Life Outside Spring 2018 - 37

Looking to create new outlets for such riders, many
of the groups formed club teams, and began to hold
unofficial races. From there, the stage was set for a
state-wide league.
"The idea for a sanctioned high school league came
out of two questions," says VHSCL co-founder and
director, Andrea Dvorak. "The first was, 'What can we
do to help legitimize the sport of mountain biking?'
The second, 'How can we get more kids on bikes?' The
answer, we realized, was one and the same."
Sponsored by the Miller School of Albemarle, the
VAHS MTB Series was founded in the spring of 2011.
About that time, NICA-sponsored high school teams
were forming in public schools in areas like Colorado,
California and other progressive states. Partnering
with NICA-a national organization that insures and
trains coaches, as well as standardizes scoring, rules,
and regulations-the VAHS founders subsequently
worked to establish the VHSCL, which held its first
races in the fall of 2014.
TAKING THE LEAD
A Blacksburg High School
racer pulls away from the
pack at a well-attended
Virginia High School Cycling
League event.

TOGETHER, ORGANIZED MOUNTAIN BIKING groups

and the newly formed interscholastic teams have
transformed the Virginia mountains into a world-class
mountain biking destination.
In the past decade alone, the region has seen
thousands of miles of trails installed in city and state

parks, national forests, resorts and private properties
open to the public. A number of locations even offer
professional-level courses-such as Mount Jackson's
Bryce Resort, and the Miller School of Albemarle,
which hosts the VAHS state championships.
Recently, the efforts have attracted national
attention. Last fall, National Geographic added
Harrisonburg to its list of America's Top-20 Mountain
Biking Towns. Of the featured locations, only three
were on the East Coast. Listed at number seven, the
city received special accolades, and was touted the
King of the East.
Of the factors weighing into the decision, two were
listed as primary.
First, there is the Bryce Bike Park. Designed by
Gravity Logic and built by 402 Trails in 2013, the
course is routinely named one of MTB.com's Top-5
park's in the Atlantic region, and is a fixture of the
pro-level Maxxis Gravity Series.
Second, the area-i.e. the SVBC-has played a major
role in establishing the Virginia Mountain Biking Trail.
Beginning in neighboring Strasburg, the 473-mile trail
winds its way southwest through the Blue Ridge and
Alleghany mountain ranges to Damascus, and features
more than 53,000 feet of elevation change. Arguably
its most epic segment, the Southern Traverse is 36
miles long, crosses an 11-mile ridgeline, and ends with

LifeOutsideMag.com // Spring 2018

37
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Life Outside Spring 2018

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