Throughout his life, Kurt Dorshimer has been involved with many types of cycling, from BMX to motorcycles. In 2011, he returned to riding mountain bikes and was quickly introduced to the sport with a mindset of “ride with a purpose.” With this attitude, he quickly found himself training regularly and involved in racing events all over the Southeast United States. Kurt has competed at expert levels over the years in various mountain bike series as a member of the PRC cycling team.

He has focused more time and energy on helping youth riders in the Southwest Atlanta area in recent years. Kurt has realized the positive impact of mountain biking on today’s youth and is an advocate for getting more kids on bikes in Georgia.

In 2019, Kurt was introduced to the Georgia League with the Chattahoochee Grippers Composite team as a level one coach. While attending his first Georgia League race, the league’s commitment to professionalism and organization inspired him to get more involved. In addition to this, the family atmosphere at our events and the dedication by every rider/coach encouraged Kurt to pursue his level three coaching license. At the end of the 2019 season, Kurt became the head coach for the Grippers 2020 season. In 2020, the Grippers tripled in size, requiring the team to split into multiple teams for the 2021 season. As a result, Kurt is now the head coach for the Line Creek Shredders Composite team and will support all teams under the Southwest Atlanta Youth Mountain Bike Club (SWAY MTB) organization.

Kurt and other coaches have developed SWAY MTB specifically to encompass all our junior, middle, and high school teams in our area under one organization. Kurt has three children in the SWAY MTB programs and is always looking to meet new people and encourage them to get out and ride with us.

Kurt has ridden trails all over the country from Vermont to Colorado, but the place he favors and compares all others to is Dupont. Know by Kurt and his friends as “Happytown”, Dupont’s trail system is just outside of Brevard, North Carolina. This trail system offers something for everybody and has some of the most fun, fast, flowy sections along with challenging technical ascends & descends.

Sam French is originally from the Black Hills of South Dakota, where he was an active member of the mountain biking and climbing communities. His first experiences with off-road cycling were riding his father’s old ten-speed on the numerous mining roads in the Black Hills. He discovered NICA at a ‘weather tent’ at a Go Nuts event where the former Coweta Composite team members were stationed. Since then, two of his children have participated on NICA teams, and  Sam has attained his Level 3 NICA coach certification with the Georgia League. For the 2021 season, Sam is the Team Director for the Line Creek Shredders.

Saskia Arnesen is originally from Vancouver, Canada, and riding has always been a part of her life. Growing up on the North Shore, she started her riding career on a Santa Cruz Heckler, tearing down the steep terrain filled with roots, rocks, and woodwork. Early racing days included multiple years of Test of Metal in Squamish, BC, another favorite location for riding. Then she discovered the road bike and wound up riding the Whistler Gran Fondo after countless hours of spin sessions and outdoor riding. Adventure Racing in MOMAR also became an annual event, incorporating riding, of course!

A move to Georgia in 2017 with her family introduced her to different XC terrain and rolling country roads for road rides. As a Portable Rock Climbing Race team member, she’s competed in State Championships on her road bike and at local Go Nuts mountain bike races. With two kids also on bikes now, it was natural to become involved as a coach for the Junior Rippers 2021. In 2021 Saskia joined as the sponsorship director and board member of SWAY MTB Club. She looks forward to helping build on the success of this unique program and spreading her love for this sport. As Sponsorship Director, her goal is to raise awareness of the SWAY program within the region, secure funding for this volunteer-driven organization, thereby setting the kids up for success!