Cycling

Youth Mountain Bike Team

Whether your child is a beginner or an avid rider, Youth Team offers possibilities for all. Riders will break into smaller groups based on skills and riding fitness levels. 

Our coach to rider ratio of 1:5 allows for more individualized coaching and confidence building to help ensure all participants are receiving the attention they need. 

This program will meet directly at Trail Heads. September sessions start from Phil’s TH (lower parking lot) and October sessions start from the Welcome Center off Century Drive. Some sessions may also involve shuttled rides that will start from our meeting locations.

Each practice session will balances a mix of fun rides, building endurance and skill practice with an emphasis on the following skills from less experience to more experience riders:

• Position and balance: stability, balancing through a range of movements
• Operation of controls: gears and brakes
• Terrain awareness: trail scanning, line choice, decision making
• Direction control: leaning the bike, rotational body movements
• Pressure control

Fall 2020 Info

Each session runs for three hours from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

You can register your rider for one Team Youth session per week or two, or/and add specific sessions to it ( Cyclocross, Downhill/Enduro or Girls Ride Too. See details for each of these specific programs separately).

Dates:

September 8, 2020 – October 30, 2020

• Tuesday: 11:30am – 2:30pm
• Wednesday: 11:30am – 2:30pm
• Thursday: 11:30am – 2:30pm
• Friday: 11:30am – 2:30pm

Tuition:

• 1 Team Youth session/week is $300. 
• 2 Team Youth sessions/week is $600.

Junior Mountain Bike Team

For intermediate & avid riders. Riders will be grouped according to skill and endurance levels in order to focus further progression. 

Instructor to rider ratio is 1:6 to allow instructors to provide more individualized instruction/coaching.

Riders meet directly at Trail Heads. September sessions start from Phil’s TH (lower parking lot) and October sessions start from the Welcome Center off Century Drive. Each Team Junior session is limited to 12 riders. 

Each practice session will balances a mix of fun rides, building endurance and skill practice with an emphasis on the following skills from less experience to more experience riders:

• Position and balance: stability, balancing through a range of movements
• Operation of controls: gears and brakes
• Terrain awareness: trail scanning, line choice, decision making
• Direction control: leaning the bike, rotational body movements
• Pressure control

Fall 2020 Info

Each session runs for three hours from 3:00PM to 6:00PM, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

You can register your rider for one Junior Team session per week or two, or/and add specific sessions to it (Cyclocross, Downhill/Enduro or Girls Ride Too. See details for each of these specific programs separately).

Dates:

September 8, 2020 – October 30, 2020

• Tuesday: 3:00pm – 6:00pm
• Wednesday: 3:00pm – 6:00pm
• Thursday: 3:00pm – 6:00pm

Tuition:

• 1 Team Youth session/week is $300. 
• 2 Team Youth sessions/week is $600.

Girls Ride Too!

Training with other female riders can be pretty powerful! Bring a friend with you and make plenty of new ones!

This session is organized for girls and by girls only! Our female coaches are in charge and they take turns organizing the rides and practices. September rides start from Phil’s Trailhead while October rides start from the Welcome Center off of Century Drive. At times, some rides are shuttled to offer more variety of trails. 

With one coach to every five riders, each session balances a mix of fun riding, building endurance and skill practice with an emphasis on the following skills:

1. Position and balance: stability, balancing through a range of movements
2. Operation of controls: gears and brakes
3. Terrain awareness: trail scanning, line choice, decision making
4. Direction control: leaning the bike, rotational body movements
5. Pressure control

Fall 2020 Info

This program is eight weeks long with each session running from 3:15pm – 6:00pm on Wednesdays.

Dates:

September 9, 2020 – October 28, 2020

• Wednesday: 3:15pm – 6:00pm

Tuition: $300

Little Ones Ride

This eight week program is designed for our younger riders, ages 5 to 8. Within our Little Ones Ride program riders will be grouped by age for better focus, ages 5-6 years old and 7-8 years old.

This program is focused on PLAY/SOCIAL SKILLS and RIDING SKILLS.

