Bike club leader Carol Pettegrew says the requirements for joining the newly formed GUSD Composite Cycling Club include a bike, a team jersey and “the desire to have a great time.” This team is a member of the SoCal Interscholastic Cycling League, a high school student mountain biking league created just this academic year. Although, according to Pettegrew, seven or eight Clark students showed interest in the team at Club Rush, only Dillen Maurer, Davit Avagyan and Ruben Avoian have followed up. “All three of them are strong riders,” Pettegrew said. However, all three are having difficulties in joining the team. Avagyan, who says he has been mountain biking as far back as he can remember, won’t join this year because of the transportation difficulties. His friend, Avoian, who hasn’t done much mountain biking in the past, joined Clark’s Bike Club for fun. Clark’s March Madness basketball tournament ended with last minute comebacks and a little bit of retribution. Although he found that he is interested in joining the GUSD team, he is encountering time issues. According to Pettegrew, the team is working to lessen the difficulties of joining. For instance, members try to carpool to the races and have been fundraising to reduce the costs of membership. Avagyan says that he hopes to join the team next year and recommends everybody who has a passion for mountain biking to join the team. “When I went to the meeting, they explained that it’s not just people that can mountain bike—it’s people that want to mountain bike,” Avagyan said.