National Interscholastic Cycling Association

Do you remember your first time mountain biking? We all had to start somewhere! Whether you just started riding last week or have been sending it for years - there's something special and fun about your first ride and first bike! NICA's Partnerships Coordinator, Ricardo Mejia joined NICA from the rugby world and one of his first rides was at our 2019 conference in Sun Valley Idaho on a sweet Trek Bicycle! ********* What was a favorite first ride of yours? A favorite first bike? *********

THANK YOU Shimano-MTB for continuing your support of NICA in 2021 as a Platinum Level Sponsor and your dedication to helping us get #morekidsonbikes and #moregirlsonbikes! Don't forget - NICA Level 3 Coaches receive special pricing on Shimano components via our Coach Benefits portal so check it out today! Photo: Adam Haynes / Idaho Interscholastic Mountain Biking League

Ohio Mountain Bike League Director Jen Malik and SoCal High School Cycling League Program Coordinator Nikki Peterson just launched a new NICA GRiT Podcast - Girls Moving Mountains to share stories that will transcend leagues, bringing the NICA's GRiT programs from across the country closer together. They will be talking with GRiT coordinators, coaches, student-athletes, mechanics, Professional athletes, alumni, and more to hear these rad stories. The first episode dropped on January 6th and features NICA National GRiT Program Manager, Libba Moore. Check out today at: https://podfollow.com/girls-moving-mountains ***** If you know of someone who would make a good guest, please email Jen and Nikki at: [email protected].

THANK YOU CLIF Bar for continuing your support of NICA in 2021 as a Platinum Sponsor and being committed to helping us get #morekidsonbikes and #moregirlsonbikes! CLIF Bar has been a proud NICA sponsor since 2009! #FeedYourAdventure today and #MakeitGood with Clif Bar! Check out the latest energy fuel and flavors today at: https://www.clifbar.com/ : Jeana Harrison West Virginia Interscholastic Cycling League

LAST CALL - Nominations for the 2020 NICA Awards close TOMORROW, 1/12/21 at 11:59pm PST! Here's your chance to recognize an outstanding student-athlete, coach, volunteer or alumni who has made an outstanding contribution to the NICA community. Visit https://bit.ly/3a8Umr8 to get your nominations submitted today! Photo: Emma Hurst, Idaho Interscholastic Mountain Biking League, 2019 Specialized Student-Athlete Leadership Award Recipient

You never gnome what you may encounter when you're out adventuring on your bike! New trails, new friends, surprises around every corner. What are your adventure by bike plans in 2021? Learn more about NICA's Adventure program by visiting: https://www.nationalmtb.org/nica-adventure/ ******* #morekidsonbikes #moregirlsonbikes #NICAAdventure #AdventureGnome

Today's the day, vote!

Here's some Halloween fun from a few of our Leagues! New York High School Mountain Biking Tennessee Interscholastic Cycling League Maryland Interscholastic Cycling League #morekidsonbikes #moregirlsonbikes #NICAGRiT #ridebikeshavefun #costumesoncoaches

We love it when our teams get love from the media! In October, Gilmer Cartecay Youth Mountain Bike Team with the Georgia Interscholastic Cycling League got a LOT of LOVE! Three different articles! The latest article, in the Times Courier, can be found here: https://www.timescourier.com//team-cartecay-retains-standi. An excerpt follows... "The Georgia League called on Team Cartecay’s welcoming and gracious character to help ensure three other Georgia League teams had an oppo...rtunity to race given impending storms that threatened to curtail race activities." One of our favorite things about the Georgia League is meeting other student athletes across the state, JV I Cartecay rider Lorenzo Alonso shared about the experience. With COVID-19 guidelines, we’ve missed that part of our racing season since the league switched to a time trial format. Getting the opportunity to host other riders was awesome. #morekidsonbikes #moregirlsonbikes #georgiamtbleague

Trick-or-treat! It’s a treat to have so many awesome leagues across the country! Happy Halloween! #morekidsonbikes #ridebikeshavefun #happyhalloween #trickortreat

NICA alum in the biz, new installment of the Cartecay Lounge, GRiT Ambassador application, adventure in the desert, hill trials for a trailer, fundraising match, and more! Don’t miss this month’s NICA News, you can find it here: https://bit.ly/3mB6zHT #nicanews #morekidsonbikes #moregirlsonbikes #thisisnica #nicagrit #ridebikeshavefun Nevada Interscholastic Cycling League ... Colorado High School Cycling League SoCal High School Cycling League Georgia Interscholastic Cycling League Ohio Mountain Bike League Kansas MTB PeopleForBikes.org Giant Bicycles TOGS Borah Teamwear Gilmer Cartecay Youth Mountain Bike Team Galena Mountain Bike RACE RESULT See more

We're stoked! Salsa Cycles ALL-NEW Journeyman 24 brings gravel and mixed-surface riding to smaller riders and families who want to venture out together. Whether riding gravel, bikepacking on a mixed-surface route, or just exploring the bikeways around town, Journeyman 24 rewards smaller riders with a legitimate all-road cycling experience and the ability to ride independently. Check it out: https://salsacycles.com/culture/introducing_journeyman_24 #morekidsonbikes #moregirlsonbikes #salsacycles #adventurebybike #salsajourneyman24 #yourgravelbeginning

Last weekend the New York High School Mountain Biking Galena Growlers traveled to Central Park, Schenectady to scrimmage race against three Albany Area teams: Niskayuna School, Mohawk Mountain Goats and R-Cubed. Thank you The Evening Sun for covering this event! https://bit.ly/3ozRGr7 #morekidsonbikes #moregirlsonbikes #thisisnica #ridebikeshavefun ... Photo: The Galena Growlers/The Evening Sun **All NICA gatherings are held in accordance with state and local health department guidelines.

