Online registration for the 2026 series is now open! Registration tends to fill up a week or more ahead of the start, so register right away if you know your child wants to participate.

Each spring, the Northampton Parks & Recreation Department runs the spring Junior Cyclocross and Mountain Biking series for kids in grades 2 through 8 with help from NCC coaches and other volunteers. All riding levels and abilities are welcomed. Please have your child bring a working bike, helmet, and water bottle, and we’ll do the rest.

Each week, kids will be able to ride on a full cyclocross course and mountain biking trails built in Look Park specifically for this program!

Spring 2026 Dates:

• April 27, May 4, May 11, May 18, and June 1
• no session on May 25 in observance of Memorial Day
• rain make-up date, if needed, could be June 8

Time: Mondays from 5:30 to 6:45 PM; plan to arrive early (about 5:15 PM)
Location: Dow Pavilion at Look Park (note: there is a parking fee if you enter the park by car)
Registration: Register online (2026 registration link to come) through the Northampton Parks & Recreation Department. They also maintain an official program details page that eventually links you through to the online registration form. A mail-in registration form is also available.

The series will focus on the following skills:

• Riding safely in a group and around the park
• Managing risk with a focus on individual growth
• Essential skills, including body position, pedal position, and braking to control speed
• Trail vision and timing
• Shifting gears to accelerate or climb
• Stopping and dismounting
  
• Restarting from a stop and remounting on the move
• Seated and standing climbing
• Cornering and steering
• Riding over obstacles
• Riding through sand
• Running the barriers and shouldering/carrying your bike
  
• Front wheel lifts, level lifts, and bunny hopping
• Balance beams and skills course
• Sprinting, passing, racing, and much more

Group Assignments: Participants will be assigned to groups by age. We usually have 70 to 80 participants, so creating the groups ahead of time and assigning group leaders helps us get kids riding as soon as possible on the first day. If your child wants to change groups for any reason, that’s usually no problem. They can just ask their group leader or a volunteer at the check-in table for help changing groups.

We try to limit group size to about 10 kids. We generally group 2nd and 3rd graders, 4th and 5th, and 6th through 8th. When you see us at the sign-in table on the first day, we will tell you which group your child or children have been assigned to. If for any reason you’re concerned about the groups (or anything else), please don’t hesitate to contact me (Tom) ahead of time or see me in person. Our number one priority is to make sure every child has a positive experience and feels comfortable riding with their group.

Volunteers Needed: Want to ride with the kids? Want to help me setup and takedown the course? We need about 25 volunteers to help out each evening. You do not need to commit to all of the sessions, though it is helpful to know ahead of time which sessions you can commit to so I can plan each session. We start setting up at 4 PM if you want to help with setup. We break into groups and ride starting at 5:30 PM. Note: All volunteers have to submit to a background check at no cost by parks and recreation. All coaches and volunteers will be officially volunteering for parks and recreation, not the NCC.

Questions: Please contact Tom Hoogendyk with any questions about participating or to volunteer.