PLAY/SOCIAL SKILLS:

Plenty of time for free play is offered while we move through the trails. Children can play on boulders and logs, play with sticks to build forts. We encourage pretend play and everything the younger public needs to build their social skills. 

RIDING SKILLS:

Our sessions bring emphasis on the following skills:

• Stance and balance, learning to stand up, rolling over small roots and rocks, going downhill with pedals leveled…
• Brakes and gears (when applicable): when and how to use them.
• Vision: back and forth looking ahead to anticipate and a few feet in front of the wheel. 
• Cornering skills for more advanced riders.

Fall 2020 Info

Each session runs for three hours. Choose between morning or afternoon sessions. Riders can join us for one day a week or fro two days of fun and riding.

All programs start at the trailheads. September sessions start from Phil’s TH (at the bottom of the road past the parking lot) and October sessions start from the Welcome Center off Century drive.

Dates:

September 7, 2020 – October 30, 2020

• Monday
  • Afternoon Sessions: 1:00pm – 4:00pm
• Wednesday
  • Afternoon Sessions: 1:00pm – 4:00pm
• Friday
  • Afternoon Sessions: 1:00pm – 4:00pm

Tuition:

• 1 session/week: $400. 
• 2  sessions/week is $800

Enduro – Downhill

This eight week program is for those riders who are attracted by gravity and enjoy more riding (mostly) downhill. We will shuttle from Bend Athletic Club in our Bend Endurance Academy vans and ride downhill mostly. While each session is about having fun, it is also about learning better downhill specific skills like: cornering, dropping, jumping, choosing lines, etc…

The first three sessions of this program will take place on the trails and features of Mt. Bachelors Downhill Bike Park.  The remaining five sessions will involve shuttling some of the most prime rides in the Bend area.

The program is specifically designed for riders aged 9 to 18 years of age with intermediate to advanced riding skills only. If you have questions or want to see if this program is the right fit for your rider please contact virginie@bendenduranceacademy.org

Riders in this program will be grouped by age and ability so everyone gets to be challenged in a developmentally appropriate way. 

2020 Fall Info

• Ages 9 – 18
• Intermediate to advanced riding skills required

What’s Included:

• Transportation from Best Western Premier Pepertree to ride locations
• Coaching and instruction for 8 sessions

What’s Not Included:

• Gear and equipment
• Mt. Bachelor Summer Bike Park Pass or Triple Ticket

Dates:

September 9th – October 28th

• Wednesday: 10:00am – 5:00pm

Tuition: $550

Cyclocross

Want to learn how to ride or race Cyclocross? This session is for you!

Although our racing season may be very different this year due to Covid-19, we will still do the same work to build fitness and endurance. We’ll focus on learning and perfecting Cyclocross specific skills, such as dismounting and remounting, carrying the bike, running and bunny hopping the barriers, and best of all, the mass start! 

All abilities welcome, beginners to advanced. Riders will be grouped according to age and ability.

Looking Forward to a 2021 Return to Racing!

We do offer private sessions for kids and adults. Either you want a one on one session with a coach, stay with the circle of your family or gather a little group of riders with similar skills; we discuss your goals together and choose an appropriate spot/trail accordingly.

Each private session runs 1Hr 30 minimum, with implementation of 90 minutes at a time.

Cost of a 90 minute session is $90

For more details, contact Virginie at (503)914-7616 or Virginie@BendEnduranceAcademy.org

Many factors influence which programs are best for your child.

Desire to Ride & Goals

• Ask your child if he or she would like to participate in our programs.
• We can only safely take riders who want to ride with our groups.
• Individuals should have common goals to what the Program can offer.
• Our After School programs aim at taking Elementary and few Middle Schoolers for fun afternoon rides after a long day at school.
• Our DEVO program targets Middle and High schoolers who are interested in becoming better riders while having a blast.

Age, Ability & Experience

• Age limits do not define ability. They keep riders in appropriate social settings with their peers.
• Please respect the age limits when you enroll.
• Ability & experience must be balanced with knowledge & progression. It’s better to start in a slower group or easier program to learn the basics. This fixes “gaps” in skills and promotes faster learning and means more fun!

