AN ATHLETIC ALTERNATIVE
High schoolers in West County find a new traditional sport
MMountain biking, as a competitive sport, is growing
By Matt Larson
nationwide. Lately, some opportunities have arisen for
West County high schoolers to get in on the action.
The Richmond Composite Mountain Bike Team will
be entering its third competitive year in mid-January of
2020, and high schoolers throughout West County are
invited to join.
El Cerrito High School has a team, which we
mentioned earlier this year, but there isn’t yet enough
momentum in all of West County’s schools for each to
have its own individual team.
To welcome in the entire populace of West County,
Head Coach and Founder Doug Streblow decided
on Richmond as the hub for the team, and named it
Richmond Composite.
The team is comprised of 15-20 high schooled-aged
students from Hercules, Rodeo, Richmond, San Pablo,
from a variety of high schools, and home schools. And
there’s more to it than just riding a bike.
“Instead of just preparing and training to race, we create
40 MARKETPLACECONTRACOSTA.COM JANUARY 2020
our events to be more about some of the other elements
of cycling and mountain biking,” Doug explained. “Being
outside, traveling to new places, overcoming actual
and metaphorical obstacles, coming together as a team,
planning a trip together—that type of thing.”
At just a few years in, Doug has seen some pretty
incredible results with the students who have joined his
team, and experience is not a prerequisite.
“All of the kids who are joining our team have no
experience with mountain biking,” he said. “They’re kind
of braving it on their own, being pioneers, with little
or no parental support; so that in and of itself is a really
brave step to take.”
Doug’s passion for mountain biking is what led to his
development of the Richmond Composite Mountain
Biking Team. He participated in his first race six years ago,
and was surprised to find himself thinking less about race
strategy, and more about how to share this experience
with others.
“I was thinking about who wasn’t at the event,” he