Mountain Biking 101 Skills Clinic and Bike Demos – June 5th and 6th

[Bexter]

FORC is hosting a MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS CLINIC at Sunderbruch Park in Davenport, IA on Saturday, June 6th. And, FACTORY GIANT and Bike N Hike will be at Sunderbruch on both Friday, June 5th and Saturday, June 6th for a BIKE DEMO WEEKEND. We tried to get our other local shops and factory demo rigs to participate, but we just couldn't get our schedules to sync in what is a really busy time of year in the bike shop business. Maybe next year! Definitely check out BOTH days. Both events are FREE to the public! Did I mention FREE?!

The MTB 101 Skills Clinic will be held on Saturday morning, June 6th, at 9 AM. Anyone over the age of 12 is eligible. The Skills Clinic is geared toward the beginner or intermediate rider wanting to either learn basic mountain biking skills or improve existing skills. There will be a short lecture to kick off the class followed by a hands-on riding clinic with instructor guidance. Participants must supply their own bicycle and helmets must be worn. The clinic will wrap with a group ride following the conclusion of the skills clinic (you may want to bring some lunch during the break). The class should last roughly three hours.

Bike N Hike and FACTORY GIANT will be at Sunderbruch Park with a semi load full of demo bicycles for anyone interested to test ride on sweet singletrack on Friday, June 5th, 3 PM – 7 PM and Saturday, June 6th, 10 AM – 3 PM. You know me... there WILL be women's specific bikes available for the fastest growing population of mountain bike owners. You need not be a participant of MTB 101 to test out the demo bikes on either day. Make sure to have your ID in order to take out a demo bike. Come on out! No doubt plenty of FORCers will be at the park riding, so join in on a fun ride while you're there! You know you want to... :D

[rachat024]

That's quite a great news. It's very nice . Many thanks for sharing.:banana:

pret auto

[Bexter]

Friends of Off-Road Cycling to host Mountain Biking 101 and Bike Demo Days
Friday and Saturday, June 5 & 6, 2009
Sunderbruch Park, Davenport, IA

Want to ride faster and more confidently, corner more smoothly, and handle small obstacles while mountain biking? Look no further! Friends of Off-Road Cycling (FORC) is offering a FREE off-road mountain biking skills clinic in June designed with beginner and intermediate riders in mind. Equally exciting is that participants will have an opportunity to ride demo mountain bikes in a real off-road trail setting courtesy of Bike N Hike and FACTORY GIANT.

The Mountain Biking 101 Skills Clinic is open to any mountain biker at least 12 years of age interested in learning more about a variety of aspects of trail riding (known as “mountain biking” in areas where there are actually mountains). Hosted at Davenport’s Sunderbruch Park on Saturday, June 6, 2009, the clinic will begin at 9:00 AM with a short discussion about equipment requirements, safety tips and trail etiquette. We will then break down into groups for the hands-on riding skills clinic.

The clinic will cover topics such as bike setup, body position, standing up while riding, proper braking, pedal position in corners and over obstacles, balance (side to side / fore and aft), proper gear selection, cornering and managing switch-backs, use of momentum, riding narrow bridges, negotiating drop-offs, wheelies over obstacles, and wet weather considerations. Members of the National Mountain Bike Patrol will be present.

All participants must have a mountain bike and helmet to participate in the clinic. Representatives from Bike N Hike in Rock Island will be on hand to assess participant bicycle maintenance and assist in remedying any problems discovered.

Bike N Hike and FACTORY GIANT will be on hand at Sunderbruch Park with demo mountain bikes BOTH Friday night, 06-05-09 (3 - 7 PM), and Saturday, 06-06-09 (10 AM - 3 PM). Take the opportunity to test ride a variety of mountain bikes on natural off-road terrain!

All participants will be provided a packet of information at the end of the lecture about off-road trail riding areas within 3 hours of the QCA. For more information about Mountain Biking 101 or FORC, please visit www.qcforc.org.

Come on out and experience the thrills of mountain biking! The day will wrap up with a group fun ride.

FORC would like to thank all our local bicycle shops for their support and encouragement of the sport of mountain biking. Special thanks goes to City of Davenport, Bike N Hike and FACTORY GIANT for their MTB 101 sponsorship.

[Trevize1138]

I've got to come back down to Davenport to return my parent's truck and so Mom can visit with her granddaughter again anyway, so I think I'll have to make it to this event!

[Bexter]

The weather forecast says rain today and part of Tuesday, dry Wed, Thursday Friday, rain to start sometime Saturday afternoon. We can live with that if it does in fact need to rain at all. Come on out Friday night to check out our demo bikes and enjoy the Sunderbruch trails. Bring a beginner out Saturday for the 101 clinic.

[Bexter]

Here's what KWQC says about this weekend:

Our next good chance for rain will occur this weekend with showers and thunderstorms developing late Saturday into Sunday.

We can deal with that! Know someone who might be interested but isn’t into the whole mountain biking scene? Lend ‘em your bike and helmet, and bring them to Sunder!

