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Derek Mehlig navigates his terrain at the first race of the season.

   It’s a warm sunny afternoon at Markham park. The sun is shining, and students begin arriving one by one on their mountain bikes. Together, they race through the wind, maneuvering through rough terrain and ascending steep slopes. Mountain biking definitely isn’t a sport for the weak— it’s a test of sheer endurance and technical skills, and requires bikers to pursue obstacles and challenges. To many mountain bikers, the world is a natural playground filled with winding trails begging to be explored. 

   PPCHS’s Mountain Biking team is still relatively new. The team was formed by senior Tyler Mlujeak in his freshman year, with his dad as the coach. “I’ve been mountain biking for pretty much my whole life alongside my dad. Once I got to high school, I saw that we didn’t really have a team for it. Since I do it outside of school already, I decided to start one with my dad as the coach,” he says. Current junior Captain Derek Mehlig joined the team the year after as a freshman, enticed by its prospects. “I’ve always been biking regularly outdoors, and I started mountain biking during the pandemic. I saw an email during COVID about joining the team, so I thought it would be fun. It was kind of like the perfect opportunity to do something that I liked,” says Derek. 

   Yet, a year after its founding, the COVID pandemic swept through the nation, making it difficult for in-person contact to be possible. Many school activities were incredibly discouraged during this year, as it was difficult to maintain both interest and connection. However, Tyler worked around the pandemic to make racing still possible and enjoyable. “You usually have a group of people racing alongside you. During the pandemic, we mainly focused on time trials, where you would race yourself,” explains Tyler. 

   As of now, the mountain biking team is one of PPCHS’s most underrated sports, but is filled with promise. Tyler will be graduating this year, and he expresses pride for all the club has accomplished so far, and even more aspirations for the future. “I hope the team does well, which I know they will. I hope the members win more, and I want more girls to start coming out,” he says. The team is open to both middle school and high school students, meaning it’s filled with a diverse group of people who all share the same love for biking. “We go there [Markham Park] usually to warm up for 15 to 20 minutes. We get staged with people you race against, and we do some basic drills to get new members up to speed.” Derek describes a significant amount of his time as being dedicated to teaching the members how to mountain bike. “I teach people how to mountain bike a lot. I think physical endurance is really important, and we’ve also been working on bike body separation skills,” he explains. 

   Although the 2022-2023 PPCHS school year is coming to an end, the mountain biking team’s prowess is far from being over. The upcoming year is filled with exciting new prospects, and even more obstacles to be conquered. “I really just want more people to enjoy mountain biking as I do,” says Derek.