A Community That Cares: Broden’s Story

7th grader Broden Ala has always loved mountain biking. He waited years to be old enough to participate in NICA events, training hard in preparation for his moment to line up in the start chute. All that practice paid off: last year, during his first season, he crossed the finish line as the Arizona state champion.

School of Singletrack: The Rise of On-Campus Trails in Charlottesville

Eight NICA teams dot the region. An unprecedented four have accessible, well-maintained, on-campus trails. Two of these are public high schools without tuition dollars to support the infrastructure necessary for building mountain bike trails. So how did Charlottesville become the gold standard for school-based trail systems?

No Matter Where You Start: Ambra Baldwin Hart’s Story

“I’ll be the best sweep you’ve ever had.” Two years ago, that was Ambra Baldwin Hart’s motto. She’d just signed up as a Level 1 coach for the Mount Horeb Mountain Biking team to support her 6th grade son who’d joined. She didn’t have much confidence as a coach or a rider, but was encouraged to try anyway by the team’s female coaches.

Bringing Joy and Changing Lives through Cycling

NICA programs bring JOY and change lives across our nationwide mountain biking community. This holiday season as we invite you to Share the Ride, Change a Life, take a moment to hear from our coaches and student-athletes how NICA programs have changed their lives and brought them joy. Meet NICA Student-Athletes Elizabeth Leitzel, Peyton Wilson, and Beck Earnest-McClelland as they share their experiences of Joy and how NICA has changed their own lives!

Bryce Longacre: SoCal Alumni, Chief of Scoring, and NICA National Timing Trainer

After graduating from Murrieta Valley High School in 2014, Bryce Longacre reached out to SoCal League Director Matt Gunnell to see how he could continue to be involved with NICA. Matt quickly brought Bryce onto his team and during his training, RaceRite owner and Chief of Scoring for the Colorado League, Mark Bockmann quickly realized Bryce’s talent and hired him to support his growing business.

In an Unsure Season, the Nevada-North League Finds Ways to #getmorekidsonbikes

Ann Miers here from the beautiful state of Nevada (North) where we are still restricted in what we can do, no more than 50 people gathering and 25 people per day in a park, but you can go to a casino (makes zero sense)… It’s been a super big challenge for our league this season and sadly Nevada remains one of five states where youth have not gone “back to play.”

Celebrating Female Leadership with Vanessa Hauswald 

Vanessa Hauswald signed on as the very first League Director for NICA and has been the Director for The NorCal League for over 10 years now. She has seen NICA grow to 31 leagues and has been an incredible influencer in NICA’s growth and success. She is an inspiring leader, empowering organizer, and courageous cancer survivor. Her infectious optimism and joy for “just riding around on dirt” will inspire you.