Any Group Trips for Beginners? [Archive] - Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists Discussion Forums

syntaxjunkie

06-27-2005, 11:51 AM

Hey Gina,

Glad to hear you're drinkin' the Kool-Aid. Welcome.

I know that a lot of the shops around town do group rides at various levels on different Trails. Erik's, Penn and Kenwood leap immediately to mind, although I'm sure there are others. What trail are you closest to/most interested in riding?

And as long as you're here, the MORC forums tend to be a popular place to set up group rides. If memory serves, we may have an entire thread dedicated to that purpose. Posting a group ride invitation under a specific trail is another option.

Hope it helps. Happy riding.

gina

06-27-2005, 12:01 PM

Hey, Saturday I went to River Bottom (and unfortunately now have some sort of rash after wiping out a couple of times:)), but I live on the border of St. Louis Park and Minneapolis...I heard there is a new trail in Wirth Park that is suppose to be good.

Since I am a new biker, I frequent Erik's on a regular basis so I will check with them on any group rides for beginners...and I will also check out the other threads on the forum.

Thanks so much for the info!!

syntaxjunkie

06-27-2005, 12:09 PM

I heard there is a new trail in Wirth Park that is suppose to be good.

You heard right. Challenging but doable, and exceedingly fun to ride.

A lot of the folks who helped build that trail are frequent forum posters, and they'll have the skinny on group rides, I imagine. Mara/James/Chris/Tom/Shawn/Peter/etc.?

I'm pretty sure that Kenwood Cycle does a Monday night group ride there as well, but I'm not sure about the level.

manual63

06-27-2005, 12:09 PM

Hi Gina. Welcome to the MORC forums.

I usually attend the Theo Wirth rides from Kenwood on Mondays at 6:00 PM. There is one tonight if the rain doesn't soggy up the trail. There are two groups that leave Kenwood, a slow group and a fast group. The slow group has a lot of beginners and would be perfect for you to try. Check it out if you can!

gina

06-27-2005, 12:28 PM

Hey, I think I will try and make a Monday night one of these weeks if I can get out of work on time...where exactly is the meet-up area at 6pm?

Thanks!
Gina

Trevize1138

06-27-2005, 12:28 PM

Hey, Saturday I went to River Bottom (and unfortunately now have some sort of rash after wiping out a couple of times:)), but I live on the border of St. Louis Park and Minneapolis...I heard there is a new trail in Wirth Park that is suppose to be good.

Get thyself to the NW corner of Theo Wirth Parkway and Highway 55 and review the big map of the trail on the south side of the kiosk there. :) You'll love Theo (The Sweeney Lake section of the Minneapolis Urban Singletrack Demonstration Project). It's great for beginners because it doesn't have too many obstacles or hills. It's also great for intermediate riders because it's got some obstacles to practice on. It's great for expert riders because it's so twisty-turny that you can really find out when your tires slide out on corners. :)

Trevize1138

06-27-2005, 12:30 PM

Hey, I think I will try and make a Monday night one of these weeks if I can get out of work on time...where exactly is the meet-up area at 6pm?

Thanks!
Gina

2123 W. 21st St. in Minneapolis. You'll have to MapQuest it yourself as I can't figure out how to paste a stupid map in here :(

Kenwood Cyclery is the shop everyone meets outside of.

Mara: looks like the number of XX chromosome riders keeps on growing! :banana:

gina

06-27-2005, 12:34 PM

for all of the advice and information...I really appreciate it!

manual63

06-27-2005, 12:35 PM

http://image.maps.yahoo.com/mapimage?MAPDATA=IzV3..d6wXXshFQ6iUX0.8TRRveCqH9Ka LaqaSRHUUiu8IPLNjdnpEx4MfZ8.gZ5swe9qnro6TYnngPKhq7 e7maqVHX0zlaJzEvrLZgooZ7hJEREP3i3k8AI88cSWyucTQ_.S vKAHyqowG5Npf0RmV02rhVtYpWj

The message I entered is too short. This should do the trick.

Craig

06-27-2005, 12:36 PM

Buck

06-27-2005, 12:41 PM

hmmm, I may show up for this group ride, of course I actually ride a mtn bike, so I may be to slow for you off roadies.