Friends & Siblings

• We encourage riders to group-up with their friends if it is appropriate for the group and the chosen ride.
• Our times and locations sometimes make it challenging to accommodate drop-off and pick up of siblings in different programs but we will try to make it work for you.

Which School You Attend

• We offer certain programs to certain schools on specific days in the Spring and Fall.

Your Equipment

• Each program outlines the minimums or recommendations for bikes and gear — this is a huge safety concern for us if a rider’s bike is either unsafe or not correct for the group for which you have enrolled, so please follow those guidelines and ask for assistance if needed.
• We suggest taking your bike to a local bike shop for a check-up and tune before enrolling in our programs. Our safety checks can only make assessments — we cannot fix major problems.
  • • For ages 7 and 8 we recommend 20″ wheels or larger.
    • For age 9+ we recommend minimum 24″ or 26″ wheels.
    • Mountain Bike with 2-brakes, in safe working order required.
    • Gears highly recommended for ages 7-8.
    • Gears required for age 9+.
    • Singlespeeds should not have a coaster brake and should have a very light gear ratio.

Goals of our inclusive program include:

• Having fun together.
• Making new friends.
• Learning new skills.
• Learning to ride in a group safely and courteously.
• Creating a long-lasting respect for & appreciation of our trails and natural environment.
• Exploring new trails and making improvements on familiar ones.
• Gaining fitness and confidence so our kids want to ride more.

Requirements:

• Age 7+ at start of elementary program and attends the school offered for that day.
• Age 4 or 5 at start of Montessori program and attends The Montessori Center School.
• Must know how to ride a bike off-road, no Absolute Beginners, but Beginners and Intermediate are welcome!
• The Rider must want to attend practice and ride in the group with their assigned Coach and teammates.

Academy Rules of the Trail

• Be prepared: bring helmet, gloves, glasses, water, tube, tools & working bike
• Say “Hello” to everyone
• Ride in control
• Ride only open trails
• Preserve the trail: no skidding, cutting corners or walking on jump faces
• Stop at all junctions and trail crossings to re-group
• Stay within sight of your group; don’t wander off into the woods
• If you happen to lose the group, stay where you are and a coach will find you
• Downhill Riders yield to Uphill Riders
• Bikers yield to all other users like walkers and horses
• Don’t scare people or animals
• Scout all jumps / drops / black diamond features; only ride with Coach permission
• Respect and help your teammates and coaches
• Pads, full face helmet and neck brace strongly recommended for Enduro / DH / Bike Park training and racing

Vehicles & Driving

• Respect the Driver, Coaches and your Teammates
• Riders must sit facing forward
• Keep all body parts inside the windows at all times
• Inside voices
• Leave no trace
• Lost and found in front of vans
• Seat belts required in vans

How do you define Age & Ability?

• “Absolute-Beginners” are those who need help getting started, or who are not comfortable on a bike — they require one-on-one attention from Coaches to remain safe; we offer Clinics and Bike Rodeos to help them get started.
• “Beginners” are those who can ride, are ready to take on challenges, and can be mixed into a group-setting with appropriate ratios of riders-to-Coaches.
• “Recreational” riders really enjoy riding and want to improve but aren’t immediately interested in advanced skills or racing.
• “Intermediate” riders have more experience, might be more interested in pursuing a harder progression and might be convinced to ride more days per week or try a race.
• “Advanced” riders have many years of experience and can start giving back to their teammates while they pursue their own goals.
• Age vs Maturity: Minimum ages are set to create peer groups so while many younger riders can demonstrate good skills, they often need to remain with their peers instead of moving up too quickly.

How does the Wait List work?

• Many programs have caps. This is so we can provide your child with the best experience for the resources we have.
• The enrollment form shows how many spots are left.
• If a program is FULL then you should register for the Cycling Wait List. We will update everyone on the wait list a week before the program begins.
• We will not take payment unless your child is accepted into the program.

How does Tuition work?

• Payment is due partially or in full at registration. Payment is due in its totality before the start of the program.
• There is no “credit” for days that you miss.
• Contact Virginie at virginie@BendEnduranceAcademy.org if you need help with payment.

Can I have a Make Up Day?

