We're gearing up to start the third season of the Tallahassee Thunder youth mountain biking team! Who's excited?
We worked really hard over the offseason to identify meaningful changes that we hope will make this our best season ever. One of the biggest changes is the introduction of rotating practice locations. Practices will rotate between parks on the east, south and north sides of Tallahassee. This change is intended to maximize practice time by reducing the need to ride our bikes to the practice location.
We will also start practice at 5:00, instead of 4:30, which we hope will reduce some of the stress on families to get to practice after school and work. There are honestly too many changes to include in this email and it's probably needless to say, but your coaching staff is Stoked!!!
A draft schedule is available here. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Team Info Sessions will be held via zoom, the first one (10/19 6p - 7p) is focused on families returning to the team and will cover the changes this season. The second one (11/17 7p - 8p) is focused on families new to the team this year and will cover the team vision and values, describe a typical practice and discuss what to expect at races.
I'm also super excited about the Bike Check, which will be at Epic Bikes this year (11/30 2:00-4:00). The expert mechanics there will check out the riders' bikes, make minor adjustments and note any issues that need to be resolved before the season gets underway. We'll have pizza and drinks, door prizes and generally just get together and have fun. Make sure you bring bikes and helmets!
Speaking of Epic Bikes, their flagship brand, Specialized is rolling out a NICA discount program this season! They are offering 25% off new (xc appropriate) bikes and 30% off gear! More program details forthcoming, reach out if you are interested. The Bike Check will be an awesome opportunity to try out some specialized bikes and gear. I personally really appreciate Epic Bike's support; they are totally stepping up this season!
Preseason events are below, but you should use the website for an up-to-date list of events as things may change as we lead up to the start of the season.
Please complete this Google Form to initiate the registration process. I will follow up by sending you an invite to the NICA PitZone website where you will complete the registration, sign a waiver and participation agreement and pay the fee.
The season fee this year is $345. The NICA and Florida League fee of $295 includes all the races and will be paid on the NICA PitZone website. The team fee of $50 is for the team jersey and a t-shirt.
Financial support is available, so please don't let the fees stop you from participating. Reach out to me directly and we can find an option that works for you.
Please spread the word! We're growing and we want this to be the favorite thing your kids do all year!
Looking forward to an amazing season!