The ACU Cycling Club is greeting its second semester on campus with a full schedule of races and fun rides. Its numbers have increased to about 15 members.

“We train pretty much every day, whether it’s on road or mountain bikes. We also do a lot of just-for-fun rides or will work with individual people that want to learn specific techniques,” Jacob Luedecke (’11) said.

The club was started by Luedecke as a way to get people together that enjoy riding. Individuals do not need a specific type of bike or need to pay membership dues, they only need to show up.

“We accept any level of rider, from someone that wants to cruise around campus, to people that want to race” Luedecke said.

Liz Lurz, sophomore business major from San Antonio, is the current president. She is eager to share her love for cycling with the rest of ACU. Lurz followed the direction of her father, who shares her passion for mountain biking.

“I got started in mountain biking when I was 8 years old and started racing when I was 10. My father had raced for a few years before I got into it,” Lurz said.

The Cycling Club currently has four members that travel all over Texas to compete on a regular basis in both road and mountain biking categories.

The club also became registered with the USA Cycling Collegiate Racing, which means that in addition to racing in Texas, they also represent Texas when they are in other states. Together they compete with roughly 22 colleges from Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma for an overall score.

“We like having a team for ACU so that we can race around the state representing ACU, not just as a racer, but also keeping true to our faith on and off the bike,” Lurz said.

The biggest races on their schedule include Pace Bend, a 24-mile race in Austin from Apr. 4-5 and Walburg, a 28-mile race near Austin this weekend.

For more information or to become a member, email Liz Lurz at elv09a@acu.edu