The sound of gears spinning fills the air every Monday night at Elings Park in Santa Barbara, as bikers push hard on their pedals, hoping to make a jump off of the dirt mounds at the BMX track. 

Practices didn’t used to be like that for the Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Club. 

The group was founded by Hope Elementary School teacher Tim Barker in 2023 in an effort to get young kids out riding. The group’s leadership is made up of volunteers who share the passion for mountain biking.

Barker’s sons — 15-year-old Jaden and 13-year-old Mason — also ride on the team. 

The club previously would practice by zipping up and down county biking trails.

Then came the game-changer. 

The group recently secured a spot at the BMX track at Elings Park, after a multiple year-long process, according to club manager Jose Caballero. 

The main issue at hand was setting up an insurance policy before the group could practice, according to Dean Noble, executive director of Elings Park. 

Now, the club riders have access to a 960-foot-long track and two dirt-mound circuits called pump tracks. The club also raised about $13,000 for the light fixtures on the track, Caballero said.

“It’s a really good place for coaching as opposed to going out on a trail where I can see the kid in front of me or try to hear the kid behind me, if I pull over, I see them go past, but we have to schedule a moment to connect on a trail,” Caballero said. 

Now, Caballero, Barker and other parent coaches can watch all of the kids perform the practice drills, offering immediate encouragement and feedback. 

Caballero said their presence at the track also offers more accessibility to members of their mountain bike club. 

“The park is pretty much in the middle of town, so it’s a quick errand to drop the kids,” he said.

Justin Bart, operations coordinator at Elings Park, goes out to the Monday night practices, and said he leaves impressed with the level of skill he sees. 

“They are true athletes; these kids are monsters, they are great,” he said. 

The concentration is serious as bikers race through the dirt track, with the occasional grunts of defeat after they don’t land a jump in the way they hoped.

Barker said he also makes it a point to get parents engaged as much as possible. 

In the mix of young riders is Jesse Swanhuyser, a club parent who has been riding with the group since before it was even a thing. 

“I have always been interested in getting out and flying,” he said. “Mountain biking gives me an opportunity to spend a little bit of time in the air.”

Swanhuyser said the group’s camaraderie has gotten him to stay throughout the years, a change from his time on surfing and snowboarding teams in the past.

“The group invites and is kind to everyone who comes out here regardless of their level, which is pretty rare in other sports,” he said.  

Aside from sharing the love of the sport, the team has shown love to him and his family when his 14-year-old son, Nateo, also a rider on the team, was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago. 

“He wasn’t able to ride, but this group was just awesome because we had guys coming over and just supporting him,” he said. 

Likewise, 12-year-old Flynn Vega Thurber, feels that connection. 

Having moved to the local area from Oregon about a year and a half ago with his family, he said the community here is something he hadn’t experienced in the Pacific Northwest. 

He said he also appreciates how the group now has dedicated Monday night practices at the track.

“Even though the trails in Oregon are a lot better, we didn’t have anything like that, and being able to access it is so good because there is a place to practice,” he said. 

His mom, Rebecca Vega Thurber, a volunteer with the group and a UC Santa Barbara marine ecology associate professor, said practices at the Elings Park BMX track allows her as a parent to see the kids grow as riders. 

Flynn Vega Thurber was invited to join the competition team this season, and will begin competing in January for the first time. 

The regular season for the mountain bike club also began in early January. There are five categories riders can fall into, based on age and skill. To register, click here.  

Elings Park staff also noted that biking activity is on the ascent at the park, with more activities coming this year.