Beginner Options

[lhouck]

I am a beginner and would like to take some MTB classes. Does anyone have any suggestions of skills clinics, etc. in the DC area, especially Maryland? Also - any suggestions on beginner rides or beginner-friendly groups to ride with?

[jabberwocky]

Welcome to MORE!

I think you will find that MORE itself is a very beginner friendly group. We have a great collection of casual ride leaders.

MORE does do skills clinics, but not very often at this time of year. Your best bet is to watch the calender: there are usually casual rides going pretty frequently. If you can, try to make it to the Tuesday-Thursday night rides at Wakefield (see the stickied thread in the rides forum). Lights are required at this time of year, but if you post up in the appropriate ride thread I bet someone could loan you some.

Also, one of our members (Snot-Rocket) has been doing weekly Sunday rides at Wakefield, which would also be a good place to check (I don't know for sure how beginner friendly they are, so check with him).

Next, Liz Notter leads the "Ride like a Girl" series, which seems to run about twice a month. RLAG rides are for women only, and usually have a great turnout. They usually have a more casual paced ride which seems to be pretty beginner friendly. I'm sure she will be posting up with more detail shortly. :) Looking at the calender, there is a RLAG ride at Fountainhead on January 28th.

Last, I lead casual rides pretty frequently, and I am always happy to give new riders tips and instruction.

If you have any specific questions about places or rides, feel free to ask away.

[Jackson]

Welcome to MORE!

I think you will find that MORE itself is a very beginner friendly group. We have a great collection of casual ride leaders.

MORE does do skills clinics, but not very often at this time of year. Your best bet is to watch the calender: there are usually casual rides going pretty frequently. If you can, try to make it to the Tuesday-Thursday night rides at Wakefield (see the stickied thread in the rides forum). Lights are required at this time of year, but if you post up in the appropriate ride thread I bet someone could loan you some.

Also, one of our members (Snot-Rocket) has been doing weekly Sunday rides at Wakefield, which would also be a good place to check (I don't know for sure how beginner friendly they are, so check with him).

Next, Liz Notter leads the "Ride like a Girl" series, which seems to run about twice a month. RLAG rides are for women only, and usually have a great turnout. They usually have a more casual paced ride which seems to be pretty beginner friendly. I'm sure she will be posting up with more detail shortly. :) Looking at the calender, there is a RLAG ride at Fountainhead on January 28th.

Last, I lead casual rides pretty frequently, and I am always happy to give new riders tips and instruction.

If you have any specific questions about places or rides, feel free to ask away.

I'll second everything Jabberwocky said. Wakefield is a fair trip from Mt. Airy, but not too bad on the weekends.

Schaeffer Farms (http://www.more-mtb.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1205), which is closed until mid-March is a good place. Nearby Blackhills Regional Park (near Germantown/Clarksburg) and Seneca Creek State Park are also good options.

Seneca Creek is a great place to learn to ride. It's where I first went mountain biking. There are also a few other trails in the Montgomery/Frederick County areas that people would recommend for beginners.

This site, especially the Rides forum, is a great place to find out about rides. People will post up rides. Rides described as Casual (http://www.more-mtb.org/forum/showpost.php?p=1862&postcount=1) are generally geared towards beginners. The person leading the ride can always describe the terrain and the expected pace to you.

BTW, Ride Like a Girl (http://www.ridelikeagirl.org) is the RLAG website.

Anyway, welcome.

- Tom

[Jackson]

I am a beginner and would like to take some MTB classes. Does anyone have any suggestions of skills clinics, etc. in the DC area, especially Maryland? Also - any suggestions on beginner rides or beginner-friendly groups to ride with?

As for clinics, I think City Bikes has had some clinics in the lower Mont County area. Having a good idea of how to do trail side repairs will come in very handy.

Some of the other shops, like the Bike Lane in Virginia, have sponsored skills clinics. Check with the local rec departments. Sometimes they feature them as well. (Though these generally have a cost.)

[Squirrel Girl]

REI has some classes, and don't forget to check the Bike Lane in Burke, VA.

This is a bad time of year to look for clinics. And with all the rain, it's a bad time of year to be able to get off road at all. :(

But soon! Soon!! :)

Yay, MORE casual riders. You can learn a lot just by riding with us. Welcome.

[riderx]

One of the closests trails to Mt. Airy that I'd recommend for a beginner would be the McKeldin section of Patapsco State Park (http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/mckeldin.html). Take Rt. 70 East and exit at Marriottsville Rd. Head north approx. 4 miles and you'll see the park. You can get a topo map of the trails from DNR here (http://www.easycart.net/MarylandDepartmentofNaturalResource s/Central_Maryland_Trail_Guides.html) .

