A year ago, Mikayla Martin had never cycled competitively, but thanks to her experience with the Team 麻豆社国产mountain bike racing club, she's made a name for herself in just one short year.
Martin had a solid rookie season on the trails, winning her age group's cross country race at the B.C. Cup championships in August and the Just Another Bike Race. She said she attributes much of her newfound success in the sport to joining up with Team 麻豆社国产earlier this year.
"Being on the team has really helped me stay in shape," she said. "It's a fun thing to do and it's a great bunch of people. Everyone is willing to help you out if you have any questions or don't understand things and it's just been an amazing year for me on the team."
Martin is an established skier who competes in several local and provincial downhill competitions in the winter. She said the training will help her come winter.
"It's really good cross training for skiing," she said. "The climbing we do is great for my cardio and the downhill is all about picking the best and fastest lines, which is really similar to skiing."
She said she initially heard about the team from her father and had only competed in high school before this year. Thanks to the guidance and training from Team Squamish, Martin took on several races in the Hell of a Series, including the Test of Metal. Martin said one reason she progressed so quickly in the sport was the help of Team 麻豆社国产head coach Mike Charuk.
"He's there to push us and keep us going," she said. "He's really understanding with my schedule and he's a fun guy to be around. He's positive but he also makes the hard stuff we do, like training, more fun to do."
For his part, Charuk told The Chief it's always fun to help introduce newcomers to the sport.
"For the new riders, our goals are process goals," he said. "That process is growing and honing their skills and if we do that, we know the outcomes will come later on as they develop. We're more concerned with helping them grow and become better riders as opposed to top results right off the bat."
Martin is also following the footsteps of well-established female riders like Miranda Miller and Lauren Rosser. But team officials have told The Chief that they are looking for more females to join the team.
Unsure newcomers can only look at the impressive progress that Martin made in less than a year.
"To anyone who is thinking about joining the team, I'd say, 'Give it a chance,'" she said. "It's a lot of fun and even if you don't think you know much about the sport you will have a good time. I didn't know much about biking but everyone offered tips and is so willing to help out."
For more information on the team, visit www.teamsquamish.ca.
