Tires crunching against the dead leaves, mud spraying up from the person in front and crossing the finish line with a smile. That’s what mountain biking is the rush the adrenaline all the work just for that moment at the finish line.

Junior Austin Buttlar is part of the varsity mountain biking team. The team practices almost everyday of the week with only one off day.

“We practice six days a week with Friday being our off day. Normally practice on a weekdays last 1- 1.5 hours mainly focusing on sprints like going as hard as you can as fast as you can, Weekend practices are 2-3 hours focusing more on endurance and increase the distance we can do in a given amount of time,” Buttlar said.

When it comes time to race Buttlar likes to take his time getting ready and into the zone by taking time to warm-up and plan his route.

“I warm up by riding the stationary bike for about 30 minutes and then I roll out my legs in order to loosen my muscles,” Buttlar said.

As a varsity team member Buttlar has to prepare for a much longer race than others on the team.

“These varsity racers have to get their mind set to suffer for nearly two hours.  A  two-hour race takes tons of preparation time.  Austin and the other riders do a great job of staying positive and staying focused,” mountain bike team coach Chad Bobbitt said.

Biking was not always his passion, Buttlar picked up the sport at the beginning of freshman year.

“I started biking freshman year after being introduced to mountain biking by my uncle,” Buttlar said.

During race day onlookers only have few chances to see their biker during the race which can last for hours. This can be nerve racking  parents and friends as they don’t know what is happening.

“The sidelines can be very stressful. Because he can’t be seen and I don’t know if the course is dangerous,” Buttlar’s mom Michele Fagan said. “I am always anxious to see how he is doing and to see he hasn’t been  injured along the way”.

As Buttlar’s senior year is coming up plans are being made to potentially continue to bike in college.

“I plan to go to a college with a cycling program and I would like to work in the cycling industry when I graduate,” Buttlar said.

Race’s at the high school level for mountain biking are few and far between, however there are still opportunities to race outside of the school team in competitions around the state.

“In the high school series there are five races, but there are other races you can do that are part of the TMBRA ( Texas Mountain Bike Racing Association) series,” Buttlar said.

As an upperclassman Buttlar is expected to look out for and mentor the younger bikers on the team.

“In addition to racing at the highest level, they also are expected to mentor and teach our upcoming middle school team members the necessary skills needed to race at the high school level,” Bobbitt said.

The team works together so often that they have become more of a family than a team. This is achieved by adhering to the teams core values.

“We spend so much time together as a team that we are a super tight knit family by race season,” Bobbitt said “Basically, we are team building each and every day.  We don’t have any traditions, etc.”.

Buttlar enjoys biking because it is a chance for release of daily stress.

“When I’m biking it gives me the opportunity to take my mind off things and focus on the trail and the nature around,” Buttlar said.

Choosing just one thing that makes a sport your favorite is hard and it’s no different for Buttlar when it comes to biking.

“I don’t think I have one favorite thing about biking but I do like the aspect of racing and being able to bike with my friends,” Buttlar said.

When it comes to the team there are some core values that the whole team follows in order to stay positive and motivated throughout the race season.

“We do adhere to our core values 100% of the time. I am a bulldog – We each represent the bulldog mountain bike team through our actions and decisions. Challenge ourselves – We commit ourselves to continuously improving our performance and pushing through our comfort barriers,” Bobbitt said  “Elevate others – we lift up our teammates through positivity, confidence and graciousness.”