Mountain bike racing is more than just competition for the Marlands of Boone. It's a family event.
Eric Marland, a math professor at Appalachian State University; his wife, Kimberly, an architect; and their sons, Simon and Levi, students at Hardin Park Elementary, have been racing together 30 to 40 times a year since both boys were old enough to tackle a trail, about seven years ago.
They will compete Saturday in the Powerade State Games of North Carolina in the mountain bike competition on a challenging 7-mile course at Hobby Park in Winston-Salem. Two waves of races will be held, one at 9 a.m. and one at 10:30 a.m.
The games' opening ceremony is June 17 in Winston-Salem and events continue through June 26 in the area, but some events are taking place earlier, including Saturday's mountain bike race.
"One of the nicest things is that the whole family can go out and race together," Marland said. "If you're participating in travel soccer, you drive two hours, watch your kids play soccer and go home, and you didn't get any exercise yourself.
"This way, we all go, we all cheer for each other and we all race."
Eric Marland developed a love for cycling when he pedaled to and from school as a boy growing up in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Kimberly, from Richmond, started racing competitively in high school and continued as part of the club cycling team at Virginia Tech.
They will compete in Category I and Sport divisions in the State Games. "Both of us are in the 40-plus age division, just barely," Eric Marland said.
Simon, 12, and Levi, 11, will compete in Junior categories. Both have been racing since about age 5.
"Technically, Simon first raced when he was 8 months old, in a 100-yard race on a four-wheeled bike," Marland said. "He scooted along."
Both boys, like their parents, have won several races, and Levi said the key to success is no secret.
"Go fast," he said.
"It's really fun, and it's always nice having family members there to support you. We all know what it's like racing, and that helps."
Marland said: "You don't always win, and the kids learn how Dad takes not winning. Hopefully, they learn humility from that.
"Both boys really just love to ride. The younger one is probably a little more intense, probably trying to outdo the older one as a typical younger child does. But they both enjoy the competition."
Marland, also a faculty adviser for ASU's club cycling team, is relatively accomplished in the sport. He competes at the Category I level, one step below pro and above Categories II and III. He won a State Games title in 2008 in the criterium — a road bike race, usually on a loop course.
"I've been getting in the top three every race this year, but there are always people faster," Marland said. "There are always a couple of guys I just can't seem to catch right now."
And his boys are gaining on him.
"I think I have maybe another two years before they are faster than me," he said.
"He might have maybe five years," Levi said.
The Marlands compete in various cycling races at least twice a month and year-round, staying mostly in North Carolina, but they also have raced as far away as Montana.
"It's a family event, but it's also a community event," Marland said. "We see the same people over and over again, and you enjoy it just to hang out with the people you race against. My main competitors are also good friends. I love to beat them, but I look forward to just seeing them at events. It's that way with all of us."
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