To say that Quint Berkemeier is serious about bicycling is an understatement. The 15-year-old mountain biker recently stood on top of the podium, taking first place in his age division (Men 15-16) in the Southern California State Championships.

Quint, who will soon start his sophomore year at Rim of the World High School, started competing in bicycle races when he was 12. "I was always pretty serious about it," he said, "and was determined to give my all at every race.

"In the last two years," the Lake Arrowhead resident added, "I have become more focused on my future as a cyclist."

Quint's training varies according to the season and includes climbing, downhill, intervals and sprints-a mix of road and mountain bike, depending on the type of race."

During the winter, he said, he starts the base training for the next season. "It is hard to get outside and ride when there is snow on the ground, so I ride a stationary bike trainer in my garage." Quint ran cross country and played soccer at Rim during the off season last year, both of which helped condition him for cycling.

When the weather is good, Quint trains three to four days a week with a race over the weekend. "Usually I ride about two hours on hard days and an hour on easy days," he said. Over the summer he's been pushing a little harder, riding about three hours on hard days.

As a freshman at Rim, Quint competed on the Rim JV cycling team, coached by Scott Craft. He won second place overall at the 2009 Southern California Interscholastic Cycling League and was eighth at the California High School League State Championships.

The Southern California State Championship Mountain Bike Series was made up of six races in which Quint placed anywhere from fifth to first. At the end-in Big Bear on July 12-he had the greatest number of cumulative points-312-putting him in first place over Christian Yellott of Rancho Santa Margarita (203) and Brady Kiss of Yucaipa (175).

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