Intro to Mountain biking - REI outdoor school, Nov 1st

[Cataboo]

Introduction to Mountain Biking - REI Outdoor School
11/1/2008 9:00 AM

Experience the thrill of mountain biking with our instructors as they teach you the proper techniques of shifting, braking, hill climbing and descent, body and pedal position, and navigating minor obstacles on the trail.

This is designed as an educational ride, not a guided tour; we want to teach you how to get more out of your mountain biking experience. We'll start by addressing proper bike fit, making necessary adjustments to improve comfort and performance.

Next we'll demonstrate riding techniques and teach important communication and safety skills to prepare you for the ride. We'll teach you the trail etiquette techniques that mountain bikers can use to help keep trails open and safe for all trail users.

Then it's off for a great ride to practice all the skills you've learned.

Novara mountain bikes provided at no additional cost for those without a bike of their own.

Recommended for those 14 and older, under 18 must be accompanied by parent or responsible adult. NO RIDER IS LEFT BEHIND!

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Upcoming Trips:

11/ 1 at Bailey's Crossroads
1/11 at College Park
1/24 at Bailey's Crossroads

* Location:Trip meets at above locations.
* Contact:Please contact customer service at 301-230-7670
* Cost:$55 member; $75 non-member
* Registration Required? Yes. Please contact customer service at 301-230-7670

[michelem]

I did one of these REI Outdoor School things (Intro to Road Biking --yes, we used road bikes, but we didn't do any biking on roads, just a paved off-road trail) and it was a total waste of time and money. The main focus was promoting the Novara line of bikes in hopes of making a sale. Hopefully this one is better than the one I went to. They had us stay in the same gear so we didn't even learn shifting expect through lecture and we didn't ride on roads, so we didn't get to learn how to ride with traffic or negotiate stop signs or traffic lights. And, yes, I did voice my disappointment to the instructors (they said I should put my concerns in my evaluation), submitted a detailed evaluation, but never received a response from REI . . .

[Kalidurga]

Aaarrrgh! Another cool thing that I'd be interested in doing that I found out about after already making plans for that day. I'll be in Philly this Saturday.

I guess I need to be proactive and spend more time searching the intarwebs for this stuff.

[7rider]

Aaarrrgh! Another cool thing that I'd be interested in doing that I found out about after already making plans for that day. I'll be in Philly this Saturday.

I guess I need to be proactive and spend more time searching the intarwebs for this stuff.

What about the 11th - Veteran's Day - at College Park?

Oooooo....that reminds me....Federal Holiday....dot gov ride at Schaeffer anyone??

[Kalidurga]

Hmmm. On second glance, that actually appears to 1/11, as in January. That I could do. Thanks for the notice, Catriona!

Oooooo....that reminds me....Federal Holiday....dot gov ride at Schaeffer anyone??

Blah. Not only do I work in retail, so don't get that holiday off unless I make up for it another day, but I'll be in Florida that week. I'm never gonna get to ride Schaeffer unless I buck up and go do it alone

[7rider]

Hmmm. On second glance, that actually appears to 1/11, as in January. That I could do. Thanks for the notice, Catriona!

Oops. Right you are.

And, Xeney...I think DivingBiker's mtb-class was an REI one (locally, for you D.C./MD/VA ladies), and she had a similar experience - but I suspect she can fill you in on her experience better than I!

[Cataboo]

Oooooo....that reminds me....Federal Holiday....dot gov ride at Schaeffer anyone??

I could make it, but I think my current skill level would slow you guys down.

[HillSlugger]

Oooooo....that reminds me....Federal Holiday....dot gov ride at Schaeffer anyone??

Is this going to happen? Do we need a separate planning thread?

[Cataboo]

Is the holiday actually on the Tuesday and not the Monday?

[xeney]

I did one of these REI Outdoor School things (Intro to Road Biking --yes, we used road bikes, but we didn't do any biking on roads, just a paved off-road trail) and it was a total waste of time and money. The main focus was promoting the Novara line of bikes in hopes of making a sale. Hopefully this one is better than the one I went to. They had us stay in the same gear so we didn't even learn shifting expect through lecture and we didn't ride on roads, so we didn't get to learn how to ride with traffic or negotiate stop signs or traffic lights. And, yes, I did voice my disappointment to the instructors (they said I should put my concerns in my evaluation), submitted a detailed evaluation, but never received a response from REI . . .

Huh. I did both the mountain biking and road biking classes a couple of years ago and they were nothing like that. The mountain biking class was fantastic. I rode my own bike, as did about half of the other people. We covered basic skills and had a really good ride. The road biking class was not so great, mostly because the people who had signed up for it had different expectations -- some wanted what you seemed to want, others had no idea how to ride a bike at all. I've noticed that the class descriptions have changed to address that.

In any case, there was no Novara sales pitch and both classes definitely involved changing gears.

[michelem]

Huh. I did both the mountain biking and road biking classes a couple of years ago and they were nothing like that. The mountain biking class was fantastic. I rode my own bike, as did about half of the other people. We covered basic skills and had a really good ride. The road biking class was not so great, mostly because the people who had signed up for it had different expectations -- some wanted what you seemed to want, others had no idea how to ride a bike at all. I've noticed that the class descriptions have changed to address that.

In any case, there was no Novara sales pitch and both classes definitely involved changing gears.

That's really good to hear. Guess I just got a bum class.