Coming Soon -- No Chick Left Behind (MTB 101) Fall sessions - starts Thursday 9/8/11!
It's been requested, so it's time to get everyone back on their saddles. No Chick Left Behind is about to begin! We can do them on Wednesday or Thursday nights, but because FORC group rides are on Wednesday nights, let's pick Thursday for the beginner chick rides. I imagine weekend mornings would also be good, but my weekends through Sept. are already booked. We can start meeting on Saturday mornings in October if there's sufficient interest. My plan is to meet every Thursday night in Sept. (unless of course there is no interest). Great primer for the Taming of the Slough!
When: Thursday, Sept. 8th 5:30 PM
Where: Sunderbruch Park
How Long: An hour and a half
You need a mtn bike (a hybrid will not do), helmet and hydration system (water bottle is fine). Don't forget a good attitude and a desire to learn. Ladies, we are going to have FUUUUN! This class is designed for beginners and it is free!!
Here's an old post of what we worked on our first night last Spring -- we will be reviewing all of this on Sept. 8th.
A recap of last night's session:
- We talked about shifting and then went out and practiced shifting so that everyone got comfortable knowing which shifter on the handlebar controlled what and the direction needed in order to make pedalling more difficult / easier.
- We talked about braking -- feathering, using a combination of the rear and front brakes, and the goal of NOT skidding which really reduces a rider's ability to control the bike (kind of like a car in a slide situation). We practiced braking going down a hill.
- We talked about fore and aft positioning on the bike, how your weight distribution on the bike impacts the ability to lift the front / rear wheels depending upon where you place your body, and losing grip with your back wheel when standing to climb a hill (if your weight is too far forward on the bike). We talked about shifting your body position relative to yuor bike when going down and up hills and the impact it has.
- We talked about pedal position when riding over obstacles (keeping them even), going around corners (keeping the pedal that is on the INSIDE of the turn UP).
- We talked about getting off the saddle when going through gnarly areas because you have more control of your bike while standing (you aren't an extension of the bike then and the bike can move independent of you).
- We talked about front wheelies in order to get your front wheel up to go over an obstacle either by keeping your pedals even and pulling up on the handle bars or by pulling up on the handle bars at the same time that you downstroke a pedal.
- We learned how to go over a log. Key factors were 1) getting your front wheel up to get over the log, 2) being aware of forward momentum and how it continues to propel you and the back wheel over an obstacle) and 3) timing (when to pull the front end up in anticipating of going over an obstacle).
- We learned about use of momentum and proper gear selection to climb a small hill (hard gear to pedal and get speed BEFORE the hill, then a shift down just before the hill and finally appreciating the momentum that helps to carry you up the hill). We also talked about use of momentum in getting through rough areas... we didn't get to practice this but we will!!!
- We had fun!
A couple people asked last night about FORC membership. Click http://www.qcforc.org/content.php?120-About-Us for more information and online-access to the membership application form.
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Originally Posted by mcadagio
