Over the weekend of November 7 and 8, over 50 mountain bikers cruised the trails at Hidden Valley Nature Center (HVNC) as part of multiple events featuring bikes in nature.

On Saturday, six middle school aged kids showed their parents everything they’d been learning about trail biking at HVNC over the past two weeks. The ride was the fifth and final in a program co-hosted by the Central Lincoln County YMCA, the Maine Winter Sports Center (MWSC), and HVNC. Throughout the program ten boys and girls had the chance to train with MWSC instructors on bikes provided through the Healthy Hometowns Program. For the final ride parents were invited to join.

Later that day, 11 students from Cheverus High School in Portland took to the trails with the bikes provided by the Healthy Hometowns Program.

Sunday featured HVNC’s Mountain Bike Open House. The casual event was designed to encourage riders of all levels to try out HVNC’s trail system on a bike. Guided rides for all skill levels introduced visitors to trails that could meet their comfort level. HVNC has more than thirty miles of trails, much of which are broad forestry roads over moderate terrain. Of course, more adventurous riders can find their thrills on sections of very technical single track trails.

Visitors that day included veteran HVNC bikers, avid riders new to HVNC, novice bikers, folks who hadn’t been on a bike in more than a decade, twenty foreign exchange students from Lincoln Academy, and little kids.

Perhaps the single biggest highlight of the day was Bath Cycle and Ski’s collection of fat tire bikes. These bikes with cartoonishly oversized tires are designed for riding in snow and sand. The reason for their recent surge in popularity is clear: they’re just plain fun. Young and old riders took their turn cruising around on these bikes, all of them grinning as they pedaled.

HVNC would like to thank Bath Cycle and Ski, the Maine Winter Sports Center, the CLC YMCA, Sean Day, Eoin O’Mahoney, the Lincoln Academy students who helped build new bike trails, and everyone else who helped make the day a great success. HVNC’s trails are open to biking year round. Come take a spin.

HVNC is a non-profit education and recreation center in Jefferson, open to the public three hundred and sixty-five days a year, dawn to dusk. More information available online at www.hvnc.org, info@hvnc.org, or call 207-200-8840.