In normal years, Sedona Schools Mountain Bike Club would have competed in a number of races which take place over a weekend and usually include camping. But given the fact that those events frequently feature hundreds or even thousands of riders, COVID-19 rendered them impractical with land managers not giving out permits. But while the club has not had a normal season, it has gone on.

The club has gone on three camping trips — two to Thumb Butte in Prescott and another at Fort Valley in Flagstaff — and have one more planned, either in North Phoenix or Kanab, Utah. While camping, they’ve managed to ride, even if the competitions have been a little different than normal. The rides have included — though have not been limited to — intrasquad time trials, racing on trails set up by the coaches.

“We’ve made a lot of lemonade from lemons and kept practicing on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday safely, and have kind of done our own races,” coach Eric Mace said. “The same weekends we would have had a big event, a big race, we’d go out camping. Sometimes we’ve met up with other teams, sometimes we’ve done other races being put on by local people.”

The camping trips have also been different. The campgrounds will usually include kids from other schools, giving the Sedona riders a chance to interact with people throughout Arizona.

Carter Pedersen, an eighth grader at Sedona Red Rock Junior High School now in his third year with the Sedona Schools Mountain Bike Club, has noticed some differences.

“Camping is probably the best part of racing,” Pedersen said. “It’s very different because we can’t interact as much with other people and don’t get the same stuff that we had before.”

One of the other changes is that the team is smaller with around 15 riders. While that limits the number of kids that the Sedona Schools Mountain Bike Club can interact with even more, it does allow for more one-on-one time with the coaches.

Mace pointed out first-year rider Tyler Crockett. He noted that at the beginning of the season, Crockett was usually riding for about 10 feet at a time. Now, as the season is nearing its end, he’s riding for miles at a time. But the progress hasn’t been limited to just the new riders.

“Everybody has really progressed, for sure,” Mace said. “Most of the older kids are really progressing in their technical skills, their ability to get up and over steps, and down some of the steeper stuff. That’s a natural progression as a coach. We want to see them be safe on the easier stuff before we allow them to do that. The last couple of weekends out we’ve really concentrated on safety going down some steeper slick rock sections.”

Part of the progress is owed to the fact that while there are fewer students, there are more coaches working with the riders.

That’s led to not only progression from the kids but in some cases, riders finding a completely unexpected part of riding to be enjoyable.

“After a little bit, I liked climbing,” said Marcus Lucas, an eighth grader at Mountain View Prep. “Going up hills and stuff like that. It’s pretty fun … sometimes.

The coaching has had a strong impact on the kids, as well.

“Eric is the best coach I’ve ever had — I feel so lucky,” 15-year-old homeschooler Bronwyn Bosman said. “I’ve never been in any other type of medium where I’ve had teachers. He’s just the most incredible person I’ve ever met.”

While the season has been challenging for the Sedona Schools Mountain Bike Club, it’s also had enough positives that the kids on the team are already looking forward to 2021.

“I think it’s gone pretty good; it’s been a good first season,” SRRJHS seventh grader Ben Metzger said. “I made a lot more friends. This is for sure something I want to do again next year.”