The Highlanders

Beyond the NICA season, LHYC is a registered USA Cycling (USAC) Junior Team. This status allows our athletes to compete in sanctioned events year-round across diverse disciplines:

  • Cross-Country (Non-NICA): Competitive mountain bike racing outside of the scholastic league, allowing athletes to compete in regional and national USAC-sanctioned events.

  • Gravel: Long-distance riding and racing on unpaved roads, combining endurance with the beauty of our backroads.

  • Cyclocross: A high-intensity autumn discipline featuring short laps on mixed terrain with obstacles that sometimes require carrying the bike.

  • Gravity: Focused on high-speed downhill descents and technical bike-handling skills rather than uphill pedaling.

Race Series

Month of Mud is Western Pennsylvania’s oldest off-road racing circuit, running every autumn since 1989. Based within a 50-mile radius of Pittsburgh, the series is unique for its multi-discipline format, challenging riders across Cross Country (XC), Short Track, Cyclocross, and Super-D events.

YC Monthly (Yellow Creek Monthly) is a grassroots mountain bike race series held at Yellow Creek State Park in Penn Run, Pennsylvania. Established to support the park and its trails, this "for racers, by racers" series is known for its laid-back atmosphere and rugged cross-country terrain.

Trans-Sylvania Productions specializes in premier mountain bike and gravel events across Pennsylvania and North Carolina. They are best known for their flagship multi-day "Epic" stage races and regional gravel series.

Western Pennsylvania Cyclocross (WPCX) is the region's dedicated series for cyclocross racing, running annually from September through November. It features a mix of traditional grass-and-dirt circuits, technical obstacles, and the unpredictable late-fall weather that defines the sport.

Downhill Southeast (DHSE) is the premier gravity-fueled mountain bike series in the Southeastern U.S. Founded by pro racer Neko Mulally, it provides world-class downhill competition on legendary tracks like Windrock, Snowshoe, and Rock Creek.

WV Enduro Series is West Virginia’s premier mountain bike circuit, featuring multi-stage racing on the state’s most rugged terrain. From the technical backcountry of Slatyfork to the lift-served runs at Snowshoe Mountain, the series challenges riders with a mix of raw singletrack and gravity-fed descents.

The Mid-Atlantic Super Series (MASS) is the region’s premier mountain bike racing circuit, spanning Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware. For over 20 years, it has hosted season-long competitions across three primary disciplines: Cross Country (XC), Endurance, and Enduro.