Photo courtesy of Mountain BIkers of Santa Cruz.

Event Profile: Pump ‘n’ Jump at Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival

An impressive list of racing, rides, clinics, sponsors and breweries is on tap for the second annual Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival in Aptos, April 9-10.

Hosted by Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBOSC), the festival will be held at the Aptos Pump Track and Post Office Dirt Jump Park in Aptos Village, which is on leased land that is due to be developed. All proceeds from the event will be dedicated to building a permanent bike park in Aptos.

“We presented the first Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival last year with great success and saw how much of a need there was to continue this event and make it even bigger and better,” said event director Megan Zemny.

“(We) dreamt up a festival of what we would like to go to and saw how big we could make this event. With a Jump Contest, Pumptrack contest, short track race, epic cross-country, festival, and beer garden I think we had the grand idea.”

Fox Racing Shox of Watsonville is the title sponsor and is donating prizes and ton of awards swag and raffle items, including an 831 Fox Fork for the winner of the amateur jump contest.

For competitive and avid riders there are jump contests and short-track races, a 40-mile endurance XC ride (free), and Soquel Demonstration Forest shuttle rides. Beginners can hone their skills with clinics focusing on bike handling and pump track skills. Nearly 40 industry vendors will be on hand to share their innovations and gear. Demo bikes will be available from Black Market, Specialized, Ibis, Trek, Yeti and Caletti.

The Beer Garden will pour drafts from local breweries including Santa Cruz Ale Works, Seabright Brewery, Boulder Creek Brewery, Uncommon Brewery and Corralitos Brewery. There will also be handmade root beer on tap.

For details, including race and ride registration, visit the website: santacruzmountainbikefestival.com.

—Pete Gauvin