L8R
Buck

PS: HEY GINA WELCOME TO The BOARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:banana: :cool:

mara

06-27-2005, 12:43 PM

Mara: looks like the number of XX chromosome riders keeps on growing! :banana:

Yippee! I second that banana! :banana: Gina, welcome. I'm glad you're here.

gina

06-27-2005, 12:47 PM

Hi, no I don't play soccer...although that sounds like fun too!:)

gina

06-27-2005, 12:55 PM

Yippee! I second that banana! :banana: Gina, welcome. I'm glad you're here.

Thanks! My first experience on Saturday gave me a rash! Maybe poison oak??? But, I think I'll try again:)

Trevize1138

06-27-2005, 01:11 PM

Thanks! My first experience on Saturday gave me a rash! Maybe poison oak??? But, I think I'll try again:)

That's Minnesota River Bottoms Miscellaneous Poisoned Something you got. We've all felt it. I think it's poison oak or ivy or summin ...

Trevize1138

06-27-2005, 01:16 PM

Proposal of mine for a "sticky" thread:

http://www.morcmtb.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13914

stoneage

06-27-2005, 02:05 PM

That's Minnesota River Bottoms Miscellaneous Poisoned Something you got. We've all felt it. I think it's poison oak or ivy or summin ...
Stinging Nettle or itch weed. Same thing. If you do touch it, TRY not to scratch. It will itch for a few minutes. If you scratch it, it will burn for an hour. It is the dominant weed down there.

KleinCrazy

06-27-2005, 02:08 PM

Stinging Nettle or itch weed. Same thing. If you do touch it, TRY not to scratch. It will itch for a few minutes. If you scratch it, it will burn for an hour. It is the dominant weed down there.

I have found that when I get a good dose of stinging nettle on the river bottoms if you wash it immediatly with water, it will greatly reduce the problems.

The last thing you want to do is actually touch it, all that does is push the barley attached nettles deeper in and spreads the itch producing chemical even more.

Oh the joys of riding the river in the summer.

syntaxjunkie

06-27-2005, 02:11 PM

manual63

06-27-2005, 02:24 PM

Oh boy, I got Poinson Ivy (or something) when we were in the U.P. a weekend ago. You should see my leg now. Looks like I am slowly dying of some crazy skin disease.....:)

Yuck...yuck...yuck.....:sick:

seberly

06-27-2005, 03:12 PM

I do not think there is any poison oak/ivy along the river trail.

There ARE lots of weeds - and with rain and sun they grow - the nettles are a reality - so we are going to start trimming them tonight - you are all welcome to come help!

6PM at Bloomington Ferry Bridge parking lot - see details on separate thread.

syntaxjunkie

06-27-2005, 03:16 PM

Gina, in the unlikely event that you're still paying attention, we tend to go off on tangents like this quite regularly. Idle hands and whatnot.

gina

06-27-2005, 03:36 PM

Gina, in the unlikely event that you're still paying attention, we tend to go off on tangents like this quite regularly. Idle hands and whatnot.

Hi, actually these "posts" are all informative and entertaining (a good break from work)...although if there is not poison oak or ivy in the river bottom I wonder what it is...maybe I was just bit by a million insects or maybe I fell into a pile of insects???? On my first ride I managed to wipe out a few times attempting some of the log "jumps."

manual63

06-27-2005, 03:41 PM

Hi, actually these "posts" are all informative and entertaining (a good break from work)...although if there is not poison oak or ivy in the river bottom I wonder what it is...maybe I was just bit by a million insects or maybe I fell into a pile of insects???? On my first ride I managed to wipe out a few times attempting some of the log "jumps."

Okay, this one is for Mara and hopefully Gina and others. I will plan a womens only Skills Session. It will be posted in the group rides section when I can figure out a good date for it. Women will feel a lot more comfortable without a bunch of men around watching them try to bunnyhop or learn other tech skills.

DMonkey

06-27-2005, 03:48 PM

Gina,
Glad to hear you like the riding.

Actually, a few friends of mine have been asking about this as well - so we (a few from the group I ride with) were talking about setting up a newbie ride (first timers, and just beginners)..
A lot of us in the group have friends that would like to try or would like to have others with at their level.

I'll post that in the group forums if we get that together.

I also do random rides with some beginners of just 2 to 4 of us at Theo (I live closer to there) - If you like, I'll post here if we do one next week.
For these rides, I'm not sure I would want a large group if it's going to just be me and a bunch of beginners (can't help everyone all the time).

