By Hannah Simon, Co-Staff Development Director
In her 25-plus year mountain biking career, the only time Conestoga parent Lisa Gares ever paused was when she was pregnant with twins. Therefore, it was only natural that at four years old, her children, now-seniors Kevin and Lizzie Gares, began to ride as well.
“It’s my favorite thing to do, and I’m beyond thrilled that both of my kids participate. Lizzie in particular is very gung ho about riding,” Lisa Gares said. “She tried gymnastics for seven years, and it wasn’t really her sport. She also is on the cross country team, which surely helps with endurance, but she just loves to ride.”
This past summer, Lizzie Gares competed in USA Cycling’s Cross-Country Mountain Bike National Championships at Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Macungie, Pennsylvania, from July 17 to July 21. Lizzie Gares decided to submit her placings from previous races to qualify for the competition only a week before. Competing against 56 other girls in the 17-18 age division, she placed 24th in her first ever national race.
“I didn’t even know I was going to race. I decided the week before, and I wasn’t really expecting anything. I’ve never been in that big of a race, so I did it for experience,” Gares said. “I definitely want to keep racing in college. That’s my biggest goal. I’m not sure if I’m going to go on a (college) team, but a club team at least.”
Lizzie and Kevin Gares are members of the Tredyffrin/Easttown Mountain Bike Club, a coed youth mountain biking team for sixth through 12th grade students. Practices begin July 1, with all athletes invited to compete in five regional and statewide races and an adventure weekend hosted by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Cycling League. The team welcomes all athletes, no matter their experience or fitness level, as its main goal is to instill confidence and promote mountain biking as a lifelong activity for everyone.
“Getting more girls into (mountain biking) is a really big goal for the team. There’s a whole program for that,” Lizzie Gares said. “Seeing it in the Olympics was also really good, so I think it is growing.”
Both Lisa and Lizzie Gares speak to the positive yet challenging nature of mountain biking. They believe it is an opportunity to de-stress in an adventurous way while spending time with like-minded people. Most importantly, the pair gets to spend time with one another as mother and daughter.
“Well, we certainly spend a ton of time together, including this summer, where I was a coach at a camp in Vermont. There were 90 people, 40 coaches and 50 riders, and being a part of that as a counselor at her camp: how awesome is that?” Lisa Gares said. “I’m really going to miss her when she goes to college. (The camp) is by far the best thing that we have done together.”
Hannah Simon can be reached at [email protected].