• We do not offer make up days.
• Riders are expected to show up on the days they’ve signed up to attend.
• There is no make up day or refund for specific program days cancelled due to weather or natural disaster.

How do you set up groups?

• Riding Groups are created and adjusted on-the-fly based on a number of factors including attendance, terrain, weather, experience, ability, age and motivation of the participants.
• By default, we begin with age and then adjust by friendships / ability / experience to make efficient groups.
• Slow vs. fast is not as big of a concern as many think. We’re riding to learn from each other and socialize, which means it’s usually easy to re-group and manage a ‘group speed’ that everyone can enjoy.
• Riders and parents must communicate with their Coaches about their desires, goals and aspirations in order for us to set forth proper pathways for their development, but it is the Coach’s final decision about who rides in which groups. Riding in a “slower group” is sometimes important for proper skill and personal development — it is not a penalty.
• Riders must earn their progression by showing respect for their Coaches & peers while exhibiting dedication, motivation and improvement.

Is BEA a Racing / Elite Junior Program?

• Our mission is to offer a full range of Youth & Junior Cycling Development tracks for Beginners to Advanced, Recreational Riders and Racers!
• Racing is encouraged for those who are interested above age 12 but it’s always optional. Racing is hard. Riding bikes should be fun! Sometimes those are the same, sometimes they’re not.
• We encourage friendly, respectful competitions within our programs and suggest junior-friendly events for riders to try as a natural part of a rider’s progression.
• Racing in sanctioned (OBRA or USAC) races begins at age 9 or 10 depending on the discipline.

COVID-19 Operations Plan – Cycling

Health Criteria for Staff and Participants

• We ask that any staff or participants with illness involving fever, new cough, or shortness of breath stay home.
• We will require participants to have their temperature checked at home by an adult the morning of their program. This temperature will need to be reported and recorded during the participant check-in process. If parents cannot attest to their child’s temperature it will need to be checked at check-in.

General Hygiene

• Coaches and participants will be instructed to use hand sanitizer/change gloves anytime they work with and finish their task with any shared equipment or when having close contact with any other individuals.
• Coaches and participants are encouraged to cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or elbow; Throw any used tissue away immediately into a garbage receptacle; and clean hands after covering coughs and sneezes, and after throwing away used tissues.
• Coaches will wear face coverings whenever they cannot maintain appropriate distancing from participants of at least 6’.

Daily Procedures

Check-in

• During check-in, coaches/staff will record the name of the participant/adult dropping off and the time of drop off. 
• We ask that riders and parents wear a mask when physical distancing cannot be maintained during the check in process.

Ride Procedures

• Coaches will work to design each ride to minimize the use of highly used and/or multi directional trails.
• Coaches will work to plan rides to allow the group to stop in areas that allow riders to maintain proper social distancing measures while minimizing impact to the surrounding area and to prevent trail widening.
• Coaches and participants will wear a face covering at ride stops and when social distancing measures cannot be maintained.

Check-out

• We ask that riders and parents wear a mask when physical distancing cannot be maintained during the check in process.
• We will be recording the name and time of the adult pick up of participants in order to comply with state guidance.

Transportation Procedures

• All passengers and drivers are required to wear a face covering while in the van.
• Van travel will be limited to eight participants per 15 passenger van.
• When participants are transported via a BEA van all participants will utilize hand sanitizer prior to entering the van.
• Vans will be cleaned after each use and will targeted cleanings with a focus on disinfecting frequently touched surfaces of the van.

Communication Plan

• All new protocols and additional messaging will be communicated via the BEA website, post enrollment email communications, social media, and on site signage.
• Confirmed COVID-19 Case among Campers or Staff
  • Coaches and staff are instructed to notify your supervisor if they are notified of any participant or coach of having a confirmed case of COVID-19.
  • Supervisor will notify the Executive Director of any communication of a confirmed case or any cluster of illness among the summer camp program staff or participants. Executive Director will notify Deschutes County Communicable Disease Investigation, Surveillance And Response: (541) 322-7418

Additional Resources

• Guidance for Recreational Sports from Oregon Health Authority
• Guidance for the public from Oregon Health Authority