My Story

My name is Shawn Gentry and I've been in love with riding bikes my whole life. Since I was old enough to reach the pedals of a neighbor's “10 Speed” (but not while actually sitting on the seat) I've been riding everything on 2 wheels. In1993, I bought my first Mountain Bike, a Cannondale M500 from Bicycles East and hit the trails, mainly those at Poplar Tent Road and ones long-gone from UNC-Charlotte. I eventually rode every trail system in Charlotte, NC and have continued to explore further to: Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Uwharrie, Pisgah, Dupont, Arizona, and many, many others...

Fast forward over 30 years, I am the proud father of a very athletic 15 year old daughter, Matilda who I've been coaching since she was 6. She now races in NICA/NCICL North Carolina Interscholastic Cycling League, USA Cycling, Charlotte Youth Cycling League (CYCL), the Start2Finish Winter Short Track Series, and many other local and regional races where she is often on the podium. Following her first successful season with CYCL, I volunteered to become Assistant Director of the league, helping league Director, Jamie Conger with a multitude of tasks to help grow the league.

As part of CYCL, I organized Skills clinics for young riders and started collecting training and certifications which have now made me an accomplished, highly-knowledgable, safety-minded mountain biking skills instructor and guide, as you can see in my listed qualifications. This sparked a fire and made me realize I had found my calling. I am now one of the most-qualified mountain bike skills instructors in the region with a huge number of clients, including adults looking to advance their skills, 8 year old beginners, retirees looking for a new challenge, and everyone in-between.

Summer 2018 marked the beginning of a new chapter in my career, going "all-in" to turn my passion for mountain biking into a full-time job by launching CLTMTB. I look forward to meeting you, helping you become a better rider, and having a lot of fun. See you on the trail!