Napa County opens 1st bicycle skills course as area’s reputation for off-road cycling grows

Wearing a full-face helmet, 3-year-old Greyson Perkins plunged fearlessly into Napa’s new bicycle skills course at Skyline Wilderness Park, gathering speed on his blue and yellow BMX bike as his dad watched him zoom away.

Perkins bounced over rollers and zipped into a banked right-hand turn. Running out of pedal power, the boy relied on his dad to carry him and his bike back up the hill, where after a quick sip of water he launched on the course again.

“He's having so much fun,” said Nick Perkins, a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. employee who lives in Napa and works out of Petaluma. “And, I’m getting good exercise.”

The bicycle skills course, also known as a pump track, is a first for Napa County, and one of only a few in the Bay Area.

The track, which officially opens to the public Saturday, is more evidence of Napa County’s growing reputation as a destination for off-road cycling.

New trails have come online at Moore Creek Park near Lake Hennessey in eastern Napa Valley, and more are set to debut in 2024 at Suscol Headwaters Park above Skyline. Oat Hill Mine Trail between Calistoga and Pope Valley is another popular destination.

With 25 miles of multiuse fire road and single-track trails, Skyline is the jewel in Napa County’s mountain bike network.

The county also features competitive youth mountain bike teams.

“We’re getting there, but we still have a long way to go,” Napa County Supervisor Ryan Gregory, a seasoned mountain biker who spearheaded building the new pump track, said of the amenities for bike enthusiasts.

Gregory pointed out the features of the new track on a quiet Friday morning at Skyline.

The course, which covers roughly 12,000 square feet, is angled on a modest slope near the park’s main Imola Avenue entrance.

Pump tracks aren’t for catching air or doing tricks. Rather, they are a series of rollers and berms that riders wheel around, ideally by never having to actually pedal or touch the ground.

Riders “pump” their way around the track using their momentum, center of gravity and by picking a good line across the course.

It’s more challenging than most people think.

“It does take a little bit of positioning just to make sure you’re actually lining yourself up for each of the humps and getting the full, like, momentum to drop into it,” Cameron McGovern, a 34-year-old environmental compliance worker from Sonoma, said after tackling the course for the first time last Saturday.

His twin brother, Brendan, said he had a challenging time navigating the banked turns on his full-suspension mountain bike.

“You can only really get that experience through practice,” said Brendan, a groundwater planner for Napa County. “If you can accelerate the number of practice runs you can do at a pump track, that’s just going to save you time up there so you can enjoy it more.”

By “there,” he was referring to the Skyline’s mountainous terrain.

A pump track is like the bunny hill at a ski resort, where novices learn the basics of balance and control. After mastering those skills, riders can head up the mountain to tackle the more advanced network of trails, switchbacks, swoops and descents.

Kristin Freitas, who runs her family’s household in Napa, said the pump track is challenging without being overwhelming for her two children — Colton, 8 and Lauren, 5.

“They get a lot of exercise, but they have a good time,” she said. “They have fun chatting with whoever shows up.”

Napa has a BMX track operated by a nonprofit at Kennedy Park, near Napa Valley College, but it’s geared more toward league events and competition.

The pump track at Skyline is free to use, other than park entrance fees, and requires no advance reservations. Almost every kind of bike is allowed.

The only rules are to wear a helmet and to be courteous to other riders.

The park is holding a grand opening celebration for the pump track from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

In addition to serving the 2nd district as county supervisor, Gregory is president of the Redwood Trails Alliance, a nonprofit consortium of hiking and mountain biking enthusiasts in Napa and Sonoma counties. He’s also helped coach Napa’s Composite High School Mountain Bike Team.

Gregory described launching the pump track initiative five years ago with a GoFundMe campaign, and the long road it’s taken to finally see the project complete.

Part of the challenge was navigating the bureaucracy.

The track is a county Regional Park and Open Space District project built by the non-profit Redwood Trails Alliance on property owned by the state and run by the Skyline Park Citizens Association.

“One of the best things about living in a small community is that you can get things done and everyone brings something to the table,” said Ryan Ayers, a spokesperson for the Open Space District.

Gregory said the project cost $50,000, and major donors included Clif Family Foundation, Community Projects, Inc. and Athletic Brewing Co. American Ramp Co., based in Joplin, Missouri, did the surface treatment for the track, which is constructed of stabilized rock.

Skyline Park staff are planning to build a track adjacent to the larger course for use by smaller riders.

“It’ll be a smaller oval, probably three or four rollers on each side, with not a huge banked turn,” Gregory said.

He said Skyline Park is the perfect place for riders of all ages and abilities to hone their skills.

“This is sort of the mountain biking center for the city of Napa,” he said. “It’s where all the kids are coming.”