Adolescence can be brutal. Jose Caballero, a veteran teacher at Santa Barbara High School, knows that well. But when he watches kids cheering for one another as they book it down mountain trails, those awkward years seem a little easier to bear.
Caballero is the manager of the Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Club (SBMTB), a youth cycling program run by the nonprofit parent-organization Echelon Santa Barbara.
Founded three years ago, the club was created for kids ages 7-18 to get outside and learn a skill that they can nurture as they get older…