TOPS ON THE TRAILS. Ryan Semerad, center, accepted his award as the top youth trail volunteer in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Cycling Association in October at a race in Waterloo, Wisconsin. (Submitted photo)

This fall, 16-year-old Regis High School junior Ryan Semerad stood atop the winners’ podium at the Red Barn State Championship mountain bike race in Waterloo, where he was honored for his many hours of hard work on bike trails in the Chippewa Valley.

For the second year in a row, Ryan – a member of the Eau Claire Youth Cycling mountain biking team – logged the most volunteer hours among hundreds of middle school and high school athletes around the state. Specifically, Ryan – often alongside his mother, Kelly, and other ECYC teammates and volunteers – put in more than 80 hours working to maintain and improve the trails mountain bikers depend on for their sport.

Locally, that means building, repairing, and re-routing some of the miles of circuitous trails at Lowes Creek County Park south of Eau Claire – the home base for ECYC, a competitive team that includes scores of athletes in sixth through 12th grades.

“Ryan will tell you it was not his goal to be awarded, much less awarded first place in the Wisconsin league for two years in a row,” Kelly Semerad said of her son. “He will also say he doesn’t like the attention and isn’t an attention seeker. His mom and dad are proud of the work he has put in, his desire to continue volunteering, and the example he sets for his teammates and others. A few hours of helping here and there can really make a difference in our community.”

Ryan Semerad racing at Trek Trails in Waterloo. (Submitted photo)

Ryan has been mountain biking for about eight years, and he and his mom got involved in making trail improvements a couple of years back when ECYC Coach Sue McDonald invited them to a “trail day” at Eau Claire’s Northwest Park. There they met with a trail crew from local outdoors group CORBA (Community for Outdoor Recreation, Biking, and Adventure) and learned how trails are built and reclaimed (made to disappear as if they were never in the woods in the first place). 

“From there we knew we wanted to be more involved in trail work,” Kelly said. “The CORBA Trail Crew has embraced Ryan and include him in weekly park and trail projects throughout the riding season.”

Such maintenance is important in mountain biking, which has exploded in popularity across the state in recent years. ECYC is one of 100 teams that are part of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Cycling League, whose members, coaches, families, and other volunteers collectively put in more than 5,000 volunteer hours over the past year working on trails around the Badger State.

All that hard work makes mountain bike competition possible for racers like Ryan. “He loves the adrenaline rush and thrill, the escape into peaceful nature, and meeting others in the biking community,” Kelly said of the draw of the sport.

Learn more about Eau Claire Youth Cycling online at www.ecyc.team.