Silicon Valley Mountain Bikers (SVMTB) is relaunching with renewed energy and new board members. We need your support to help in our efforts to retain and expand narrow single track trail bike access across the greater Silicon Valley area. Read on about what we are doing plus info on how to get free Sea Otter Classic festival passes.

Over the past year and a half, our new board has been working hard behind the scenes to develop new initiatives and relationships that will help bring fun single-track riding closer to our homes here in Silicon Valley. There are so many exciting projects, from trail-building to advocacy efforts aimed at securing more accessible riding and improving existing trails. But we need your passion, experience, and energy to make this happen!

By joining SVMTB, you’ll be part of a community that is shaping the future of mountain biking in and near the Silicon Valley and together we will make an even greater impact.

Here’s a sneak peek at what’s in store:

• New Trail Development: We’re pushing forward with proposals to bring more single-track to areas within easy reach of Silicon Valley such as the Bear Creek Redwoods mountain bike connector from Lexington to Skyline and new trails in Spooky Knoll, Hawthorns and Sierra Azul.
• Trail Upgrades: More hands-on opportunities to improve existing trails and ensure sustainability such as Santa Clara County Parks (SCCP) trail days and Calabazas bike park maintenance. When mountain bikers are involved they put in more of what we want, like fun jumps we recently added while working in Santa Teresa.
• Advocacy & Partnerships: We’ll be working closely with local organizations, land managers, and the community to push for better access and to ensure mountain biking has a strong voice in decision-making. Beyond the obvious land managers, like Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and SCCP, we are partnering with other advocacy groups such as CAMTB and Santa Cruz Mountain Trail Stewardship and participating in specific committees for Hawthorn and Spooky Knoll.
• Supporting Youth: Financial and logistical contributions to our local youth mountain biking teams have helped over 200 local kids get on bikes on trails this year alone!
• Fun Events & Rides: Regular meet-ups and social events to bring our community together, share tips and ride the trails we love. Already this year we’ve run mountain biking skills clinics and held events with Santa Clara County Horsemen’s Association to build good relationships with other trail users.

We’re thrilled about the progress we’ve made so far, but we can’t do more without YOU! Joining now will allow you to be part of these exciting new initiatives and make a real difference in the local mountain biking scene.

Click the link below to join IMBA (select Silicon Valley Mountain Bikers as your local chapter), stay up-to-date on all our plans and events, and get a pair of free passes to the Sea Otter Classic bike festival* (see note below on how to get your passes)!

https://www.imba.com/join-local

Follow us on social media @svmtb on Facebook and @siliconvalleymountainbikers on Instagram to stay connected to our mountain biking community.

Thank you for your past and future support and dedication. Let’s work together to create something truly special for mountain bikers in Silicon Valley.

See you on the trails!

Best regards,
Silicon Valley Mountain Bikers

*If you join IMBA/renew your membership by March 31st, we have a pair of free Sea Otter Classic four day festival passes for all new/renewing members on a first come first serve basis until we run out. We only have a limited number so don’t wait. To get a pair of Sea Otter Classic four day festival passes, please email info@imba.com with cc to jessica.tseng@sbcglobal.net with the title, “Sea Otter Pass Request – Membership Renewed.” We will check that you have renewed your SVMTB membership and reply back with information on how to get your passes. Passes must be picked up in person at the festival. Designated time slots & locations for pick up will be announced. 

We are excited to host another trail day with Santa Clara County Parks (SCCP) on Sunday, January 26th, 2025 from 9am-1pm. We had such a great time helping to fix up Rocky Ridge Trail at Santa Teresa Park we decided to schedule another trail day. This is an exclusive event set up by SCCP for SVMTB. Bring your bikes to ride up to our work site and we will provide free breakfast! Sign up here.

In following with Silicon Valley Mountain Biker’s mission of “fostering a community of riders,” we are excited to offer a series of mountain biking (MTB) classes taught by Bike Instructor Certification Program (BICP) coaches. These classes will provide an introduction to MTB for new riders, as well as on-the bike skills classes to cover MTB fundamentals for new and experienced riders to increase bike safety and confidence. If you are a SVMTB member through IMBA, you can take advantage of the discounted price for these classes. Join SVMTB to enjoy this benefit!

Free “Introduction to Mountain Biking” class on January 23rd at Sports Basement Sunnyvale (The Summit Community Room) from 12:30-1:30pm.

