Posts By: Gord Fraser

I hope everyone had a nice off week and have your schoolwork where you want it.  We will resume practices this week as normal with evening times.  Cross training returns on Thursdays for everyone except the crew that are looking ahead to mountain bike nationals in July.

Saturdays are continuing to enjoy good participation despite the early start times.  Once school has finished, look for most practice times to move to early morning.  Here are some pics by Resul Kurtbedin Photography from the bigboy Shootout last Saturday.

Summer Bike Camp is coming up in June.  We will have staff training for all the new team members that have not participated in this wonderful program before.  Mark down either June 1^st or 3^rd   (1pm-3pm) to help get you oriented.  Even if you’ve worked camp before, it’s always a good idea to get re-oriented with your roles.

Our garage sale is this Sunday at the clubhouse from 8am until 11am.   You may have seen flyers posted around town.  We have many cruiser and low end mountain bikes for sale; perfect for getting around town or to school.  We also have many items of clothing, shoes, and helmets.  You’ll never know what you may find digging through our stash of items.  Spread the word to friends and family. Thanks to all the donations over the years as this makes programming possible.

Here’s a look at the remaining practices for the month of May;

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054DADA72CA3FC1-may1730

We’ve learned that a staff member has tested positive for Covid-19.  Despite all the vaccinations happening, we still want to take a cautious approach.  As schools continue to wind down, we understand family’s needs to place studies in front of team programming.  With that said, we’ve decided to cancel practices this week to help everyone focus and await updated testing results. We will have weekend rides, so that you can take the stress of the week out on the pedals.

Team El Grupo had some very impressive results this past weekend at the State Mountain Bike Championships. All raced and learned something new about themselves. They truly trusted themselves to go out and be their best and as a team we were delighted to see them race with such confidence.  A total of seven top five podium finishes were won highlighted by a state title for Damiano!  Other podiums include; 2^nd– Axel; 3^rd– Olivia and Jorah; 4^th– Alex; 5^th– Taryn, Maggie, and Liam.  Excellent efforts and results for the rest of the team including 7^th for Sam; 9^th– William; 10^th– Leo; 11^th– Kaiden; and 15^th for Evan.  Huge thank yous to Steven who secured us an amazing campground at Emmanuel Pines, Ken and Tabitha for the evening’s entertainment, and for the company of Coach Rene.

Summer bike camp is fast approaching and we have had many shuffles to our team staffing for the three weeks in June.  Be on the lookout tomorrow for your Summer Bike Camp week revised assignments. These are now set and we will need all hands on deck to enjoy a great summer program. If you would like to work a second week, please let us know.

May 23^rd we will be having a Garage Sale on the clubhouse grounds.  We have many items that the team simply can’t use and I’m sure there are countless treasured items if you enjoy the thrifting hunt.  I’m willing to assume that coming early for the best selection would be ideal, but we will have hours of 8-11am on the 23^rd for your search!

I hope everyone has a fantastic week.  If you want to work on a bike or need a bike out of the clubhouse please let me know.

Flagstaff hosted the last round of this spring’s MBAA races and once again the team had great representation, results and experiences.  Results in respective categories include; 1^st Axel; 2^nd– Damiano; 3^rd– Alex and Jorah; 4^th– Taryn and Tomas; 5^th– Maggie;6th- Olivia; 8^th– William; 10^th– Liam and big should for another 10^th place in her very first mountain bike race for Katrina!  It was great to see Tomas’ younger sisters and Grupito riders; Sofia and Melanie also compete with a big team Grupo cheering section to help inspire. Thanks to Ignacio and Daniela for quarterbacking another awesome weekend and to the parents that helped out, especially to Jason for bringing the fire pit!

This weekend is the last MTB race of the season in Prescott. It is the State Championship race. Information can be found here, www.mbaa.net  .Those going to the race need to contact Ignacio. The van will be leaving the clubhouse at 9am on Friday and returning on Sunday at approx. 6pm.

The training schedule and practices are laid out with great intent and thought. We would love for every youth to be able to commit to every one. However we also want well rounded youth. So please do your best to commit to the program and have the best attendance you can.

I want to highlight Thursdays and really encourage great attendance on our cross training day. We have a certified instructor coming to lead these workouts and it is a great way for the youth to learn about their bodies and to build strength. It also allows for kids of different riding groups to work out together thus giving them a chance to get to know each other.

Great to see that Summer Bike Camp is now full for 2021.  We are looking forward to team members giving back and instructing the young campers the lessons that they themselves have learned from years in Grupito and Team Grupo.  We are especially excited for those team members staffing for the very first time. Please remember to consult the Summer Bike Camp work schedule to see when we are hoping to have your youth involved. If you could please tell us if your week assignment works, that would be super helpful. Also please let us know if you want to work multiple weeks.

Congratulations to Nick and Evan for EARNING their “new” team Jerseys. Ask them how they earned them if you get the chance.

School is winding down and we understand the demands of this time of year.  Hopefully practice is that mental break and re-fresh you need to help tackle the extra scholastic work.

Lastly, we have some newly designed T-shirts and socks available.  Sizes are limited with the shirts, but prices are $10 for team members and $22 for non team members.  Socks are $5 for team and $15 for non team.

Here is the practice schedule for the next few weeks;

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054DADA72CA3FC1-may316

With rain forecasted currently at 50% for practice hours, we will go ahead and cancel today’s practice.   See you all tomorrow.

We had a memorable gravel experience last weekend up in Northern Arizona, just east of Payson.  We all went through physical and emotional challenges to complete Saturday’s 75 mile ride.  On Sunday some riders opted for a hike while others rode west on top of the spectacular Mogollon rim with distances of 30-50 miles respectively. … Read more »

In this more virtual world, it’s nice to see that we can still run a fun, safe, and memorable event with our annual Scavenger Hunt.  It was great being stationed at the clubhouse to see numerous families ride in on their quests to decipher the fun riddles and clues that our team had put together. … Read more »

Another great weekend of rides and races, in particular the MBAA race in Prescott.  Coach Ignacio lead an 11 rider contingent with places as follows in their respective categories. 1st– Taryn; 2nd– Axel and Damiano; 3rd– Olivia and Sam; 4th– Maggie; 5th-Liam; 9th– Alex; 10th– Thomas and William and 11th for Kaiden.  Thanks again for… Read more »

April is heating up with races both on the mountain bike and road bike.  The latter was a criterium on Saturday night out at the GoKart track.   It was awesome to see Myles pin numbers on for the first time since his crash last year at the Valley of the Sun race. IMG_1162 MBAA races… Read more »

It’s definitely starting to look like spring is winding down and summer just around the corner.  Temperatures are heating up and with it the need to start hydrating properly before coming to practice.  The days are getting longer so we feel that lights are no longer needed for mid week practices.  Of course, if you… Read more »

We are at an interesting place these days.  Some team members have finished spring break and are ready to return to school- and some are even attending in-school classes for nearly a year!  Other members are just starting their break.  Wherever you may be, one thing that can bring everyone together is the practices! We’ll… Read more »