*My favorite trail for beginners is
Harris Lake Park. It is a very
good choice because there are beginner, intermediate and
advanced trails that are all clearly marked. Even the
advanced trails can be ridden by a novice, and all
obstacles are optional, which means that riders of
varying skills can ride together and everyone has a good
time.
Essentials for the trail:
Helmet: Do not ride without one. It is against the rules
in all local parks, and just plain stupid anywhere else.
Please be a responsible rider, people who ride without
helmets jeopardize trail availability for all. If you see
somebody without a helmet, be a friend and remind him or
her to get one. Hydration: Be sure to have water
bottles or hydration packs. It is very disheartening to
be caught out in the woods thirsty and without beverage.
Basic Tool Kit: At minimum you should have Allen wrenches
and screwdrivers needed to adjust your bike. A chain
breaker tool is handy as well. Spare Tube and/or
Patch Kit: Don't forget the Tire Levers. Mini-Pump:
(If you don't bring the pump, then leave the spare tire
and patch kit at home too, but bring your walking shoes.)
If you ride alone it is a good idea to bring a cell
phone, or at least let somebody know where you are and
when you'll be back.
Optional for the trail:
Gloves Sunglasses Snacks (if on a longer ride)
General Tips that
have helped me out:
Ride with others. Of course it is always helpful to ride
with people who are more experienced so you can learn
from them, but it is also tremendously helpful to ride
with people who are less experienced as well. You will
learn a lot from teaching others, and you will gain
confidence as you share the skills you have learned.
Use this web-site (or others) to take advantage of
pick-up rides, and to meet new people. I have met some of
my best riding buddies right here on this page, and have
gained from them in many ways. (I used to be very timid
about riding with others, but I have found that most
people on this site are more concerned with having fun
than they are with winning races on a pick-up ride. Let
folks know what kind of ride you want, short/long,
fast/slow, intense/mellow, and you will meet up with the
right people.
Be sure to try new places as you get more
comfortable with your "home trail". Variety is
a good way to build skills, confidence and endurance.
And of course, if you don't find it here,
do a search. There is SO MUCH info on the web. Good
Dirt!
Night
Riding
by Tim Broyer
If you have never experienced singletrack
au noir, you are most certainly missing out. It can take
that favorite trail that you know inside and out and make
it a brand new experience. Daylight savings time killing
your ride time? If you consider yourself confident with
your bike handling skills, give night riding a shot. We
reccomend the following:
1. A
decent light set. You need at least one 10 watt light
system that will run for 2 hours. This gives you a good
ride over an hour with some fudge factor time. When it
comes to lights, you get what you pay for. Shop around
and get one good light versus a couple cheap ones. There
is serious debate about bar versus helmet lights. There
is no set rule, do what you want. I suggest buying a
light set that comes with both mounts because eventually,
you will want to run one of each. 2.
Two lights are better. A bar mounted light is my
first reccomendation. Use it in conjuction with a head
lamp style and you are ready to seriously roll. The bar
mount light will keep you focused and let you know which
way your tire is rolling. The head lamp allows you to
scan ahead for changes in the trail and duck under
branches. 3. Bring a spare. I pack a
small mag light in my pack in case my lights quit. I can
at least get out of the woods. I have seen some folks
tape the light to their handle bar in an emergency. It is
also handy for trail side repairs instead of wasting your
bike light battery. 4. Bring a friend. Don't
ride alone at night, especially your first time out.
Night riding is a great way for a group ride and it is
cool seeing other lights zip through the woods. Check
with TriangleMTB.com for posted night rides. It is quite
popular in the winter time. Many times after a night
ride, we get together for pizza and beer. 5. Ride
a trail you know. Certainly not a golden rule, but it
will be a less intimidating experience if you have an
idea about what is behind the next corner. 6.
Relax and just ride. It is a great time and brings a
whole new experience to riding. Use your instincts, relax
and follow the trail. It's a blast.
Riding
in Lightning We
don't want to see anyone get killed or stunned in
thunderstorms. Seeing as our region is filled with
"Isolated" and "Scattered T-Storms"
during the summer months, I want to correct a common
misconception. I still hear a lot of people saying that
rubber tires protect a passenger from lightning.
Untrue! The reason that an automobile is safe in a
lightning storm is that it has a conductive metal shell.
According to this page (which has some really cool
pictures)
http://www.mos.org/sln/toe/cage.html
many people
attribute the protection to the car being a Faraday
Cage. The page says that the lightning protection is
instead due to the skin effect:
http://www.mos.org/sln/toe/skineffect.html
Anyway, it has nothing to do with the rubber tires.
