- February 7, 2025
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Like many children, Cypress Creek Elementary School fourth grader Rachel Hiller likes riding her bike.
However, instead of riding down the street or a sidewalk, Hiller takes her bike riding to the next level by hitting the trails in mountain bike races, many of which are against adults and on courses that have sent some mountain bikers to the hospital.
Hiller currently holds the first place position in the 2017-2018 South Florida Coconut Cup Series Championships for girls ages six to 11. She has also won six medals in adult women's races in addition to winning medals from 15 junior races in the Shimano Youth Series and a silver medal at the U.S. Mountain Bike National Championships, 14 and under, at Dual Slalom.
The list of accomplishments, and number of medals, goes on.
The 10-year-old's love for taking a bike around sharp turns and down steep hills at a fast clip all started thanks to her father, Joe Hiller, a competitive mountain biker who had to raise his daughter by himself when his wife died after giving birth to Rachel. The father-daughter team has a close bond that can be seen on and off the mountain bike trails.
And it's those trails where Hiller first decided she enjoyed mountain biking. According to Hiller, about three years ago, her father was planning to go out mountain biking when she decided to come along. Once she was out on the trails with her father, she was hooked.
"I liked it," Hiller said. "I really like going fast."
For Hiller, the hardest part about mountain biking isn't the steep hills or the jagged rocks along the path, it's simply finding the right bike. Because according to her, it's all about having the right bike with the right balance.
Now, Hiller has three mountain bikes and several scars to prove she has gone from beginner to a pro who isn't afraid of a course that is the equivalent of a double black diamond in skiing.
Most of her competitions take place in Florida but she has also traveled to Georgia and West Virginia to participate in mountain bike races. Her favorite place to go mountain biking is the Jackrabbit Mountain Trails in North Carolina. In Florida, her go-to spot is the Markham Park Mountain Bike Trails.
"I love the jumps," Hiller said. "I can go very high."
But even young mountain bikers have to take some time to celebrate their birthdays. Hiller's birthday was on Saturday, Nov. 4, and, staying true to what she loved, threw a mountain biking party where she and her classmates took their bikes on the trails at the Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve.
It may not have been a race, but it was surely a day to remember.