• Join this talk to learn all about mountain biking. We are blessed to be surrounded by beautiful MTB trails whether you are new or advanced. Come learn about local trails, what type of bike you will need, equipment, gear, and supplies needed for MTB, how to check your bike for safety, nutrition, trail safety and more! This is not an on the bike course, but a Q&A session to learn about the sport of MTB. This is a co-ed event.

Mountain Biking Fundamentals Classes On the Bike Classes (click on the blue links to register)

February 9th (Co-ed)@Santa Teresa County Park, San Jose, 10 years old and above:

• Mountain Biking Fundamentals, 9:30am-3pm: We will teach you fundamental skills for balance, stability, and control on your bike. In the morning, you will learn ready position, bike body separation, climbing & descending skills, braking and more. In the afternoon, we will cover how to maneuver your bike including techniques like ratcheting, track stands, wheel lifts, rock dodge, switchbacks and more! We will then hit the trails in Santa Teresa to tackle some technical features. Fundamentals will teach you essential skills for riding your bike safely, increase your bike confidence which leads to having more fun! 

March 9th (Co-ed) @Scotts Valley, 18 years old and above:

• Mountain Biking Fundamentals, 9:30am-3pm: We will teach you fundamental skills for balance, stability, and control on your bike. This session is especially focused on switchbacks as there are lots of wonderful switchbacks to practice on at Glenwood West! In the morning, you will learn ready position, bike body separation, climbing & descending skills, braking and more. In the afternoon, we will cover how to maneuver your bike including techniques like ratcheting, track stands, wheel lifts, rock dodge, switchbacks and more! We will practice drills first and then practice switchbacks on some trails in Glenwood West. Fundamentals will teach you essential skills for riding your bike safely, increase your bike confidence which leads to having more fun! 

If you need a mountain bike, please message us via FB (@svmtb) or IG (@siliconvalleymountainbikers), or email (jessica.tseng88@gmail.com) and we would be glad to help!

We can’t believe 2024 is coming to an end and we are so excited for what’s ahead in 2025. We accomplished a lot in 2024 and we would not have been able to do what we did without your support! A huge THANK YOU for coming to our events, volunteering to help, and your donations. Check out our full year end recap here. From our SVMTB family to yours, we wish you a wonderful new year and 2025 ahead!

Silicon Valley Mountain Bikers wrote back to the Office of County Supervisor Joe Simitian’s office to ask about the parking restrictions at the Sanborn Road north entrance of John Nicholas trail head. We appreciate the response from the Board Aide below. What do you think of this response? Write Supervisor Simitian’s office if you have additional thoughts on this topic: https://d5.santaclaracounty.gov/how-can-we-help/contact-joe

Response from Supervisor Simitian’s office:

“Regarding the parking at the end of Sanborn Road, I checked with Parks who provided the following information:

In response to residents’ concerns of illegal parking, Parks staff requested that the Roads Department install “No Parking” signs near the area of the start of Lake Ranch Trail. The concerns included vehicles parking illegally over the shoulder striping and blocking the roadway which caused traffic flow problems and did not providing enough access, or parking, for emergency vehicles (fire, EMS, etc.). It created a situation where those responders were unable to park and turning around was nearly impossible.

Based on an on-site engineering study, the Roads Department installed “No Parking” signs in areas where parking was a safety issue at the end of Sanborn Road.

Once the signs were installed, our office received feedback from a park visitor which we shared with Parks and Roads Departments. The current signage location is a result of the Departments taking a second look at the area to ensure access for emergency vehicles and to maximize available parking.

Again, thank you for contacting our office with your concerns on this matter.”

Thank you all for rallying together to write to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors last week about John Nicholas trail. We received a positive response from Supervisor Simitian’s office regarding our concerns and we really appreciate the swift response. Please see the full text of their response below and write Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors back if you have any additional concerns. We responded back asking about whether the parking situation on the Sanborn (north end) of the park could be alleviated as well for users who access the trails on the north. We can’t thank you enough for rallying together as a community to elevate our voice.

