Across many of ERIK’S markets, fall is the time when high school mountain bikers put their skills to the test in interscholastic racing events. These races aren’t just about competition—winning feels great, but there are other, more valuable skills that student-athletes learn. The value of hard work and commitment is one of them, along with the importance of teamwork and empathy; cycling may be seen as an individual sport, but high school cycling leagues prove that collaboration is just as important here as in most other aspects of life.
In this post, we’ll highlight the high school cycling race events taking place this fall in many of our markets. We’ll also applaud the work of the organizations that host these events, who play a vital role in uplifting student-athletes and building stronger bodies, minds, and communities through the sport of cycling.
Minnesota Cycling Association (MCA) Racing Series
Photo credit: Todd Bauer, TMB Images
The Minnesota Cycling Association (MCA) was launched in 2012 as a way to get more kids on bikes. The organization is devoted to building strong minds, bodies, and characters in student-athletes from grades 6 to 12. Guided by the principles of inclusivity and equality, they now have over 2,600 cyclists and 1,300 coaches participating. ERIK'S is proud to have been a founding supporter of this league in Minnesota!
The MCA’s initiatives include Trailcrafters, which provides opportunities for trail advocacy and maintenance, and the GRRLS outreach program, which offers resources to uplift female student-athletes, coaches, and volunteers.
One of the MCA’s most successful endeavors is its popular racing series, which typically begins shortly after Labor Day and runs through Halloween. These races offer student-athletes of all ability levels the opportunity to ride and have fun (with some added competition for motivation). Teams from across the state come together to cheer on their friends and make lifelong memories. All teams are co-ed, there are no tryouts, and everyone participates.
The MCA’s first race weekend takes place August 23-24 at Schindler’s Way in Austin, MN, while the state championship will be held October 11-12 at Mount Kato in Mankato.
If you’re interested in volunteering at MCA’s race events, click here; if you’d like to find out more about becoming a licensed coach for an MCA team in your community, click here.
Wisconsin Interscholastic Cycling League (WI NICA) Festival Weekends
This league is part of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), which started as a high school race league in California in 2009. Since then, NICA’s 32 chapters (which now include over 25,000 student-athletes and 15,000 volunteer coaches) have been devoted to revolutionizing youth sports and changing the future. Their motto is simple: the more kids are on bikes, the easier it is to change the world for the better.
WI NICA offers plenty of services and programs, including the Teen Trail Corps, Girls Riding Together (GRiT), and NICA Adventure, which focuses on building student-athletes' social and emotional learning.
But its interscholastic racing league, which WI NICA refers to as Festival Weekends, is one of the organization’s core activities. The inclusive racing format offers participants the opportunity to learn discipline, success, failure, and graceful defeat. As WI NICA’s mission statement reads, racing in a team environment helps student-athletes learn empathy, humility, flexibility, and resiliency.
This is the 12th season of WI NICA’s Festival Weekends, which run from August 15 (the Trail Quest Adventure Fest) to October 19 (the Red Barn State Championship Festival) in 2025. Find out more about becoming a volunteer Rover on the racecourse!
Photo credit: Wisconsin Interscholastic Cycling League Media Crew
Michigan Scholastic Cycling Association (MiSCA) Race Series
In spring 2025, ERIK’S ventured into the state of Michigan, opening new locations in Traverse City, Birmingham, and Rochester Hills. We’re excited to be a part of the thriving Michigan cycling community!
Michigan’s NICA chapter, the Michigan Scholastic Cycling Association (MiSCA), empowers communities to develop and grow K-12 youth mountain biking programs across the state. The organization is devoted to instilling confidence by promoting the values of an active lifestyle, healthy competition, and outdoor stewardship and adventure while building lifelong friendships in an inclusive environment.
Like most other NICA chapters, MiSCA offers programs that empower female mountain bikers (MiSCA’s program is called BRAVE—Bold, Resilient, Adventurous, Vibrant, Empowered), offer high-performance training (DEVO), and focus on social community (Adventure).
But unlike some other NICA chapters, MiSCA’s race series includes all of grades K-12, with levels for lower and upper elementary along with novice, intermediate, and advanced middle school riders. It also allows cyclists to ride independently, without a team affiliation.
MiSCA’s 2025 season starts August 23-24 with the Merrell Trail MTB XC Race in Rockford and runs through October 11-12 with the Heritage Park MTB XC Race in Adrian. As always with NICA organizations, there are opportunities for starting a new team, becoming a coach, and volunteering.
Missouri Interscholastic Cycling League (MICL): What’s in a Race?
Here’s another NICA chapter with a unique approach to racing events. The MICL started in 2018 with the mission to make mountain biking accessible to as many kids as possible. They developed an inspiring acronym for the word “race”: Really Awesome Challenging Event. Because many of MICL’s student-athletes are new to racing and may be riding trails for the first time upon joining the program, these “race” events are more about accomplishment than competition.
In the words of MICL: “The rider can choose what they want to accomplish out there. That may be getting on the podium or just finishing one lap without getting off the bike, but whatever it is, it’s gonna be rad and we’ll be there to root and cheer for each and every rider that comes out.”
Check out the 2025 student-athlete events here, which begin August 23-24 with Escape from the Lion’s Den and run through October 25-26 with Tussle at Two Rivers. (The names are just as awesome as the events themselves!)
You can also find out more about becoming a coach, starting a new team, or volunteering.
Kansas NICA’s Event Weekends: Getting More Kids on Bikes
This is another NICA league, devoted to building strong minds, bodies, and communities. Formed in 2019, Kansas NICA hosts high-quality mountain bike events and races that emphasize the value of participation, camaraderie, positive sporting behavior, and well-being over competition.
Unlike the other leagues discussed here, Kansas NICA’s event weekends take place in the spring; their 2025 season wrapped up at Lewis-Young Park on May 25. Stay tuned for more info about Kansas NICA’s spring 2026 season! In the meantime, you can also sign up to volunteer at a race, look into starting a team in your area, or inquire about becoming a coach.
Participate in Cycling Race Events in Your Community
Photo credit: Wisconsin Interscholastic Cycling League Media Crew
As you can see, there are many opportunities for cyclists, coaches, and volunteers in many ERIK’S markets, particularly those in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, and Kansas. Racing events like those listed above offer valuable life skills for student-athletes, including teamwork, empathy, dedication, and inclusivity. “Winning” takes on many different forms in these events!
ERIK’S is proud to support many of these leagues and events in different ways, from on-site mechanical support to resource allocation to financial donations in some cases. Mostly, though, we’re thrilled to be part of such valuable and successful cycling communities, which teach student-athletes the value of physical and mental health—not to mention community support—at an early age.
If you’re interested in starting a team at a local school or becoming a coach or volunteer, check out the links above and feel the joy that these racing events can provide! We look forward to another exhilarating season of cycling and team-building this fall.
