The Clark Sports Center's Adventure Program, in conjunction with other community organizations, will hold a kickoff event on June 23 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for its recently formed mountain biking club, which is open to children and adults in the area ages eight and older.

Through a grant from the Otsego County Bicycle Program, the Sports Center will buy 14 mountain bikes for the club after being approached by Cornell Cooperative Extension's Rich McCaffrey and Otsego County Safe Kids Coordinator Barbara McLaud to initiate the club.

"This is not only something kids will enjoy, but can also be a life-long hobby," McLaud said.

The gym will use resources from Cornell Extension, such as bike safety videos, for the club and also help the county's bike program meet their goal of offering opportunities for youth to achieve higher levels of physical activity.

According to McLaud, the percentage of young people who are overweight has climbed steadily over the past 30 years.

The Sports Center is also working closely with Velosophy bike shop owner Dave Ryther, who said an organized bike club is exactly what the area needs.

"There are so many cycling resources in the area," Ryther said. "Organization is the key to having the sport grow. A bicycle gives a sense of freedom, and I like the idea of mountain biking in a club."

According to Adventure Program instructor Sonya Wentworth, there are five main goals to the program. They include creating safe mountain bikers; teaching environmentally safe cycling; providing a social setting for different age groups of riders; an introduction to the sport of mountain biking and the promotion of physical and mental fitness.

"We will offer a variety of rides from novice to advanced," Wentworth said. "We'll probably have a couple of events this summer and try to move to twice a month in the fall."

The annual fee for the club is $20 for members, $30 for non-members and $35 for a family membership. The money will be used for future biking trips.

Wentworth said there will be a sign-up sheet at the Sports Center, and anyone with questions can call her at 547-2800.

Wentworth added that while the grant is aimed at promoting bike safety and physical fitness among children, the club is also open to adults in the community and surrounding area.