These 'outcast' athletes are on one heckuva ride

Jeremiah Bishop's first mountain bike was hot.

That's not to say it was cool. It was actually stolen.

"I didn't have much money," he said. "I'd wrecked my bike, and my friends said, 'I know how we can get you a bike."'

Their plan was to steal him a new bike, and he went along with it. He even raced on it once. Then he got caught.

"I got in a lot of trouble for it," he said. "I did return it and I apologized. ... It was a real turnaround for me. It was the best thing that ever happened to me."

Years later, the family he'd borrowed the bike from saw him racing. They had a nice conversation, and all was forgiven.

"They actually watch me race now," he said with a smile. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this."

Bishop was in Park City to race in the Kenda Cross Country event held at Deer Valley as part of the 2008 National Mountain Bike Series. He finished second in Saturday's race, but for him and many like him, the competitions are about more than winning or losing. Technically, they are non-traditional athletes, but most of them say their passion for mountain biking mirrors what most people gain from more traditional sports.

Melissa Buhl, a 26-year-old dual slalom racer, started riding BMX bikes in an effort to keep up with her older brother and his friends.

"I was that annoying little sister," she said. "My dad refused to let me do it. He put me in cheerleading, baton, dance, you name it. I was relentless and he finally gave in. He's my biggest fan now."

Buhl, who switched to mountain bike racing at age 16, won the women's pro dual slalom event Saturday and said her goal is to do for other women what someone once did for her.

"The most difficult aspect for women is (finding) support and just getting into it," she said. "There aren't school teams or rec programs. We were sort of the outcast sport, but now we have more developmental programs. I really want to sponsor an all-female team ... There aren't that many of us (women) out here, and a lot of that is support. It takes massive commitment."

A female professional racer once offered her sponsorship, which included equipment, clothing and entry fees, and she would like to do that herself once she finishes school and slows down her own racing career. She wants other women to find what she's discovered about herself on a dirt track.

"There are a million and one things I love about it," she said. "Most of all, I love being challenged."