Spring is approaching and my son is anxious to get back on his mountain bike and hit the trails! We are fortunate that there are some pretty cool programs for youth mountain biking in Bend. Registration is now open for the spring session at Bend Endurance Academy (BEA), but hurry sessions fill up fast! Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation (MBSEF) also offers spring sessions that open for registration in January and are currently full. Both BEA, MBSEF and Mt. Bachelor offer summer mountain biking camps to keep your kiddos active all summer!
Bend Endurance Academy
We are big fans of the Bend Endurance Academy’s spring and fall after school program. The upcoming spring session begins in early May and runs through mid-June. Rides are every Monday or Wednesday, depending on which school your child attends. BEA provides transportation from local schools to the trails, picking the kids and their bikes up from school and returning them for pick up at the BEA parking lot (located across from the Old Mill District). Visit their website to see a list of participating schools, pricing, and exact dates.
Bend Endurance Academy also offers a summer camp program which was a super-cool experience for our son. We would drop him off with his mountain bike at the BEA office at 9am, they would load all the bikes up in a huge trailer, all the kids would pile into a school bus, and they would hit the trails! They ask that riders have some experience, so we took our son out a few times before his first day of camp to give him some exposure to riding his mountain bike on the trails around here. Early in the program they separate the kids into groups based on their skill level. Participating in this program also gave him the opportunity to learn how to properly ride his mountain bike and shift gears with the help of his coach. It is awesome when we are driving on the outskirts of Bend or up to the mountain, and my son points out the window and says, “Look, I went mountain biking there!” He has been on more trails than my husband and I combined!
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Summer camp registration is now open for kids ages 6-12!! The program is 8 weeks long, and is divided into two sessions. Sessions run from June 26-July21 and July31-Aug 25. You can sign up for just one session or both. You also choose the number of days per week Monday-Friday. Pricing is $110 per session (four rides), 1 day/week. New for Summer 2017 is the “Mega Rides”. Specialized rides and clinics during the gap week of July 24-28, between summer sessions. What an amazing experience for your child!
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Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation
This spring we thought we would check out Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation’s (MBSEF) mountain biking program for a change. MBSEF offers spring sessions in both April & May and a fall session starting in September. The main cycling day for most children is Wednesday. There is also a cycling day on Friday for Seven Peaks students. With this program, parents drop off and pick up their children at a designated trailhead. There is also a school pickup option for an additional $30. Contact MBSEF at 541-388-0002 to confirm pick up at an outlying school. At this time, both April & May sessions are full. You can call to have your child added to a wait list.
MBSEF Cycling also offers four separate summer mountain bike sessions for age 6-14. Register for one, two, three, or all four sessions. Each session is 2 weeks long with the option of riding 2, 3 or 4 days a week. Your child will explore a different trail each day of the week. The focus of each 2 week session is to build skills and endurance all in a fun supportive environment. Online enrollment for summer sessions is now open and they fill up FAST.
Price Per Session: 2 day/week – $80, 3 day/week – $110, 4 day/week – $130
| Session 3 |
Session 4 |
Session 5 |
Session 6 |
| June 26th-July 6 (Skips July 4) | July 10th-20th | July 24th-August 3rd | August 14th-24th |
| Mon-Thurs 9am-11am | Mon-Thurs 9am-11am | Mon-Thurs 9am-11am | Mon-Thurs 9am-11am |
Mt. Bachelor Gravity Bike Camp
Mt. Bachelor’s Gravity Bike Summer Camp is another example of an awesome program for youth mountain biking in Bend, and it is the perfect summer activity for 8 to 15 year-old kids and teens!
From first-timers to experts, mountain bikers of all ability levels are welcome. Each rider is placed in a group with other kids of similar ability. Terrain available for campers includes a skills park, lift-accessed downhill trails and exclusive single-track cross country trails. Instructors will choose terrain that is appropriate for the campers’ ability and equipment.
CAMP AVAILABILITY AND COST
| Session 1 | Monday-Friday | July 18 – July 22 | $299 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session 2 | Monday-Friday | July 25 – July 29 | $299 |
| Session 3 | Monday-Friday | August 1 – August 5 | $299 |
| Session 4 | Monday-Friday | August 8 – August 12 | $299 |
| Session 5 | Monday-Friday | August 15 – August 19 | $299 |
| Session 6 | Monday-Friday | August 22 – August 26 | $299 |
Want to participate in more than one bike camp this summer? Additional weekly camps are $249 for the remainder of the season. Call Mt. Bachelor’s Reservations Staff to book more than one camp this summer 1-800-829-2442.
Bus transportation to and from the mountain is included in the camp cost. Not included – full face helmets, knee & elbow protection, they can be added at check out for an additional $35 for the full week. Week long camp, bike rental, full face helmet, knee & elbow protection $399.
With so many cool options for youth mountain biking in Bend it might be hard to choose, so why not have your kiddo give them all a try to find the best fit? After all, this is Bend, and there is no such thing as being too active, right? Check out these rad programs for your little mountain biker before they fill up and we will see you out on the trails…Living the Bend Life!
Are there many or any little girls in the program, do you know? Do any of these programs do anything to encourage girls to feel comfortable in participating if they are intimidated by all the boys?
Hi Katie-We’ve only had experience with BEA, and my son is enrolled with MBSEF for the April session for the first time to check it out.
At the Bend Endurance Academy, the coaches are very engaging & supportive. There are a few female coaches in the group. My daughter is 6, going on 7 in April and she’s a bit shy. I’m thinking about enrolling her in the summer camp. We will take her out on the trails a bit once spring hits to get her comfortable with the terrain and I think she will be fine, and actually maybe even thrive in that environment. If you have any specific concerns, please reach out to BEA. Bill Warburton is the cycling director Bill@BendEnduranceAcademy.org. He’s been wonderful at answering questions for us along the way. Hope to see you out on the trails!