A Look Back at Old Cabin Classic's Past
Every year, the SCMTS community could count on Old Cabin to break through the gloomy, rainy months before it and usher in the greatest time of the year—summer in Santa Cruz. Old Cabin Classic symbolized the long days of camping, riding, hiking and beach-going ahead. It also brought folks together to compete on amazing trails, get to know local artisans, and most importantly, support trail maintenance in Santa Cruz state parks.
We canceled Old Cabin Classic 2020 due to COVID-19. This year, we faced both pandemic and wildfire-related challenges that delayed the next Old Cabin Classic even longer. We’re bummed we can’t bring everyone together in Wilder this year, but we’re still celebrating the good times and our favorite parts of past Old Cabin Classics.
If you’ve enjoyed Old Cabin Classic before, there’s still a way for you to keep the spirit of the event alive.
Support the ongoing work to rebuild wildfire-torn trails alongside the California State Parks team!
Each year, proceeds from Old Cabin Classic fueled trail work alongside the California State Parks team in Wilder Ranch State Park. This year, we’re rebuilding and repairing trails in historic state parks like Big Basin, Butano, and Fall Creek. Consider donating your usual race entry fee to our Fire Recovery Fund so we can reopen these parks for some summertime fun! If you'd rather support our usual ongoing trail maintenance efforts, feel free to make a general donation to support our team.
Now, without further ado, please enjoy this blast from the past!
Pro Men charging up Long Meadow at the 2016 Old Cabin Classic.
Old Cabin Classic is a historic event in Wilder Ranch State Park. The event borrows its name from a popular trail on the race route. Building on a series of mountain bike races that were hosted in Wilder in the 1990s, SCMTS brought bike racing back to the venue in 2016 to raise money for trail maintenance in local state parks.
A bird's eye view of the 2016 expo at the base of Wilder Ranch State Park.
Campbell Steers posing with the vintage bike museum she organized at the 2016 Old Cabin Classic.
The first SCMTS-hosted Old Cabin Classic was a huge hit! To keep up with demand, we doubled the number of race entrants in 2017 and brought on the California Enduro Series team to manage race logistics.
Racing through the flowers at the 2017 Old Cabin Classic.
In 2018, the event grew even more. The expo was jam-packed with great food, fun vendors, and fantastic music.
Scott Chapin taking flight at the 2018 Old Cabin Classic. Fun fact: After winning the pro singlespeed race in 2017, Scott chose to donate his $500 prize to SCMTS. His donation prompted the second and third place winners to donate their winnings as well. What a guy!
Scenes from the 2018 Old Cabin Classic expo. Thanks for supplying awesome tunes, Jesse Daniels!
Champagne showers for 2018's winners.
Check out this recap of our 2018 event!
To accommodate the high number of expected attendees, the 2019 event was moved to the horse corral area within Wilder Ranch State Park. Despite having more room, the expo filled up quickly!
Our 2019 event was awesome! Racers enjoyed first tracks on the just-completed West Engelsmans reroute, built by the SCMTS Trail Crew and volunteers. Our race recap video has all the details on this great day.
Pro women take the start line at Old Cabin Classic 2019.
The Kids' Rodeo, coordinated by Trips for Kids, was always one of the most popular parts of each Old Cabin Classic. Thank you to Monterey Off Road Cycling Association (MORCA), for always supplying this amazing skills course for our smaller attendees!
The competition was fierce in the 2019 kids race.
Local bike shop Cycleworks brought out its manual machine in 2019!
One of the best parts of Old Cabin Classic was getting to meet local artisans and grab some sweet new goodies!
Venus Spirits always provided post-race refreshments to racers, volunteers and attendees. Yum!
