2022 Midsummer Issue

A Mountain Bike Revolution Just for Kids
Story by ELLEN WIKLOWE
Photos by KAREN FUCITO
It’s the type of team where high spirits are
of equal or greater importance than high
gears and the kickstand serves as a metaphor for
a kick-start.
“It’s about getting kids to ride bikes,” said
Jesse Epstein, founder of the Revolutions
Mountain Bike Club.
The brainchild of Epstein, Revolutions
immerses Morris County area students in
grades six through 12 in the mountain biking
experience “regardless of skill,” Epstein said.
“It’s getting them away from the TV and video
games and internet.”
The team’s name is a play on Morristown’s
Revolutionary War history as well as the
revolutions made by bike wheels in motion.
The club is affiliated with the National
Interscholastic Cycling Association, a nonprofit
that develops interscholastic mountain biking
programs for student-athletes across the U.S.
Founded in 2009, NICA currently boasts 31
leagues in 30 different states including New
Jersey, where it is known as the New Jersey
Interscholastic Cycling League or NJICL.
As the owner and operator of his late father’s
business, Marty’s Reliable Cycle, with locations
in Morris County and Hackettstown, Epstein
credits his dad (Marty) for helping bring NICA
to New Jersey. “He really got the ball rolling,”
he said.
NJICL currently has 26 leagues across the
state.
Upon its inception in 2016, Revolutions had
a membership of 50 that was split into two
teams. The club’s current membership holds
steady at 39 and is comprised of one co-ed
team, but it needs more female cyclists.
“There’s a 20 percent girl-to-boy ratio,”
Epstein said. “We want to make every effort to
recruit girls.”
Enter Girls Riding Together, a.k.a. G.Ri.T.,
NICA’s effort to recruit and retain more girls
and female coaches. No stranger to biking—
or the Olympics—new Morristown resident
Emma White recently became a coach with
Revolutions to help inspire and recruit girls.
An elite Women’s National team member,
White and her team brought home the bronze
in track cycling during the Tokyo 2020
Olympics.
“After going to a couple of meetings I knew
that I wanted to get involved,” she said. “I feel
very strongly about giving back to the sport that
gave me so much as a kid and want to provide
opportunity for other kids growing up in the
sport of cycling.”
Revolutions’ season runs from October
through June and involves one weekend ride
during the winter before ramping up to two
weekday-evening practices and a weekend
practice during the spring. Racing begins in
April and concludes by June.
The club practices primarily at Lewis Morris
Park in Morris Township and Dickerson Mine
Preserve in Mine Hill. It also frequents other
Morris County area parks such as Mahlon
Dickerson Reservation in Jefferson; the
Randolph trail system; and Tourne County
Park in Boonton.
The season consists of five races that take
place throughout New Jersey, including Chester
and Morristown in Morris County, Franklin
Township in Somerset County, Gloucester
Township in Camden County and Alloway
Township in Salem County.
Come race day, the team is divided into sixth
through ninth graders and qualifying junior
and senior varsity categories for 10th through
12th graders, Epstein said.
All age groups race the same 2 ½ - 3 milecourse,
except the sixth through ninth graders
complete two laps while the high schoolers may
complete three to five laps.
“It’s an organized production,” Epstein said,
referring to race weekends. “Volunteers set up
the course and each team sets up its own tent.
There’s a lot of camaraderie.”
During the race, volunteers serve as roving
course marshals keeping a watchful eye out for
issues and overall safety.
“Some kids race, and others see it as just a
bike ride,” Epstein said. “There are both sides.”
For the non-competitive biker, the season
incorporates team-building activities such
as adventure days, fun rides, training rides,
scavenger hunts and a bike clinic.
So, how does one get a feel for the wheels?
The mountain bike curious can take a test
drive or “try your ride” with the team and is
welcome to register as a member thereafter.
Membership costs $300 annually and covers
the entire season, including races and activities.
“It is important to know that as part of
our commitment to remove barriers to
participation, scholarships are available to cover
the cost of registration,” said Revolutions head
coach Jeremy Klopper.
According to Epstein, the club attracts two
types of kids: “either their parents are riders or
kids who are looking for an alternative type of
sport. That is one of the reasons this club exists.”
The other reason the club exists is the spirited
volunteers who dedicate their time to coaching,
activities and races. There are currently 19
registered coaches in Revolutions.
Klopper, of Randolph, is one of them.
A patron of Marty’s Reliable Cycle, Klopper
only met Epstein when he and his son, Liam,
joined the club during its inaugural year in
2016.
Klopper witnessed a transformation in Liam’s
self-esteem that was indicative of one of the
club’s purposes.
Devon Bello
weaves through
the woods
during a June
race.
The start of a girls middle
school race at Six Mile Run
State Park in Somerset.
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LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Midsummer 2022