Borah Teamwear is excited to expand its popular Freeride MTB Collection to include new baggy shorts, and new long and short sleeve jerseys designed specifically for young NICA riders. Our high-touch customer service and Fit Guarantee ensure ordering for your team is seamless and risk-free. Borah is a leader in USA made custom cycling apparel, and we are proud to be an official NICA sponsor. Borah - Built Here. By Hand. Since 1997. https://borahteamwear.com//cy/custom-freeride-mtb-apparel/

Congratulations Indiana Interscholastic Cycling League on wrapping up an amazing race weekend and inaugural season in spite of these crazy times! Congratulations and thank you to all the volunteers, staff, riders, coaches parents, and support. It was such an incredible race at Griffin Bike Park. We’re all stoked to get #morekidsonbikes in 2021! If you missed the race, check out 10dot1 and Lil Drone Friend for the race feed. ... : Chuck Edens #morekidsonbikes #moregirlsonbikes #ridebikeshavefun #thisisnica SRAM MTB CLIF Bar **All NICA gatherings are held in accordance with state and local health department guidelines.

The Utah High School Mountain Biking State Championships are happening this weekend! Here’s to all the student-athletes, coaches, volunteers and parents that helped make this season happen. Hats off to Utah League Director Dallen Atack (standing in the timing hut) for pulling off an incredible season with so many moving parts and changes. Check out that hand on the volunteer at the End of Race. ... JV girls 1st wave - We love the pink swan! Coaches meeting pre-race meeting at dawn. #morekidsonbikes #moregirlsonbikes #thisisnica #ridebikeshavefun #utahhsmtb Photos: Steve Matous **All NICA gatherings are held in accordance with state and local health department guidelines.

Miles and miles of flowing trails packed with hero dirt, whoops, and rollers. Blue skies. Mountains of trees with gloriously golden and orange leaves. A big ol’ lake shimmering in the Autumn sun. Camp fires and socially-distant team building. That was the setting for Pennsylvania Interscholastic Mountain Biking end-of-year Adventure Weekend bash, where stoked riders, their coaches and families camped and rode and rode and then rode some more. The stoke was high, the smiles we...re wide, and the CLIF Bars were downed by all. Congratulations on a great season of adventure! Thank you Salsa Cycles for supporting our Adventure program. #morekidsonbikes #moregirlsonbikes #nicaadventure #ridebikeshavefun #salsacycles #clifbar Photos: Aaron Puttcamp Photography **All NICA gatherings are held in accordance with state and local health department guidelines.

We’re stoked to feature Larry Alonso, one of NICA’s many amazing coaches. Larry coaches Gilmer Cartecay Youth Mountain Bike Team with the Georgia Interscholastic Cycling League. When asked why coaching is so important to him, Larry replied, Coaching allows me opportunities to touch the horizon. To speak encouragement and truth about student-athletes’ inherent worth, their immutable dignity. As coaches, our role is to foster potential, to appreciate that all student-athletes ...are uniquely equipped to accomplish something important, valuable, and hard. He also works to instill the idea that words matter. The words that come out of your mouth today live on for decades in the people around you. When we use words like, you’re awesome, you’re a good friend, and you’re a hard worker, these are the tools we use to build each other up, not tear each other down. It’s no surprise to learn that Larry received the NICA SRAM MTB Coach of the Year Award in 2018 and a Positive Coaching Alliance Double Coaching Award in 2019. At NICA, coaching is about more than just racing, it’s about changing lives. We love that. #morekidsonbikes #moregirlsonbikes #bestcoachesever #ridebikeshavefun #youthdevelopment #youthcycling Photos taken at NICA gatherings before 2020 or in accordance with state and local health department guidelines. Photo credits: Larry Alonso, Laura Lea Alonso and student-athlete Samuel Fontenot

#repost Maryland Interscholastic Cycling League Here’s the final installment in this series of MD student-athletes sharing their NICA experiences in their own words. Get fitter. Get stronger, mentally, physically, and emotionally. But most important? Make tons of new friends!... The experience of NICA is shared by every student-athlete. There are no tryouts and there is no bench. #everyonerides #morekidsonbikes #moregirlsonbikes #mdkidsonbikes #onbikesforlife #marylandmtb #nicagrit #bearollmodel #youthdevelopment #youthcycling @wild.wild.sterno @sydneykaetzel

A good time was had by all on Saturday’s New York High School Mountain Biking GRiT ride at Glimmerglass State Park. It was the perfect fall day for skills, mechanics and a ride. #moregirlsonbikes #morekidsonbikes #NICAGRiT #thisisNICA