are great.

*Firm soled shoes

*Red rear blinking tail light and head light