Mission
To provide Armstrong High School students with the opportunity strengthen their minds, bodies and character through the sport of cycling. We build healthy, active cycling lifestyles that will last a lifetime.
Values: "P.R.I.D.E."
Passion
There are two components that define passion. (1) "an intense emotion, compelling enthusiasm, or desire for anything", and (2) "the suffering and death of Jesus". These two apparently opposite concepts, enthusiasm and suffering, are essential components of passion, and are fundamental to cycling.
There are many reasons that people are enthusiastic about cycling. It's fun, it's good for the environment, it's good for community, it's good for your health, and it's cheap transportation. As a sport, the non-impact nature of cycling allows racers to push themselves to seemingly superhuman achievements. It is difficult to dispute that athletes completing a 3,000 mile bike race, like the Tour de France, are among the best athletes in the world. For adventure cyclists, a mountain bike takes us to places that hikers, motorcycles, and cars cannot go, allowing us to experience places that are otherwise off limits.
Cycling, though, comes at a cost, and there will likely be some suffering to deal with. There are hills, wind and rain, heat and cold, and many other obstacles which we must overcome. Over time, we'll learn that suffering is not entirely a bad thing. People spend 98% of their time in climate controlled, man-made designed environments (like a house, building, or car), often sitting motionless at a desk staring at a computer. This modern lifestyle is deadening to the body and soul because it fully separates us from the natural world that we are ultimately a part of. Our bodies have developed over a very long period of time, without the conveniences of modern devices, and our bodies still need that physical connection to the world. Stressing the mind & body, through cycling makes us stronger. It acknowledges our human connection the earth by reestablishing that physical relationship that our bodies need to be balanced and healthy. Our bodies need to get outside and work to be healthy. Having a passion for cycling means suffering a little so that one can thrive!
Respect
People: "Let everyman be respected as an individual, and no man idolized." - Albert Einstein. This sentiment runs true throughout all of mountain biking. Unlike most other popular sports, I would bet that you can't name very many professional mountain bike racers, though they are truly incredible athletes.
Nature: Mountain bikers must respect nature. What we do can bring people deep into natural places, but disrespectful people can quickly destroy the landscape that we cherish.
Inclusive
This is a core value of the club, the league and the national governing body. All athletes are encouraged to participate and no one is "benched." There are no "try-outs" to see if one is good enough to participate during game-day. All participants have the potential of scoring points for the team. The league has made monumental efforts to attract girls into the sport, with great success. Even the rule book requires that each team has girls in it, and girls score more points than boys. The league has also taken a firm stance that no rider should be prevented from participating because of financial reasons. The philosophy of this club will always seek to include those who demonstrate a willingness to participate.
Discipline
Discipline is the systematic training that develops or improves a skill. The study of cycling, and the execution of it's lessons are our discipline. Bicycles are actually fairly complex machines. The human body is infinitely complex. Students of cycling will learn how bicycles work, and develop the confidence to work on them. We will explore concepts of efficiency, risk management, teamwork, and race psychology as well as a whole host of related concepts.
Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. It is the hard work, and the thought processes behind doing it.
Endurance
Persistence pays. "Eighty percent of success is showing up" - Woody Allen. Endurance sports teach mental toughness, patience, and self-confidence. Every racer, in every race, goes through a relentless mental battle about whether, or not, they can achieve their goals. Some racers may simply want to finish an event that seems incredibly difficult, while others may want be concerned with achieving a time. This mental battle may happen hundreds of times during a single race.
Self-doubt, and discovering newfound abilities. Endurance sports re-frame what an individual believes is possible. Athletes build confidence in their physical and mental toughness from constantly overcoming these obstacles and getting to the finish line. They learn to "show up" and never, ever give up.
There are two components that define passion. (1) "an intense emotion, compelling enthusiasm, or desire for anything", and (2) "the suffering and death of Jesus". These two apparently opposite concepts, enthusiasm and suffering, are essential components of passion, and are fundamental to cycling.
There are many reasons that people are enthusiastic about cycling. It's fun, it's good for the environment, it's good for community, it's good for your health, and it's cheap transportation. As a sport, the non-impact nature of cycling allows racers to push themselves to seemingly superhuman achievements. It is difficult to dispute that athletes completing a 3,000 mile bike race, like the Tour de France, are among the best athletes in the world. For adventure cyclists, a mountain bike takes us to places that hikers, motorcycles, and cars cannot go, allowing us to experience places that are otherwise off limits.
Cycling, though, comes at a cost, and there will likely be some suffering to deal with. There are hills, wind and rain, heat and cold, and many other obstacles which we must overcome. Over time, we'll learn that suffering is not entirely a bad thing. People spend 98% of their time in climate controlled, man-made designed environments (like a house, building, or car), often sitting motionless at a desk staring at a computer. This modern lifestyle is deadening to the body and soul because it fully separates us from the natural world that we are ultimately a part of. Our bodies have developed over a very long period of time, without the conveniences of modern devices, and our bodies still need that physical connection to the world. Stressing the mind & body, through cycling makes us stronger. It acknowledges our human connection the earth by reestablishing that physical relationship that our bodies need to be balanced and healthy. Our bodies need to get outside and work to be healthy. Having a passion for cycling means suffering a little so that one can thrive!
Respect
People: "Let everyman be respected as an individual, and no man idolized." - Albert Einstein. This sentiment runs true throughout all of mountain biking. Unlike most other popular sports, I would bet that you can't name very many professional mountain bike racers, though they are truly incredible athletes.
Nature: Mountain bikers must respect nature. What we do can bring people deep into natural places, but disrespectful people can quickly destroy the landscape that we cherish.
Inclusive
This is a core value of the club, the league and the national governing body. All athletes are encouraged to participate and no one is "benched." There are no "try-outs" to see if one is good enough to participate during game-day. All participants have the potential of scoring points for the team. The league has made monumental efforts to attract girls into the sport, with great success. Even the rule book requires that each team has girls in it, and girls score more points than boys. The league has also taken a firm stance that no rider should be prevented from participating because of financial reasons. The philosophy of this club will always seek to include those who demonstrate a willingness to participate.
Discipline
Discipline is the systematic training that develops or improves a skill. The study of cycling, and the execution of it's lessons are our discipline. Bicycles are actually fairly complex machines. The human body is infinitely complex. Students of cycling will learn how bicycles work, and develop the confidence to work on them. We will explore concepts of efficiency, risk management, teamwork, and race psychology as well as a whole host of related concepts.
Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. It is the hard work, and the thought processes behind doing it.
Endurance
Persistence pays. "Eighty percent of success is showing up" - Woody Allen. Endurance sports teach mental toughness, patience, and self-confidence. Every racer, in every race, goes through a relentless mental battle about whether, or not, they can achieve their goals. Some racers may simply want to finish an event that seems incredibly difficult, while others may want be concerned with achieving a time. This mental battle may happen hundreds of times during a single race.
Self-doubt, and discovering newfound abilities. Endurance sports re-frame what an individual believes is possible. Athletes build confidence in their physical and mental toughness from constantly overcoming these obstacles and getting to the finish line. They learn to "show up" and never, ever give up.