Wednesday, June 7, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
5
Sisters youth set free on mountain bike trails
By Andrew Loscutoff
Correspondent
Jacob Polachek has only
been in Sisters for two years,
but it didn’t take long for
Jacob to dive right into a new
sport he’s fallen in love with:
Cycling.
While many other teens
are chasing the ball around
a soccer field or cracking
pads on the gridiron, Jacob is
pedaling through the woods,
enjoying the freedom and
thrills that mountain biking
provide. He enjoys being on
trails, not confined to lines on
a court. Two wheels rolling
along a single-track set him
free.
Jacob tried the traditional
youth sports — soccer, bas-
ketball, and even martial arts.
None stuck with him like
cycling. The challenges he’s
overcome have taught him
how to be resilient. He has
endured, learned how to push
himself outside the comfort
zone; something he says helps
him with everyday obstacles.
The closer he gets to his limit
on the bike the more alive he
feels. Jacob’s self-inflicted
tests of resilience make the
minor annoyances others
lament and complain about
easy to handle.
The Oregon XC series is
a cadre of races throughout
Oregon in the spring season,
wrapping up last weekend in
grand fashion at the Sisters
Stampede. Jacob raced them
all, and proved his endur-
ance and grit are second to
none, becoming the overall
points champion for the series
junior division. Not bad for a
neo-racer.
When asked his favor-
ite event, he noted the Coast
race. It featured a track full
of ups, downs, mud pits, and
rooty descents. It seems as if
Jacob is always seeking out a
new challenge. Next year, he
is hoping to upgrade and race
longer courses, with tougher
competition — a decision that
others might eschew, in order
to complacently ride their
successes at a lower division.
One day, Polachek hopes
to be a Category 1 racer, with
the “really fast guys” he emu-
lates now.
Why aren’t more kids out
riding like Jacob? He believes
a lot of the others just follow
the norms laid before them;
they do baseball, and foot-
ball, etc. His advice to oth-
ers is to just try it, have fun,
PHOTO PROVIDED
Jacob Polachek has found his athletic niche on a mountain bike in the woods.
and embrace the challenge.
His perspective is kids aren’t
willing to push themselves
into discomfort, a prerequi-
site for success in cycling.
It’s hard for him to find
others to ride with. His peers
aren’t interested in pushing
themselves with no extrinsic
reward; no one is spectating
in the woods, no coach pres-
ent to cajole effort, no com-
promising when the terrain
puts a hill between the rider
and the route home.
It’s too easy to turn away
from hard effort, to say they
tried their best, and to give
up. When things get hard,
what will be the outcome?
Give up, complain, throw a
fit? All of these are easy, but
won’t get someone up a hill
and over a rock.
Polachek knows this, and
has proven he’s a top up-and-
comer in the state XC series.
Friday Night
is Les Schwab Family
night at Sisters Rodeo
JUNE 9 AT 7 PM
Kids are free
Twelve & Under
WINNEMUCCA TOUR
JUNE 23-25 | $89 PPDO
Receive $30 free slot play,
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COWBOY DINNER
TREE SILVER LAKE
JULY 15 | $99 PP
We will be visiting the Fort Rock
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upon a hidden treasure! You may
forget that we are in the 21st
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JULY 18-21 | $149 PPDO
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Receive $30 free slot play/$15 in
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SEPT. 5-8 | $199 PPDO
Receive free slot play, food
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BEST TIRE VALUE PROMISE
RIVER CRUISE
ST. LOUIS TO MEMPHIS
Plan now!
September 22-October 2, 2018
’50s and ’60s music!
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Connie Boyle
541-508-1500
Box 615 Sisters,
OR 97759
www.LesSchwab.com
EIGHT CENTRAL OREGON LOCATIONS
SISTERS
BEND
REDMOND
PRINEVILLE
MADRAS
LAPINE