Andrew Freye doesn’t chase points on the Mountain Bike World Cup any more. When he races these days, Freye tends to keep it on the New England circuit. Now, the 27-year-old Winthrop native is more concerned with passing his sport on to the next generation.
“Now I want to give back to the sport that has given me so much,” Freye said.
To that end, Freye organized a series of mountain bike races for children at Bradbury State Park in Pownal. There have been six races so far this summer, with one last event scheduled for Aug. 24.
Racers ranging in age from 7 to 18 have taken part in the series of the last two years, Freye said, and he estimated that 130 riders have participated in at least one race this summer.
“We had 65 individuals last year, and I know we’ve more than doubled it this year,” Freye said. “We’ve got kids coming up from Portsmouth, down from Bangor, and the mid-coast area. People want to do it and will travel for it.”
Freye competed in his first World Cup race in 2006. That same year, he competed for USA Cycling’s U-23 mountain bike team at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championship in Rotoura, New Zealand.
The idea for a children’s race series was planted in Freye’s brain a few years ago, when he worked as a substitute teacher in Yarmouth. Talking with some of his students about mountain biking, Freye learned there was an interest in racing, but most of the events were hours away at mountain resorts.
“For a lot of the kids, it wasn’t feasible to get to the races,” Freye said.
Freye started a grassroots effort to get the word out about his races. At the first one last year, 25 competitors showed up.
“I thought, ‘This is enough to keep me going,’ ” Freye said. “The amount of kids that come to the races is phenomenal.”
The races went off every other Wednesday all summer, although this past week’s racing was canceled due to rain. Each race attracts 45-60 competitors.
“It’s not the same 45 kids every week,” Freye said. “There’s a lot of new faces, which I’m happy to see.”
Each event begins with a short coaching session by Freye.
“We do skill drills for a half hour before each race. We try to make it fun and a little bit competitive,” Freye said.
Throughout the summer, Freye received repeated inquiries about adult races.
“My response is, ‘There isn’t one,” Freye said. “You’re an adult, start a race if you want to race. I ask them if they’d like to come volunteer.”
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
