Take a kid mountain biking, and open up a new world for them.

Erik Chalhoub here, thinking about the time when I first rode a bike without training wheels. It was hard for me to fathom how I was staying upright on just two wheels, but once I got going, it was a breeze.

That led me from riding on the streets to the dirt and later the mountainous trails (and eventually an intense wipeout at 11 years old that I still have a scar from). Mountain biking has become my preferred form of riding, a lifelong hobby that stemmed from that one moment when the training wheels came off.

For many, including myself, the love of biking starts at a young age. This Saturday, Oct. 4, many youngsters will have an opportunity to develop this passion that may last them for a lifetime.

The Monterey Off Road Cycling Association’s annual Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day returns from 10am to 1pm at the Fort Ord Day Camp Cycling Area, 15301 Watkins Gate Road in Seaside. Riders and coaches from local middle and high school mountain bike teams will be on hand to lead rides and guide kids on obstacle courses. The event is designed for children from preschool- to middle school-aged, and of all ability levels, whether they are on balance bikes, training wheels or ready for something more advanced. 

The Community Bike Collective will be on hand to provide bikes and helmets to those who don’t have their own, making it more accessible.

“It is an opportunity to have our greater bike community rally around our kids,” says Peter Berridge, vice president of MORCA. “Mountain biking has so much to offer for kids.”

The benefits of mountain biking are many, Berridge notes—instilling healthy habits, helping build confidence and nurturing a love for the outdoors, which may lead to a desire to steward and protect the land.

Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day is nationally celebrated on the first Saturday of the month, being recognized by Congress in 2004. This year, the local event, with support by Montage Health, features a bike giveaway from Bobcat Bicycles in Salinas, fire truck displays, goodie bags and more. Fans of MORCA’s obstacle course during the Life Time Sea Otter Classic will be thrilled to know that it’ll be here and more enhanced—“We pull out all the stops,” Berridge says. (Even County of Monterey officials will be on hand to cut the ribbon on a new bathroom installed in the area. That’s a big deal for park users.)

The event is free, but attendees are encouraged to register in advance online.

Behind the scenes, MORCA continues working to further grow the mountain biking community locally, and make Monterey County a destination for riders.

It pitched its idea of creating a bike park at Laguna Seca to Friends of Laguna Seca, the nonprofit in charge of the racetrack and the recreation area that surrounds it. Such a park could include slalom courses, obstacle areas and a looping track.

The goal is to get the organization’s board to formally include a bike park in the Laguna Seca Facilities Master Plan, which is currently under development. Then, MORCA can begin pursuing grants and other funding sources to construct the park, Berridge says.

For the bicyclists out there, when did you start riding?