Go fast, but miss the rocks and trees

Port Washington High School freshman Beckett Shuster and Webster Middle School seventh-grader Simon Clegg of Cedarburg both have the same favorite sport of their multiple athletic activities. They prefer two wheels in the woods.

Their love of mountain biking started years ago, and they’re finding success in the sport at a young age.

“I love the ability to just go outside, have a fun time and be able to better yourself every day,” Beckett said. “Physically, mentally just push yourself to do more challenges.”

Beckett started in elementary school. Simon began even earlier, around 3 years old, on a balance bike for toddlers. “They just put me on a bike and I just enjoy going fast,” he said.

The two compete in their own age groups for their respective schools, but as part of the Ozaukee Mountain Bike Club they are just as much teammates.

Coaches help every rider across the county, regardless of school, and they draw straws to see who will ride with the varsity squad to determine “who wants to burn up their legs for a little bit,” team director Mark Clegg, Simon’s father, said. Practices are held twice a week at Pleasant Valley Park in the Town of Cedarburg, which has courses for beginners, intermediate and advanced riders.

“Some are there to ride with their friends and some are there to get better in racing,” Simon said. “There are kids last year we saw get on a trail for the first time and there are kids who have been riding since they were 3 years old.”

At races, the club is divided into Port, Grafton, Cedarburg, Homestead and Ozaukee high schools.

“We’re one big family,” Simon said.

“We’ve pooled all of our resources. We train together.”

The combined team has 65 riders between sixth and 12th grades and already a high distinction. Last year it received one of 11 Outstanding Team awards given by the National Interscholastic Cycling Association out of more than 1,000 squads.

Simon said the honor is based on “holding up principles of the league, inclusiveness and good organization. It’s not all about winning and the points. It’s more about getting kids out there, seeing them grow.”

Courses are designed with passing zones, but bikers are taught to let faster riders coming up from behind pass.

Courses have laps from four and a half to six miles, depending on age, with races consisting of five to 15 miles. High-schoolers ride as long as 90 minutes per race.

Beckett won all five races he competed in last season in the Division 2 freshman boys category, and he won the junior varsity 3 race in the inaugural National Interscholastic Cycling Association Central Region Championship in Fayetteville, Ark.

Beckett said he hoped to make the podium, but “it was pretty surprising that I did do that well.”

He puts in the time and work to get better. During winter, he bikes on indoor trainers, runs and skis. During summer, he bikes 50 miles a week – “a lot more than you’d expect an average person to bike,” he said. “I do it while trying to have fun. Instead of sitting on my phone, I’d rather do something outside.”

Beckett started biking with his father Rick, who has been enjoying the sport since the 1990s, but now the two only ride together on Beckett’s easy days. “He can’t really keep up,” Beckett said of his father.

Simon, who also swims and runs track and cross country, finished fourth in his first race for seventh-graders and eighth in the season’s final race in Waterloo at Trekte trails.

Every race starts going uphill right away to thin out the pack. Mountain biking, however, is about more than speed. Riders must negotiate tight turns, jumps and traveling over rocks and around trees, finding the right body positions to stay upright during each challenge.

“It’s more adventurous than swimming in a pool, running around a track or running in a prairie,” Simon said.

His father noted the difference between road biking and mountain biking.

“When you’re on a road bike, people might think it’s boring. You’ve got plenty of time to think,” Clegg said. “But on a mountain bike, it’s the opposite. You can’t think about anything else. That next turn, that tree, those rocks. To me, they are direct opposites.”

Mountain bikers must also troubleshoot on the spot. Getting help from a fellow competitor with a flat tire or chain that fell off results in a time penalty. Simon and Beckett know how to fix their own bikes, but cooperation from other riders isn’t far away.

That kind of support is another element that draws people to the sport. “Everybody at the end of the race, they’re all just congratulating each other. Nobody has a sour attitude. Most people are just ready to do more things, like an adventure,” Beckett said.

Coaches are required to know CPR, first aid, wilderness and remote first aid and how to set splints, involving online and in-person training.

Helmets are required, and eye protection is recommended, especially in dry and dusty conditions. Simon said he buys packs of safety goggles and hands them out to riders, even those on other teams who don’t have any.

Race weekends involve hundreds of riders, coaches and their families and double as camping trips. Some come in recreational vehicles and others bring tents. Teams hold community dinners.

“One of our riders was playing his guitar and singing for two hours,” Simon said.

Events include a preride to get to know the course, followed by the race. Then there are fun rides to explore other trails, scavenger hunts and food trucks.

Practices may officially start July 1 for the season, which runs into October. By later in fall, bikers have lights on their helmets or handlebars, creating a neat scene from a distance.

“It looks cool, seeing the lights zigzagging,” Simon said.

The Clegg family of four – Simon has a 10-year-old sister – travel to state parks and have visited 42 states, including mountain biking spots. Simon loves Bentonville, Ark., a hotbed for the sport where trails run through people’s backyards.

Clegg said two grandchildren of Walmart founder Sam Walton got into mountain biking in college and pumped money into developing trails in the city of Walmart’s headquarters.

The family also enjoys riding the slick rock in Moab, Utah.

For those who want to start mountain biking, Clegg recommends buying a used bike. “Even as an adult I buy my bike used,” he said. Beyond that, a helmet, pair of shoes, bike shorts and possibly gloves are all that’s required.

Beckett hopes the Ozaukee County Mountain Bike Club gets bigger.

“They should get more people to join. It might seem like a little more niche sport but it’s fun,” he said.

The club also has a nonprofit organization to support riders. Clegg is the president of the board and is holding a bike drive for the second year.

Simon was the inspiration for the drive last year when he found some bikes leaning on trees that nobody was going to collect. His father said he could use them to take apart and learn from until he saw what his son brought home.

“That one’s too nice. You can’t go destroying that,” he said.

“It just kind of hit my head. A lot of people have bikes in their garage or basement who don’t know what to do with them.”

Clegg found the nonprofit DreamBikes of Milwaukee that fixes up bikes and sells them, using the profits to train children life skills.

Last year, the drive unexpectedly collected more than 100 bikes, many picked up by coaches with vans or by Eric’s Bike Shop in Grafton. This year, Wheel and Sprocket is using its big vehicles to collect bikes.

People interested in donating are asked to do so online at ozmtb.org/2026-bike-drive, where more information on the club can also be found.