1st time Theo-er

[nocturnalmotors]

The girlie girl and I are thinking of trying Theo tonight if not wet. I have not ridden the area before. What I am concerned of is that she has a rigid xc type of bike and has never been off road riding. I know a trail like Murphy would be too much. In your opinions would Theo be a good beginner trail? Can the features be rode around? Thanks!

[BikerKitty]

The girlie girl and I are thinking of trying Theo tonight if not wet. I have not ridden the area before. What I am concerned of is that she has a rigid xc type of bike and has never been off road riding. I know a trail like Murphy would be too much. In your opinions would Theo be a good beginner trail? Can the features be rode around? Thanks!

I'm guessing it'll be too wet to ride 'cause it rained all night in my area (I'm pretty close to Theo), so I'm sure you'll check trail conditions first on here. :)

If it's rideable, YES, it's the perfect beginner trail. There aren't many ride-arounds, but you can just get off and walk your bike over a lot of the stuff. The trickiest thing to get through is probably the big dip towards the end, 'cause getting up the other side without the momentum of speed and wheels is a bit gnarly. Just tell her to go for that "obstacle" and have no fear, 'cause it's really not that tough and even after 3 summers of riding I still consider myself kind of a beginner.

Have fun! You guys should come to the Monday ride this week at 3:30 if you're around. :)

[Guest1]

Theo is great, technical areas are short one little rock pile up hill and a few little step over log piles.

I ride it rigid on a cross bike a lot, and see nearly everything out there.

Last week had to be a dozen BMX bikes, odd.

[fallingup]

Theo IS a great place to start! The trail is smooth & flowy with not too many technical areas. There are a few tight turns, but should be no problem at the proper speed. Enjoy your ride!

[bigwheel]

You might also want to check out Salem. It is a little more open and doesn't have the tight turns, logs, or rocks that Theo has. Salem was specifically designed as a beginner single track trail.

Also consider the river bottoms, but not during a busy time because it is a 2-way trail with a lot of blind spots.

Either way, check conditions about trails being ridable today. We got quite a bit of rain last night.

[OCary]

I expect that Theo will be too wet to ride today. Significant rains (amount and duration) last night. Very wet when I just checked about 15 minutes ago.

[nocturnalmotors]

Thanks all for your replies! Won't be able to make it Monday April, but thanks for the offer. We'll be @ the Fair. Prolly just to a loop around the uptown lakes tonight since the trail's wet. Great site to all who support it BTW; I hope I can make more time to get out to some events!

[Pandl]

You might also want to check out Salem. It is a little more open and doesn't have the tight turns, logs, or rocks that Theo has. Salem was specifically designed as a beginner single track trail.

Also consider the river bottoms, but not during a busy time because it is a 2-way trail with a lot of blind spots.

Either way, check conditions about trails being ridable today. We got quite a bit of rain last night.
+1. I took the wife to Salem two weeks ago for her first off road experience. She loved it. Went again last week. We are hoping to get to the river bottoms, and then Theo.

Have FUN!!

[At the Gates 2121]

+1. I took the wife to Salem two weeks ago for her first off road experience. She loved it. Went again last week. We are hoping to get to the river bottoms, and then Theo.

Have FUN!!


wait til you get her to levis/trow mounds

[butter]

+1. I took the wife to Salem two weeks ago for her first off road experience. She loved it. Went again last week. We are hoping to get to the river bottoms, and then Theo.

Have FUN!!


My wife has just started mtn biking this year as well. I have taken her to Salem and the River Bottoms. She liked the River Bottoms better than Salem mostly due to the RB's being more open ,whereas Salem has tighter, twistier turns. Both are great for beginners though.

[nocturnalmotors]

Sounds like we'll be hitting up Salem and the River Bottoms in the near future. We cleaned the dust off the 'ole Schwinn Probe and she had a blast around the lakes last night!