[BikerMiker]

Forgive my potentially-off-topic input here...

Lhoucki, would a 'skills area' be helpful to you? In other words, would you go to a place that had a few rocks, a few logs and some narrow stuff to ride on that would help you enjoy practicing and learning mountain biking skills? There would be progressively harder tests in a small area, close to a parking area. Is this something that you would use and how often? Would you bring your friends?

Thanks. Just so you know, we are working on something like that for Patapsco outside of Catonsville, no too far from Mt Airy.

Any input from you during our planning and construction process would be great. We should have conceptual plans for it in the new 10 days or so. Pay attention to the MORE site for more details. Look for a post titled 'PVSP Plan' or 'Patapsco Skill Area Plans.'

mike

[martin]

Riderx beat me to the punch - McKelding is great has enough of a mixture of single and double track.

You should also try Rockburn Branch park in Howard County - it is adjacent to Patapsco off landing Rd. THere is a farily nice loop for beginners there.

Also give Fairland a shot - just south on 29 - it's a little more difficult, but elevation changes are not drastic and it has some great singletrack trails.

Martin

[t.roy]

Little Bennett is pretty close to Mt. Airy, although given some of the climbs, it may not be completely beginner friendly. It does have some nice flat-ish spots, some field trails, and its very easy to dump off the trail back onto gravel roads. Be advised these trails are also popular with the local equestrian set.

The Lower Magruder is also close to Mt. Airy (LM trail head off of Sweepstakes in Damascus is less than 9 miles from 70/27 interchange), and it has fairly friendly terrain for beginners. There are some some climbs, but I think you'll find that in most trails. I think the LM is about 2.5ish miles, so a nice 5 mile round trip (LM runs into Seneca Greenway, I'm not 100% certain, but I think the division is the creek crossing).

[gomogo]

I second all of the above and highly recommend the Bike Lane's mtb clinics for women. I took one last May and it was a great entry to the sport. Instructors are patient and fun. You'll find most MOREons are this way.

Welcome!

mo

[mtbmore]

I did a MTB Bootcamp there a few years ago and the terrain was exactly what I was looking for. We can try to another one in the spring if there is interest.

Scud

[Mrs. Outlaw]

I did a MTB Bootcamp there a few years ago and the terrain was exactly what I was looking for. We can try to another one in the spring if there is interest.

Scud

Scud's Bootcamp was a great introduction to mountain biking! If there's one offered in the spring, I would highly recommend signing up.

The Ride Like a Girl rides are also a great place to start. Just make sure the terrain of the trail is listed as "easier" as there are casual paced rides at some of the "intermediate" and "advanced" terrain trails which would not be suitable for a beginner.

Hope to meet you at one of the upcoming rides!
Julie

[soreback]

i second the mckeldrin area of patapsco. i used to ride there a lot when i lived in md. its not technical, but there are a few spots where if you arent in decent shape youre gonna be pushing your bike up. i havent been there in like 8 years so i cant attest to its condition any longer.

[Squirrel Girl]

i second the mckeldrin area of patapsco. i used to ride there a lot when i lived in md. its not technical, but there are a few spots where if you arent in decent shape youre gonna be pushing your bike up. i havent been there in like 8 years so i cant attest to its condition any longer.If I recall I went to McKeldin last summer and it was technically easy, but there were some definite hills there!! And in that hot humid weather I wilted a bit! But I guess that wouldn't be problem today. :rolleyes: :D

[jkrones]

I did a MTB Bootcamp there a few years ago and the terrain was exactly what I was looking for. We can try to another one in the spring if there is interest.

Scud
I would definitely be interested in a clinic.

[Snot-Rocket]

Welcome to MORE!

I think you will find that MORE itself is a very beginner friendly group. We have a great collection of casual ride leaders.

Also, one of our members (Snot-Rocket) has been doing weekly Sunday rides at Wakefield, which would also be a good place to check (I don't know for sure how beginner friendly they are, so check with him).


I'm all about beginners participating who think they can manage a couple of hours of generally continuous exercise. We don't try to hammer- just work the pace so we keep moving. I just ask beginners to make the call fast on "When in Doubt Dismount" and run over stuff- the goal is to keep moving.

I've had several folks ask about a primer/Boot Camp- I'm entertaining the idea for this winter so more folks who want to play can play on Sundays.

Ping me if you have more questions.