And cars do get struck, check out the
pictures at the bottom of thispage:http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls/vehicle_strike.html
To sum up, unless you have a conductive shield around
you, stay out of the lightning. Convertible is no good.
You should stay out of golf carts anyway, but
particularly in a thunderstorm.
And stay off the bike.
- submitted by Will, 7/2003
From
one Rider to another. A little advice for beginner riders
from a veteran rider. by Tim Broyer, 5/2004
First and foremost, welcome to the sport of mountain
biking. If you are reading this, it means you found this
great site and have started to dig in. You've most likely
just gotten a new bike or recently re-entered the sport.
Mountain biking can be loads of fun and it can also come
off as hard, frustrating and disappointing. Here are
several tips and pointers for the beginner rider from one
rider to another. These points aren't the technical or
advice type, but more the general type for moving around
the mountain bike world and making the right first steps
into mountain biking while out on the trail.
Have fun. Sounds simple doesn't
it? Sometimes it can be a little tough to remember
that you are having fun, riding your bike in the
woods. Falling down, mechanicals and scraped knees are
par for the course. It's an old cliché, but
it's true. A lousy day of mountain biking beats a good
day at work anytime.
Don't stop in the middle of the trail.
The biggest reason to not stop in the middle of the
trail is to avoid collisions with other riders. If you
have to stop for over a few seconds, just pull off to
the side allowing other riders a clear path.
Slide, don't glide. One of the
golden rules for keeping trails in good shape. Trails
just don't appear. They are built and maintained by
volunteers and park staff who take great pride in
them. Skidding your back tire was cool when you were
7, but it's not cool on that sweet descent at New
Light. Having a skid contest in the gravel parking lot
is a whole different story!
Stay on the trail. Sounds pretty
simple, but it's important. There will be times when
you lose control of your bike and pile off into the
bushes. That is fun and sometimes those bushes are
saving you from a trip to the ER. Staying on the trail
in this context means not creating shortcuts or
straightening the trail. The trail has twists, turns
and logs for a reason. Please don't alter a trail
unless it's for safety reasons or something huge is
completely blocking the trail. All the trails in our
area are cared for by someone or a group. If you see
something that you think needs attention, post it on
the message boards and the builders will read it. Most
trails have bail-out options on the harder log stacks
and obstacles. Leave the challenges for the
experienced riders to enjoy and there is no shame in
walking over or around them.
Ride dry trails. Nothing
damages a trail more than riding in sloppy mud and wet
conditions. With experience, you will learn which
trails hold up better and dry the quickest but it's a
safe rule to wait 24 hours after a good rain fall for
the trail to dry out a bit. In the winter, some of our
trails are not able to ride for weeks at a time. If
you find yourself on a wet trail, walk around or avoid
the wet areas and try not to make the puddles any
bigger.
Trailside maintenance ad hoc. If
you come across some dead limbs or debris on the trail
that impedes your path, take 30 seconds out of your
ride and clear it out if possible. If you can't move
it, don't sweat it. Maybe post something on the boards
that you noticed a tree down on the trail. Some
puddles of water can be drained out by scraping a
little drainage ditch out the lowest side. This can be
done with a limb or the heel of your shoe.
Yield to other trail users.
Always yield to hikers. It's the neighborly thing to
do. When approaching horses, always yield and try to
make eye contact with the rider. It's not a bad idea
to say something, since the horse is familiar with
human voices.
Be an ambassador of the sport.
This can be as simple as saying hello to passing
riders or driving to the trail head responsibly.
Unfortunately, mountain bikers aren't seen as welcome
guests by some folks and a large part of that is due
to our own actions. Speeding to the trail head with a
bike on your rack is like waving a red flag at a bull
ring. Slow down and respect the small side streets and
neighborhoods your favorite trails reside in.
Ultimately, mountain bike riding is about
having fun. You don't have to get caught up in any
'proper' way to ride your bike or a certain style. If
you're riding your bike and having fun than you've got it
figured out.
The ride that can be
finished is not the perfect ride. The frame that can
be broken is not the perfect frame. The ride is the
beginning of sky and dirt. -
Corvus Corvax
1. A
decent light set. You need at least one 10 watt light
system that will run for 2 hours. This gives you a good
ride over an hour with some fudge factor time. When it
comes to lights, you get what you pay for. Shop around
and get one good light versus a couple cheap ones. There
is serious debate about bar versus helmet lights. There
is no set rule, do what you want. I suggest buying a
light set that comes with both mounts because eventually,
you will want to run one of each.
Two lights are better. A bar mounted light is my
first reccomendation. Use it in conjuction with a head
lamp style and you are ready to seriously roll. The bar
mount light will keep you focused and let you know which
way your tire is rolling. The head lamp allows you to
scan ahead for changes in the trail and duck under
branches.