“I consider myself a diehard cycling activist,” said Hecker, who lives in Santa Ynez. “I think it’s my mission in life to get as many people riding bicycles as I can.”
To that end, Hecker has brought several bicycle races to the Valley, worked to promote and run those events, and has also been an advocate of building bicycle trails.
His latest effort has riders from all over the county converging on the Valley.
Hecker, who runs The Dirt Club, has organized a series of Thursday evening twilight races on the club’s trails in Los Olivos. The races, which are scheduled for every other week, began in late June and will continue until the championship on Sept. 6. At the next race, scheduled for July 26, a leaderboard will be posted and Hecker is hoping the participation will continue to rise from the 29 riders who competed in the July 12 event.
“We’re in the middle of the Santa Ynez Valley and there’s not a lot of mountain bikers here, so they have to come from Santa Barbara or Santa Maria or even a little further,” Hecker said at the July 12 race, the second in the six-race series. “It’s slowly catching on, though. We’re enjoying a 50% growth rate this week. If that trend continues, we’ll have a good turnout by the end of the season.”
The races are held at Charlotte’s Meadow – named after Hecker’s 7-year-old daughter – on nearly 12 miles of bike-dedicated trails that members of The Dirt Club converted from old cattle trails. Part of the requirement for membership in the club is to volunteer hours to groom and maintain the trails. The challenging course includes several hills, a slalom area and offers a scenic ranch view.
In addition to the actual races, the twilight series also offers entertainment for non-competing friends and family members of the riders. Bob Doca – who goes by Blues Bob, “a one-man blues band” – performed under a tent near the start/finish line on July 12. Those who weren’t racing enjoyed drinks before a post-race meal with the riders.
“We’re trying to make it a whole family event where people can just hang out and eat and enjoy the music,” said Lori Plater, a member who also does PR for The Dirt Club. “It’s a great place for the whole family to go in the Valley.”
Plater knows this first-hand. Her husband, George, races bikes and her teenage son and daughter each ride the trails recreationally. Lori, who said she’s been a runner for most of her life, has started to get back into mountain biking after a recent knee surgery limited her ability to go on runs. During the twilight series events, though, she prefers to sit back and relax while the competitors race.
Hecker, who owns Coastal Tree Care, a local residential service, said that biking and working with The Dirt Club is almost like a second job for him. Although he estimates that he spends about 20 hours per week on the trails, his family usually isn’t too far away.
Hecker’s wife Trish was at the July 12 race, along with daughter Charlotte and 4-year-old son Evan. While Mike competed in the race, Evan rode his own dirt bike on the Evan Pumptrack – named, you guessed it, after him – and he and his sister made use of the nearby playground equipment.
“They’ve pretty much grown up here on this piece of property,” Mike said of his kids.
They aren’t yet old enough to go on rides with their father, but he said they have shown interest. He won’t be pushing them to follow in his footsteps, however.
“It’s totally 100% up to them,” he said. “It’s still a ways away.”
One thing is certain for the elder Hecker, though. He said he’ll continue to advocate for bicycle riders here in the Valley and work to bring in as many events as he can.
“Whatever it takes,” he said.