If you read my profile on the right of this page, you will see that I live in Santa Cruz, California. Well, not exactly. I live about 10 minutes outside of Santa Cruz in the small town of Scotts Valley. I have grown up here, and started riding here. I love it here! Here is why.

The Riding

The riding is amazing. We have everything. Downhill, cross country, dirt jumping, and everything in between. The only only problem is that most of our trails are “illegal” or “unsanctioned”. The trails were not built with the permission of the land owner. The trails here are built by random people who just decide one day that a trail should be built. Easy, but risky. Many of you probably saw the article “The Top 10 Mountain Biking Destinations in North America” by Singletracks.com. I believe that Santa Cruz would be on that list if more of our trails were sanctioned. Luckily this is becoming a reality thanks to organizations like Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz, who recently finished the Emma McCrary Trail in Poginip, and is currently working to start building a “Flow Trail” in Soquel Demonstration Forest.

The Weather

I always read online how much of a drag the “off season” is for mountain bikers living in areas with harsh Winters. Luckily for me, you can ride year round here in Coastal California! Yep that’s right, no snow. We only get rain, and when it does rain we rejoice. Thanks to the type of soil here, after a rain the trails are for the most part completely rideable. This means super tacky hero dirt! Your tires will hook up in a corner so much that feels like there is zero possibility of washing out. All this talk of good dirt has got me thirsting for rain!

 

The Community

Face it. If the people around you are stoked on riding, it is much easier for you to be stoked on riding. The riding community around here is very strong. There is everyone you can think of from beginners, to industry employees, to top level pros such as the McCaul brothers and Greg Watts. Mountain Bikers here are not a minority. I live two minutes away from Easton – Bell sports and five minutes from FOX Racing Shox. Go into Santa Cruz and you can find X-Fusion Shox, Santa Cruz Bicycles, and Ibis Bicycles. Gamut USA is located thirty minutes away in San Jose and Specialized is located in Morgan Hill. There is a reason why all of these companies decided to call this area home. Santa Cruz is an ideal location for someone, like myself, who is stoked on riding bikes!