MEADE PLUM

Hello, my name is Meade Plum.  I am originally from Bishop, California, a small town at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains, but currently live in Elizabethton, Tennessee where  I am attending Milligan College.  I have grown up outdoors.  Hiking, climbing, backpacking, and riding bikes were my family’s pastimes.  As I grew older I played soccer, made the All-Star team every year, and thought I was going to play through high school.  The school had a different idea and did not let me play because I was home schooled.  I thank God for their decision; without it I would not have discovered mountain bike racing.  From a very young age I remember being on a bike; trying to make it up what seemed like monstrous hills going to and from a near-by park.  I was about six years old when I went on my first real-deal mountain bike ride.  I rode my 20 inch wheeled single speed bike with coaster breaks.  We rode down Lower Rock Creek trail…I can’t say I loved it, but it was the beginning of my story of learning to love riding. When soccer ended in 2015 my dad thought we could mountain bike race.  We had no idea about the NICA high school leagues, but we thought we could travel some and race.  The idea of bike racing seemed unreasonable to me at first.  Nevertheless, Dad pursued it and we ended up establishing a team in the SoCal league with another home schooled family.  I didn't train much going into the first race, for I thought it was a “non-serious, only fun sport”.  Boy, was I wrong.  I somehow ended up in third place.  I realized how fun it was, that I had potential in this sport, and I quickly found that I loved mountain bike racing!  Ever since that race I have only grown my passion for racing through the cross country, road, endurance mountain bike, and bike packing races I have participated in!  A bike is a wonderful machine that has taken me to many amazing places and supplied lots of great memories.  Whether it be fat tired, skinny tired, somewhere in between, racing light, or fully loaded it is a bike, and the journey will be epic!