East Valley Victories: Chandler woman continues to climb

Somewhere there is some irony in the lifestyle of Chandler resident Melissa Buhl, a professional mountain biker. Buhl, who is continuing her education to become a doctor, says she is lucky to have only broken her collarbone three times and blown out both knees while competing.

That first-hand medical knowledge, as well as her studies at Arizona State, are on hold for now, however. The 25-year-old Chandler native is tied for first place in the Jeep King of the Mountain Series heading into the season finale Saturday in Beaver Creek, Colo.

“The Jeep Series is definitely the place to be when it comes to prize money and TV coverage,” said Buhl, who is taking a semester off from her studies at ASU. “I’ve been working especially hard this offseason.”

Buhl, who finished second in last year’s King of the Mountain series, already owns several championships, including one world title this year at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Trentino, Italy. She was the only American to medal at that event, but there is no trip to Beijing as a reward, because mountain bike fourcross is not an Olympic sport (neither is her other specialty: downhill mountain bike racing).

She also finished first in the 2006 National Off-Road Biking Association National Mountain Bike Series and won two other USA Cycling national championships. She has been racing bikes for 16 years, starting at age 9 in a BMX series.

“BMX/mountain biking was the best thing for me growing up,” said Buhl, who turned pro in 1998. “It kept me out of trouble, kept me focused and disciplined and to this day has opened so many doors for me and has afforded me the best life experiences including traveling the world.”

And the future doctor has some advice for prospective professional mountain bikers — young or old.

“I would start with BMX. It teaches kids how to race and the best-handling skills. It’s easier to start cross country/trail riding as an adult. There are loads of bike shops that have group rides and there are tons of mountain bike Web sites to hook up with people to show you the ropes.”

Want to see Buhl in action? Her Aug. 18 race in San Luis Obispo, Calif., where she finished second, will be aired at 2 p.m. Sept. 23 on CBS.

JUDO MEDALS

Four students from Mesa’s Heart Judo competed at the Grand Canyon State Games on June 21 and each came home with a medal.

Jesse Udell and Justin Udell won gold medals in the heavyweight men’s black belt division and lightweight men’s black belt division, respectively. Jack Reilly and Samantha Reilly earned silver medals in the 11-12-year-old boys lightweight division and 9-10-year-old girls lightweight division.