You'll like Theo - MN-RB is a bit easier and it's longer, but it's not so close to downtown..

gina

06-27-2005, 04:07 PM

Okay, this one is for Mara and hopefully Gina and others. I will plan a womens only Skills Session. It will be posted in the group rides section when I can figure out a good date for it. Women will feel a lot more comfortable without a bunch of men around watching them try to bunnyhop or learn other tech skills.

That would be awesome! I would love to get some tips from a pro!

gina

06-27-2005, 04:09 PM

I also do random rides with some beginners of just 2 to 4 of us at Theo (I live closer to there) - If you like, I'll post here if we do one next week.
For these rides, I'm not sure I would want a large group if it's going to just be me and a bunch of beginners (can't help everyone all the time).

You'll like Theo - MN-RB is a bit easier and it's longer, but it's not so close to downtown..[/QUOTE]

That sounds great! Thanks.

Danimal

06-27-2005, 04:49 PM

Hey, I'd like to join in as well since I can't seem to find the dirt trails out at Theo. Only a small section of one consisting of a decent jump and a ton of hound dogs.

DMonkey

06-27-2005, 05:15 PM

Danimal - welcome to join..

But if you just go N on the bridge over the railroad tracks you'll see the sign for the entrance, then another about 1/4th of the way down the gravel road to the entrance to the single track.

Hey, I'd like to join in as well since I can't seem to find the dirt trails out at Theo. Only a small section of one consisting of a decent jump and a ton of hound dogs.

LightWeight

06-27-2005, 05:16 PM

Hey, I'd like to join in as well since I can't seem to find the dirt trails out at Theo. Only a small section of one consisting of a decent jump and a ton of hound dogs.

Head north on the paved path less than 1/4 mile and make a left into the rest of the system.

*EDIT*
DMonkey hit submit faster than me... ;)

DMonkey

06-27-2005, 05:17 PM

Gina,
Does next Tuesday work? I have two friends that have been off road only a couple of times joining. Jodi & Tanya -

Wed. - I might have 2 complete newbies (I know trail work night, but it's the only night that works for them).. Mari & maybe Katharine..

Welcome to join us - just let me know,

I also do random rides with some beginners of just 2 to 4 of us at Theo (I live closer to there) - If you like, I'll post here if we do one next week.
For these rides, I'm not sure I would want a large group if it's going to just be me and a bunch of beginners (can't help everyone all the time).

You'll like Theo - MN-RB is a bit easier and it's longer, but it's not so close to downtown..

That sounds great! Thanks.[/QUOTE]

gina

06-27-2005, 06:24 PM

[QUOTE=DMonkey]Gina,
Does next Tuesday work? I have two friends that have been off road only a couple of times joining. Jodi & Tanya -

Wed. - I might have 2 complete newbies (I know trail work night, but it's the only night that works for them).. Mari & maybe Katharine..

Welcome to join us - just let me know,

Wednesday would probably work better for me (I have softball Tuesday nights), but I could always do a week after the 4th too if others are interested...someone is also trying to set up a women's "training" session too next week...maybe it would be good if I went to that first???

I'll just stay in the loop...I know everyone's schedules get crazy...

These rides would be at the new Wirth trail correct? Thanks!!

DMonkey

06-27-2005, 06:38 PM

Gina,
Yup - these would be at Theo after work (6:20- 6:30).
I've got confirmation from all 4 that they will be riding Tues or Wed - so we will be going (unless the weather does not play nice).. Should be 2 each night.. Well now there are going to be two more for Wed. night.

A week later might be doing it again with the new riders - depends, it's sometimes hard for them to commit, and I also like to get out to other trails.. I'll try to keep you in the loop.

Not sure where Shad (manual63) will hold his rides - I would think: Theo, MN RB, or Harmon Park.. Shad?? Where were you thinking?

PM on Tuesday or Wed. morning & I can give you more details on the rides if you like.

Welcome

Gina,
Does next Tuesday work? I have two friends that have been off road only a couple of times joining. Jodi & Tanya -

Wed. - I might have 2 complete newbies (I know trail work night, but it's the only night that works for them).. Mari & maybe Katharine..

Welcome to join us - just let me know,

Wednesday would probably work better for me (I have softball Tuesday nights), but I could always do a week after the 4th too if others are interested...someone is also trying to set up a women's "training" session too next week...maybe it would be good if I went to that first???

I'll just stay in the loop...I know everyone's schedules get crazy...

These rides would be at the new Wirth trail correct? Thanks!!