While most Oahu residents head to the beach for a fun afternoon outdoors, mountain biker David Nash rides in the opposite direction.

Three times a week, Nash, 45, hitches his neon orange mountain bike onto the bike rack on the roof of his sedan and escapes to one of Oahu’s 16 mountain biking trails to ride sharp turns, steep uphill climbs and down dirt paths surrounded by dense forests.

“I’ve been mountain biking since I was a kid,” said Nash, who lives in the McCully/Moiliili area. “It’s not really one of those sports you can just hop on and do, but it’s like surfing or anything else really fun like that: You kinda have to take your lumps before you can really enjoy it.”

The sport has been a big part of his life for years. And Nash not only rides on mountain bike trails, he creates them as well.

He’s also involved in the outdoors community, serving as chairman of the Na Ala Hele Oahu trail advisory council for the state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources and as a member of Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s advisory committee on cycling.

Born and raised in Alabama, Nash grew up climbing, kayaking and mountain biking with an adventurous group of friends. He bought his first mountain bike just before starting college at Auburn University in his home state.

“In 1989 everyone was going off to college and buying mountain bikes,” Nash said.

After one year studying at Auburn, he transferred to the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he graduated. After college he remained in Colorado, working for 10 years as a professional mountain bike guide at national parks on the mainland.

“That was a great job,” Nash said. “I took people all over a lot of the national parks and national forests on the western United States, like Moab, Utah, and Breckenridge, Colo.”

He first came to Hawaii in 1999 to guide multisport adventure trips and lived part time between Oahu and Colorado. He made Hawaii his full-time home in 2007 and currently works as a real estate broker for The Oahu Agents. Within his first year on-island, he noticed that Oahu’s mountain biking trails were scarce and hard to find.

“When I got here, there were not very many mountain bike trails that were easy to find and certainly not that many on state land,” Nash said. “A lot of them were on private property or only found through local knowledge. So I got with some other people and said let’s get organized.”

In 2013, along with 10 other avid mountain bikers, Nash formed the Oahu Mountain Bike Ohana, Hawaii’s first nonprofit organization focused on preserving and expanding mountain bike access. Nash currently serves as the organization’s president.

The Oahu Mountain Bike Ohana not only preserves trails, but its members work to build them, too.

In October, after nine months of landscaping, the group opened a new trail which it named the Ohana Trail, near Old Kalanianaole Road in Kailua. Using a mini excavator and with help from professional trail designers and a handful of organization volunteers, the 4.5-mile trail was constructed to follow the hill’s natural contours. Located on public land, the trail is also open to all “human-powered activity” from mountain biking to hiking. Horses and motor-powered vehicles are not allowed.

Riders also maintain the trail, clearing fallen trees or removing leaves and other debris with red rakes positioned along the dirt path, which weaves past stunning vistas of Olomana Ridge, Enchanted Lake, Makapuu and the turquoise waters off Kailua Beach.

It takes Nash about 45 minutes to finish the Ohana Trail once, and along with friends and other organization members, he typically spends about two hours riding the trail back and forth.

“It takes a while to build up the fitness and technical skills for mountain biking, but it’s a real inclusive group,” Nash said. “You can find a friend to ride with, but even if you don’t, you’ll end up meeting people on the trail.”

Nash said those interested in mountain biking can basically start anywhere as long as they have a decent bike, but doesn’t recommend beginners take their first ride at Ohana Trail.

“Like when you’re learning how to surf, you can start at Pipeline, but it’s probably better to start at Waikiki,” he said.

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