Office of County Supervisor Joe Simitian response re: Black Road Parking Information on 3/18/24:

“In follow up to your communication with Supervisor Simitian about recent changes to public parking along Black Road near the John Nicholas Trailhead/Sanborn County Park, and after working with the County Parks and Roads Departments, we wanted to provide you with the following information:

Sanborn County Park is open to the public from 8 a.m. to sunset. In response to numerous complaints from Black Road/Skyline Boulevard neighbors regarding unlawful after-sunset issues at the John Nicholas Trailhead, Parks Ranger staff requested that the Roads Department install “No Parking Sunset to Sunrise” signs at the John Nicolas Trailhead. The intent was to discourage the unlawful behavior during after park hours.

As with any new signage request, the Roads Department conducted an on-site engineering study to ensure public safety. In addition to the afterhours issues, the study also found that some of the parking that was happening on the north side of Black Road (trail side) was in unlawful locations as the vehicles were parked such that they illegally encroached on the roadway. In addition, the study found that parking on the south side of the road resulted in pedestrians unsafely crossing Black Road which has limited sight distance due to steep grades and blind curves. Based on these findings, and to ensure safety of park users as well as users of Black Road, Roads recommended restricting daytime parking on the north side (trail side) to those areas where feasible with enough room for cars to safely park without crossing the fog line and “No Parking Any Time” on the south side.

In response to information shared with our office by a John Nicholas Trailhead visitor, Roads has relocated the “No Parking Sunset to Sunrise” signs to no longer block potential parking spaces. Roads has also indicated that it will look at improving the pavement drop-off on the north side (where parking is allowed) once the weather permits.

The Parks and Roads Departments also informed our office that they will be adding more roadway signs directing the public to the additional parking lots off Skyline Boulevard, including Sunnyvale Mountain and Summit Rock parking lots, that have trail connections to the John Nicholas Trail.

Finally, Parks has indicated that it has no plans to disturb the natural environment of the trailhead and create a paved parking lot at this location. Parks also reported that it is evaluating the possibility of expanding the Sunnyvale Mountain parking lot which provides trail connectivity to the John Nicholas Trail. As we get more information from Parks on potential expansion of the Sunnyvale Mountain parking lot, we will provide that information to you.

Thank you for your patience while we gathered the above information.”

By Ed Dee, SVMTB Board Member

On December 13^th, 2023 after many years of public comment meetings and efforts by all interested trail use groups, Silicon Valley Mountain Bikers (SVMTB)  obtained a verbal confirmation from a MROSD Board Member that trail Alternative 3 (See 11/29/23 Map) has been chosen to be developed. (Hopefully open to the public in 2027 or sooner). 

In our opinion, this will be an important connector trail as part of the larger Bear Creek Open Space Preserve plan to ultimately connect to the Bay Area Ridge Trail (BART). This will give bike riders coming up from Los Gatos, around Lexington reservoir on the Highway 17 side, a nice ~1.7 mile section of mostly single-track to ride to the parking lot on Bear Creek Road at the former Alma College site. From there trail sections are being planned to ultimately connect with the Bay Area Ridge Trail near Hwy 35.

This is a “baby step” (that has consumed much time, energy and diplomacy) towards an important local trail system, and an excellent example of SVMTB working with the biking community, equestrians, hikers, and other trail users for a win/win solution.

SVMTB’s Public Comment at the 12/13/23 MROSD Special Meeting

On behalf of The Silicon Valley Mountain Bikers (SVMTB), and regarding tonight’s proposed trail alignment Alternatives 1, 2, and 3 (see Attached Map);

We are very happy with the District and Staff’s hard and determined work to investigate and identify trail alignments to provide for the greatest enjoyment and safety for all trail users. We do prefer an alternative that provides for the safest and earliest opening of the preserve to public access and enjoyment.

All three current alternatives (as listed on Attachment 2 dated 11/29/23) do appear to minimize trail use conflict within the preserve, and appear to provide for as much separation as possible between the various user groups. Alternative 2 and Alternative 3 (with the Equestrian Bypass) appear to be the most effective at mitigation concerns around the “critical area” at the confluence of Briggs Creek.

If Alternative 3 is chosen, with the equestrian bypass, it almost completely eliminates potential use conflict, while offering equestrians the option to avoid proximity to Highway 17 and the CalFire Heli pad which both were noted as source of anxiety for the horses, without the additional time and expense required in Alternative 2.

Thank you to Bear Creek Stables, The District Board and Staff, and so many other future users of the preserve who have put in so much time and energy since the formation of the preserve 5 years ago, in a concerted effort to meet as many needs, requirements, and preferences as possible; Truly a team effort.