[Bexter]

Thanks to the rockin' FORC crew , Sunderbruch is free of weeds (thanks guys!).

Weather forecast says temperatures will be inthe low 70's and rain will be coming in on Saturday afternoon which is Ok for us since our deal is Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Come on out on Friday and/or Saturday to test ride a variety of Giant demo bikes and join us for a group ride. A mechanic from factory Giant will be on hand Friday and Saturday.

Come participate in the 101 skills clinic, or bring someone to participate as this is an excellent opportunity to learn and practice a variety of skills on obstacles built with a specific skill in mind.

See you this weekend!!!!

[Bexter]

High 70's for today with sunshine, sweet sweet singletrack, and demo bikes to check out at Sunderbruch Park. What are you waiting for??!! See you at Sunderbruch. Demos are from 3 - 7 PM today.

[dru_b]

waiting for the right time........ i wanna go now but the chance of getting in a demo ride at this time is next to none..... soon sensei, soon.

[Bexter]

Rain is in the West coming our way, but hopefully we will get our skills clinic in before it gets to the QCA. Keep your fingers crossed!

[Bexter]

Thanks to everyone who made our MTB 101 and bike demo days a success! Mother Nature was impatient and didn't let us get through everything today, but you know what THAT means? We will be scheduling a MTB 101 - Part II for the trail ride component. Stay tuned under "Let's Ride" as we will be scheduling this ride in the near future so clinic attendees can try out what they learned on the trails.

Thanks again to everyone!!!!

[dirtboy]

Thank You Becky & John for hosting a very cool 101 class. Ray you & HJ did a great job...I stuck out my butt the rest of the day. The stunts were great and the newbies seemed very brave. I think the 101 idea (as rage says) 'Has Merit'. Thanks again,
db & mp

[The Fixxer]

Thanks for putting on the class even though the weather turned on you.
Here's a really short video of MTB 101 2009. Enjoy!!!
MTB 101 a few pics & the short race

[Bexter]

That's cool Jim! THANKS!

[Tapper881]

Dispite Mother Natures attempts to dampen everyones spirits - I think everyone had a great time! I know my fiance and I really enjoyed ourselves - and really appreciate the effort that everyone put into MTB 101! Thanks for putting this on for us newbies!

[jimithng23]

FORC's famed PR Director - Becky "Bexter" Bernard at her finest:



Everyone give Bexter, HJ, Vibrato, GIANT, and everyone else who helped with the MTB 101 that I didn't name here a HUGE FORC'n round of applause!

Great Work!

[Nicholas]

Hi,

Some bikes are manufactured for different conditions and situations. So just because you see tire tracks on an unfamiliar trail it does not mean that it will be suitable for your bike. There is no shame if you have to walk a section of a trail when you do not feel confident enough to be able ride it, it is much better to be safe than sorry and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

For the best mountain bike safety always maintain your speed at a level that will allow you to adjust or even stop abruptly for any unforeseen difficulties, obstacles or change in trail condition. Even on a familiar trail you never know who or what can be around a blind corner.

[kurtlokenvitz]

Given the rain, there was mention of a follow-up 101 with a trail ride. Anything on that? Just curious.

I'm new to the area, and would be up for getting together for some riding, either early evenings or weekends.

Thanks!

[Bexter]

Thanks for asking! Not yet given the rain. Today's rain and more predicted throughout the week will keep Sunderbruch closed for a little while. Once it seems we're fairly clear for dry weather, we will definitely schedule Part II: The Ride!

[Bexter]

OK, here we go folks:

MTB 101 Part II: The Ride

When: Wednesday, 06-24-09 6:00 PM (arrive at 5:30 if you have questions to have answered based upon what you learned at MTB 101 Part I)

Where: Sunderbruch Park

Equipment: Bring your bike, helmet and any other gear you'd prefer to have with you.*

*This date and time is also the first weekly ride of the season for FORC. There will be a small grill at the park so we can cookout afterward. Bring a cooler with grillables and beverages for after the ride -- don't forget a lawnchair!

[bobtom115]

Hi there, Would a new one like me be welcome here?
Thanks so much in deed. :banana:


pret personnel

[hdzz]

welcome
bobandtom115

andy

[hdzz]

bobtom115

[Bexter]

MTB101 is specifically for newbies. We had Part I two weeks ago but got rained out mid-way through and did not get to go for our trail ride. Our Part II on Wednesday is the beginner's ride. YES, a newer rider would benefit from the ride. We will not have the man-made obstacles that we had available in class, but we will stop along the trail at similar techincal features that the man-made obstacles from class simulated. Plan to join in on the fun!

[Vibrato]

I'll be there in as official MTB Patrol riding clean-up and I've put the word out asking that some of the other MTB patrollers and Ambassadors lend a hand. With good weather, we could end up with a lot of nooobs, and we definately want them to enjoy the ride!!

About the after party, I'll be there, but I have officially quite drinking in preparation for the 24 hour solo race on July 25th and 26th. Sheesh, I haven't had a beer since... YESTERDAY!