At Parkway West, students can participate in numerous clubs and sports. However, a few of these extracurriculars aren’t school-sponsored, including the lesser-known mountain biking club. 

Mountain biking is a type of cycling that involves riding on various terrains and surfaces ranging from gravel to rocks and roots. Parkway’s mountain biking club, the Parkway Composite, is part of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA). The group was created in 2025 by head coach Dave Aberle after separating the Parkway and Rockwood Composites. Since the separation, over 30 members have joined and attended practices and races.  

“I decided to be part of this team because it is a very hard sport, [despite that], I wanted to jump in the deep end. It helped me realize that having determination can help me feel like I was better than the trail and I beat the trail,” sophomore James Shank said.

The Missouri branch of NICA, the Missouri Interscholastic Cycling League (MICL), organizes a race series each year made up of five large events and two or three smaller sessions. These events are open to riders of any skill level, and all are encouraged to participate. West High students often participate in these races, including junior Landon Aberle, who began biking with NICA in the sixth grade.

“I wanted to do an independent sport more than a team sport, because I felt that you could achieve more and have more confidence in yourself by doing something on your own, and starting at a young age helped build that,” Aberle said.

Typically, mountain biking occurs on rough terrain. Practices take place across West County, Mo., at different parks like Creve Coeur Lake Park and Castlewood State Park. This differs from typical street cycling and riders may have to adapt to the obstacles on the rocks. At first, riders may struggle to keep their balance, but their training program will help them learn how to shift gears and know how to control their speed. This mirrors the high school experience because students may have to adapt to new changes. Shank wanted to start mountain biking after watching YouTube videos. Later on, he realized that this was something he could actually be a part of and wanted to try something he had never done before. 

“If this is a sport that you are really interested in, find somebody who knows mountain biking within the school, or I can even help. Finding ways to work with organizations that are part of the sport is hard to do, but if you are determined to be a part of it, then just do it,” Aberle said. 

In 2024, the NICA program engaged over 25,000 student-athletes. The number of races that are put into this sport, some of the athletes have a trail that has had an impact on them.  

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Max Chung

Before practice, sophomore Thomas Chung warms up with a teammate and shares his goals for the season. Making the most out of practices is a crucial part of preparing for races in the fall. “This season, I really wanted to improve my skills to prepare for races, [and] making the most out of practices really helped me do that,” Chung said.

“One of the most memorable races I’ve had this year was [when] I had no idea that I was up front the whole time, until I actually won the race, [and] that gave me a boost of confidence to continue pursuing the sport,” Aberle said.