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Alex Martens

2,173 REVIEWS – 5 STAR RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alex is very fortunate to reside in Bentonville, AR, one of the fastest-growing mountain bike towns in the US. He loves Mountain Biking but bikepacking and gravel adventures are also in his wheelhouse. His favorite moments instructing are when a technique clicks in someone’s head and suddenly their confidence in riding blossoms!

Home Base

Bentonville, AR

Other Gig

I own and run Ozark Bike Guides in Bentonville, AR.

Instructor Certifications

PMBIA Level 1, WFR

Favorite Type of Terrain or Feature

Rock Gardens!

Favorite Trail Snack   

Fancy mixed nuts, no peanuts!

Favorite Post Ride Food or Drink

Apple or banana on the way to grab a local, craft beer.

Favorite Riding Tip      

Look where you WANT to go, not where you don’t want to be. This simple idea is easily practiced outside of riding as well.

Favorite Riding Partner

My good friend Bailey, he is my ultimate bikepacking, type-2 fun partner in crime!

How did you get into Mountain Biking?

Working at a local REI-type store in high school and they hosted an employee campout where I got to ride a real mountain bike on real singletrack for the first time. Soon as I had the money I bought my first Mountain Bike and haven’t stopped having fun since.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live and why?

The region around Bentonville is pretty great for all kinds of outdoor fun, close to the coast and the Rockies, and most importantly its where my family lives.

Looking to ride with Alex? Join him in one of our Arkansas clinic locations or check him out on IG @alexmoutdoor @ozarkbikeguides

Mission accomplished!

My wife started mountain biking recently and while she enjoyed it, she was lacking some confidence and needed some skills....
Ninja Mountain Bike Skills
5
2014-03-19T14:34:22-07:00
My wife started mountain biking recently and while she enjoyed it, she was lacking some confidence and needed some skills. I knew Richard La China from the cross country racing scene and felt confident that he and the ninja team could help out.  I bought a woman's beginner clinic for my wife and she really enjoyed the challenge and experience.  She is a better mountain biker now with much more confidence and new and improved skills. Mission accomplished! I highly recommend Richard LaChina and the ninja skills clinics for any level. I bought my wife a clinic gift card for Christmas which she will use to take the intermediate clinic. I plan on taking an advanced course to improve my cornering skills. ~ Mark T.  

I look forward to an intermediate level class!

Good clinic. It was helpful to learn, practice with repetition and get critiqued by the coach all at once. I...
Ninja Mountain Bike Skills
5
2014-03-19T14:49:32-07:00
Good clinic. It was helpful to learn, practice with repetition and get critiqued by the coach all at once. I look forward to an intermediate level class! Thanks for doing this coach Richard! ~ Sally A.  

The best money I’ve ever spent on mountain biking!

Just finished a two day skills workshop in Dallas. To say it was the best money I've ever spent on...
Ninja Mountain Bike Skills
5
2017-06-05T14:02:09-07:00
Just finished a two day skills workshop in Dallas. To say it was the best money I've ever spent on mountain biking would be an understatement. Our instructor was Aaron Lucy, a wonderful teacher and just a real pleasure to be around kind of guy. I highly recommend Ninja for anyone from novice to advanced riders as they cover just about anything and everything that will make you a more rounded rider.  Thanks so much Aaron for all the advice and coaching! ~Mark Stewart

I’ve ridden mountain bikes since 1988 …

I'm a 63 y.o. Road and MTB cyclist.  I've ridden mountain bikes since 1988.  I really wish that I'd taken...
Ninja Mountain Bike Skills
5
2017-06-05T14:44:17-07:00
I'm a 63 y.o. Road and MTB cyclist.  I've ridden mountain bikes since 1988.  I really wish that I'd taken this course 25 years ago and I might have avoided some of the injuries I received over the years. I took only the morning first intro session at Phoenix and I learned a great deal in a short period of time.  Richard is a very gifted cyclist and coach with excellent pedagogical skills.  The class moved quickly, but covered all the appropriate details needed to handle a bike on technical trails.  Richard had two local expert cyclists who demonstrated techniques while he provided a narrative and answered question. We had one relatively new rider who was very wary of some of the steeper, technical descents.  By the end of the class, you could actually see a significant increase in her confidence using the skills acquired in the class. I'm looking forward to doing one of Ninja's camps and I hope they are able to expand their clinics to my area (Albuquerque, NM). William J.

Coach Richard is fantastic!

I attended a women's basic mountain bike skills clinic and saw an immediate improvement in my riding. Coach Richard is...
Ninja Mountain Bike Skills
5
2014-03-19T14:35:11-07:00
I attended a women's basic mountain bike skills clinic and saw an immediate improvement in my riding. Coach Richard is fantastic! ~ Patricia H.    

They made things fun and easy going.

Had a great class Oct 11. Kris and Richard were very helpful and knowledgeable. They made things fun and easy...
Ninja Mountain Bike Skills
5
2015-09-28T07:50:53-07:00
Had a great class Oct 11. Kris and Richard were very helpful and knowledgeable. They made things fun and easy going, even while rolling you off the the lunch table bench. Came away with a bit more confidence which I have already put into practice. I really appreciated the review of what was covered in the class in the follow up email. Looking forward to taking the Jan intermediate class at Balboa, hopefully it will be up for registering soon. In the mean time I have a lot to work on. ~Linda Peterson

Don’t hesitate, sign up for the next skills clinic in your area!

My adult son and I participated in the "Fundamentals" camp on Saturday at Hildebrand Ranch in Denver, Colorado. We were...
Ninja Mountain Bike Skills
5
2017-06-05T14:10:17-07:00
My adult son and I participated in the "Fundamentals" camp on Saturday at Hildebrand Ranch in Denver, Colorado. We were both very pleased with the clinic and would highly recommend it to anyone who has recently started riding full suspension mountain bikes. We have already been back out on the single-track trails practicing what we learned in the clinic. Aaron and Richard did a great job breaking down all the fundamentals and honestly amazed at the impact on my riding. Still have a lot to work on but if I follow the instructions I can improve my riding. We are both scheduled to attend a two day clinic in Santa Fe with Richard and looking forward to taking our riding to the next level. If you want to improve your skills, don't hesitate to sign up for the next skills clinic in your area. ~Dan Mitchell
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Ninja Mountain Bike Skills