Brothers Nye, 15, left, and Jake, 18, ride the Old Mount Rose Highway on the north side of Lake Tahoe.
One of the youngest riders to race professionally in Epic Rides — including the Carson City Off-Road — will soon be making the capital city his home.
Jake Yackle, 18, is in the process of moving to Carson City with his dad, Kevin, mom, Donna, and younger brother, Nye, 15.
However, he will barely have time to settle in before he’s off to Switzerland, leaving Aug. 29 for the 2018 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships on Sept. 6.
“I’m super excited,” Jake said. “If I win or place pretty high lots of doors will open.”
Jake learned to ride bikes the same way most kids do.
“Dad got me a bike and pulled me around a parking lot,” he recalled. “Then he took me to the park and let me ride around.”
His dad remembered it a little differently.
“He was crying at the time,” his dad said.
Despite a questionable start, Jake took to his bicycle pretty quickly, entering his first mountain bike race when he was 11.
“It’s just super fun, and I love competing,” he said. “So it’s just natural for me to love racing. You get to go to lots of beautiful places and meet some cool people.”
Jake rode in the inaugural Carson City Off-Road in 2016 as an amateur. He returned in 2017 and this year in the pro class. He came in fifth in the fat-tire criterium and 11th in the backcountry race in this summer’s event. While Jake’s pro career is just starting to take off, his brother, Nye, is hot on his tail.
Nye raced in his first professional competition this year in Washington and plans to race in next year’s Carson City Off-Road as a pro as well.
“It’s hard to describe the feeling you get,” Nye said. “There’s no other feeling like the one you get when you race.”
One of the first things the brothers did after the family found a home in Carson City was to take their bikes out for a ride.
They rode from Ash to Kings Canyon then up to Spooner Summit and back down the Clear Creek trail.
“I love the trails here,” Jake said. “We just did Clear Creek. It’s so flowy. I look forward to doing it more often.”
Jake is trying to raise $5,000 for his trip to Switzerland — his first time traveling overseas. Donate to his journey at https://www.gofundme.com/jakes-dream-junior-xco-worlds.
Learn more about the Yackle brothers and their racing at yacklebrothersracing.wordpress.com or follow Yackle Brothers Racing on Facebook.
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