Senior Caleb Tinsley spent his summer mountain biking at Spirit Mountain in Duluth. His favorite trails at Spirit Mountain are called ‘Monkey Business’ and ‘Calculated Risk’, both of which are Double Black Diamonds, the second most difficult rating of bike trails.

On an average day, Tinsley will ride one of the local trail systems, Piedmont. This is one of the many trail systems in our area. He would start on a blue rated flow trail, before dropping into one of the black trails, ‘Valley Girls’, which is filled with complicated technical sections. One of Tinsley’s skills is downhill mountain biking, as he loves to shred down hills as fast as he can.

In the world of racing, Tinsley faces off against talented opponents with flagship equipment, the cost of which often surpasses the amount that Tinsley has spent on all of his equipment combined. This pushed him to work to raise money to upgrade his bike. He’s spent over $13,500 in total on equipment. 

Tinsley has two bikes, one made for Enduro racing, the other made for Downhill racing. In Enduro racing, the racer is required to pedal to the top of the stage, which is not timed. Then, the rider enters the racing stage, which is timed. During an Enduro race, there are multiple stages. Downhill racing is very different. The racer is required to ride a lift to the top of the mountain and wait for their call up. They then enter the race stage and descend from the peak of the mountain to the bottom at the best of their ability.

“My main goal is to compete in the EWS at Whistler next year, and get under 25 minutes from the “top of the world” to the bottom of Whistler,” Tinsley says of his future racing goals. The Enduro World Series race at Whistler in British Columbia is one of the biggest mountain biking races in the world. The race drags in pros from all over and throws tech, jumps, and sharp turns at each of the riders. It is a grueling task just to complete the course let alone in 25 minutes. Tinsley is our local shredder.