Navigating High School on Two Wheels

Pali High Students Form a Mountain Bike Team

By CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA | Reporter

Ben Baak, 16, has a big decision to make. A junior at Palisades Charter High School, Baak finds himself taking on the inevitable conundrum that plagues every student his age: What happens after high school?

His options are polar opposites. He either wants to pursue a career in finance or as a movie producer, which then invites the confusing search for the appropriate college.

While at a common fork in the road with nothing but a sign that reads “Future, this way” pointing in both directions, Baak has found a unique way to go down whatever path he does choose—on a mountain bike.

Not far behind him, Alyssa Velky, 15, is riding her bike, too. On club awareness day at Pali High, Alyssa saw Ben sitting at a table, hoping to find others to ride with.

Alyssa, along with Noah Mueller, Jaden Lipsky and Eugene Tsai, signed up to form the first scholastic mountain bike team in West Los Angeles, and have since been competing at National Interscholastic Cycling Association competitions.

Hoping to compete against other schools, some who have teams with up to 80 students, the group is looking to expand their membership and find others who share their love of riding.

“One of the great things about this program, and why I really like it, is because anyone can do it,” said Derek Baak, Ben’s father and team coach in an interview with the Palisadian-Post at the Westridge Trail high up in the Santa Monica Mountains. “There’s lots of different sports for different kids.

“If you want to be on the team … you just have to participate and you’re part of the team.”

Alyssa, however, is doing way more than the minimum requirement, and has gone on to compete in the California State Championships in May. She said she is unphased by being the only girl on her team and being a part of a male-dominated sport.

NICA has launched the Girls Riding Together program, or GRiT, in an effort to get more girls involved. Currently, only 20 percent of participants are girls, according to NICA.

“Equality is not synonymous with equity,” NICA explains on its website. “Equality is treating everyone the same. Equity is giving everyone the respective tools needed to be equally successful.

“Although NICA has been successful in providing equal opportunities to all once participating in our programs, we can only be truly equal when we address many females need different things to feel welcome and invited into NICA programs.”

Alyssa said she feels welcome and is proud of the fact the she has been successful in mountain biking. At the same time, she hopes she can inspire others to join as well.

“[Girls] should definitely try it—it’s really fun and anyone can do it. And it’s great exercise,” she said.

Proud of her daughter’s initiative, Cynthia Velky—wife of assistant coach of the team Dan—knows her daughter is the right girl for the job.

“She’s always been one who doesn’t back down from a challenge so I’m not surprised,” Cynthia said. “Also, you get to go to places you wouldn’t really think to go to.

“There is a fair amount of traveling to races during the season, but we have found it really fun to have the chances to go to these wonderful outdoor locations and help our kids participate in fun and challenging stuff while enjoying nature.”

The team’s first event, titled “Beach to Boulders,” is scheduled for Feb. 24 at Lake Perris followed by the “Vail Lake Challenge” in Temecula on March 17. Should they find success at the races, the team will travel to the finals and state championships in May.

At the competitions, varsity boys race for the fastest time of a 24-mile course while girls race 18.

“Everyone has their own plate that they put on their bike and it has a tracker and they have cones lined up everywhere on where you need to go. They’re really safe races,” said Alyssa.

As the group waits for Pali High to formally deem them an official team, they are actively seeking new members and getting ready for competitions to start in February. Ben has been logging race times and finding new trails to practice while Alyssa is hard at work designing the team’s jerseys.

“I think this is a great way to set kids up for the rest of their lives to be able to bike ride,” Coach Baak said. “For me, this is a great sport because as you get older, it becomes harder to run and harder to do sports, but bike riding is low impact.”

Both him and his son hope this will grow beyond what they have already accomplished, and have a show of force at the next competition. If nothing else, they hope to provide a community of students riding their way through their high school years who might welcome the distraction.

Students interested in joining the team can send an email to palimtb@gmail.com or find them on Instagram @pchsmtb2019.