“Slow Isn’t Really an Option”

Kate Huseby gets a thrill out of mountain biking

Kate’s first love is rock climbing. She has been climbing outside and at the local climbing gym, where she works, for six years. When her mom, who coaches with the Miners, signed her up for the mountain biking team last year, she wasn’t too thrilled, but it turned out to be fun. “It was a great community, and biking was fun in general,” she said. “The older girls were fun to bike with and learn from.” 

Kate gained a lot of confidence on the bike in her first year. “When I first started, I was nervous because it’s steep and fast and slow isn’t really an option,” she said. After honing her technique and balance, Kate excelled at racing, making it to the podium in the top three for every race she rode last year, and winning half of her JV2 races. This season, she is a junior at Ghidotti and she is back for more. When asked what is different from when she started, she noted her improved technique: “I go off more jumps – I don’t go around anymore,” she said. “I go faster. I think about my lines more, and the bike in general.”

The supportive community has been a big part of why Kate has stuck with mountain biking, but it’s also about the fun. “I like jumping, the adrenaline, I’m a little bit thrill seeking,” she said. “It’s like flying. My first bigger jump was at TDS. I followed somebody, they went off a jump and I followed.”