El Prieto Trail Work

We don't just ride our bikes - we also help rebuild the trails that we ride on. Trail work is an important part of being a mountain biker. Without trail work, well, there wouldn't be any trails!

On January 22nd and 29th, members of the St. Francis mountain bike team helped CORBA and our teammate, Kennan Koch, repair a section of the El Prieto trail that was erroding into the creek. This was an ambitious Eagle Scout project that Keenan had undertaken.

12 hours of hard work, a little poison oak, and a lot of pizzas later - and the new trail looks GREAT!

Sean and Daniel with their hard hats and tools

The old trail below, and the new trail being cut in above.

The new trail (above) really taking shape.

Here's a great timeline video of the work courtesy of Steve Messer of CORBA

2012 Race Calendar

Listed below is the 2012 Race Calendar for the St. Francis Golden Knights. We will be racing against other high school teams in the SoCal League. Come out and support us if you can!

February 26th - Vail Lake Challenge (Temecula)

March 11th - Hog Canyon Classic (Yucaipa)

March 25th - Cruise the Keys (Keyesville)

April 15th - Victory at Vail (Temecula)

May 6th - Power the Pinnacles (Lake Arrowhead)

May 20th - State Championships (Los Olivos)

Introducing the 2012 Golden Knights Mountain Bike Team

Back Row, Left to Right: Coach Marshall, Coach Kubly, Hunter Nalley, Matt Misetich, Cameron Aubert, Carl Demolder, Andy Acosta, Sean Bird, Chris Sercel, Nicholas Bedford, Remi Roth, Philip Saulny, Daniel Balsam, Coach Donovan, Coach Bird.

Middle Row, Left to Right: Scott Marshall, William Towne, Christian Breitschwerdt, Connor Haas, Matt Kubly, Steven Ayoob, Austin Hamilton, Skyler Payne.

Front Row, Left to Right: Keenan Koch, Michael Togneri, Nathaniel Blakely, Calvin Lau.

18 Riders up Brown

Thanks Coach Kubly for the GREAT picture!

The Golden Knights are ready for the 2012 Season

Since December 1^st, the St. Francis Mountain Bike Team has been preparing for the upcoming 2012 SoCal League High School Mountain Bike series. As one of the first members of the SoCal league, the Golden Knights will be entering their 4^th season racing against other Southern California high schools.

Under the guidance of Head Coach Lee Bird and Assistant Coach Patrick Donovan, the Golden Knights are hopeful that they will be able to continue building upon a stellar 2011 season that saw many podium and top-10 overall finishes, including a 5^th place finish in the 2011 State Championships.

The team includes returning Seniors Cameron Aubert, Steven Ayoob, Christian Breitschwerdt, Connor Haas, and Matt Misetich. Christian, Connor, and Matt all finished in the top-10 overall of the D1 JV class in 2011. “Our Seniors have been great role models and leaders on our team. Many have raced since they were freshman and really understand the dedication and hard work necessary in the sport”, Bird says. “I’m hopeful that we will be able to have 2 or 3 of these strong riders represent us in the Varsity class”.

Representing the JV class for the Golden Knights will be Juniors Carl Demolder, Matt Kubly, Scott Marshall, Chris Sercel, Michael Togneri, and Sophomore Sean Bird. The JV team for the Golden Knights is deep, and should be able to post some good results this season. Returning racers Matt Kubly and Scott Marshall both finished in the top-10 overall of the D1 Sophomore class and Sean Bird was 5^th overall in the D1 Freshman class in 2011.

Bumping up to the sophomore class will be Daniel Balsam, Keenan Koch, Calvin Lau, Hunter Nalley, and Will Towne. Daniel, Keenan, and Hunter all raced as freshman and have improved significantly. Calvin and Will are new to the team this year and have worked hard in training to get themselves prepared for the upcoming season. “Daniel and Hunter really push each other hard in the practices and races, and Keenan has shown incredible improvement over the last year. I’m really excited to watch the three of them battle it out with the other schools this year”, says Coach Bird.

Representing the Golden Knights in the freshman class will be Nicholas Bedford, Nathaniel Blakely, Austin Hamilton, Skyler Payne, Remi Roth, and Philip Saulny. “It’s exciting to see the new talent come into the program each year. Students are excited to be able to race mountain bikes for St. Francis”, says Coach Bird. Austin and Skyler both have prior mountain bike experience and have looked very strong in practices. Nicholas, Nathaniel, Remi, and Philip are working hard on the skills necessary to compete on the mountain bike and will be strong contenders for the Golden Knights.

“I am very grateful to the administrators and staff of St. Francis for supporting our team. The school sees the value of our program and has really supported us since the beginning”, says Coach Bird. “I am also grateful to the parents and parent coaches for all of the time that they have put in to help make this program strong. Because our races are all over 2 hours away, there are lots of logistics and coordination that requires many volunteers. I’m grateful for their help”.

Follow the Golden Knights all season on their website at http://stfrancisracing.blogspot.com/.

GO KNIGHTS!