Janelle Byer

Janelle is a senior at Waseca High School and keeps pretty busy with activities through school. Aside from writing about the climbs, during the summer she enjoys riding her road bike, a 1993 Yamaha Seca II 600. However, she says "My favorite activity has to be snowmobiling on my 1997 Yamaha XTC."

Besides King of the Hill, Janelle's articles have also been published in Cycle USA. Virtually all of the District 16 and 23 articles, and a few others, on KOTH were submitted by Janelle, who has become a regular part of hillclimbing in the upper Midwest. Not content just to plod through the results, Janelle often interviews the riders for their perspective on the event - and when she's not busy with her journalism duties, she's probably helping dad (Dave) on the line with his big Suzukis. Janelle's mother Bev is also a freqeunt contributor to KOTH, submitting her excellent action photos from the events. Together, Janelle and Bev make quite a team!

When asked how she got into moto-journalism, Janelle had this to say:

I had been around hillclimbing since I was a baby and was looking for something to do on Sundays besides my dad’s pit work. My dad, Dave, approached me with the idea of contributing to Cycle USA, and I’ve been doing it ever since.

If you spot an article on King of the Hill from a District 16 or 23 event, you can be sure it's one of Janelle's. She's become a familiar face to all the competitors over the years, and if she chooses to pursue it she's got a great head-start on a career in journalism! King of the Hill is very appreciative of her dedication to the sport, and we look forward to her submissions after every event. Thanks, Janelle!