What to expect: Mountain Bike Group Ride Levels

Pearl

Pearl

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
I imagine signing up on this forum and seeing people post group rides and not knowing what kind of ride it is, based on their fitness. Hell, Even I don't know what kind of rides these are based on description from the original poster. Hopefully this will help a little and maybe become a great way to judge rides. If anyone has any (serious) additions let me know and I can add them!

These rides are based on pace/speed, not location of trails/mileage. You should have a general idea of the difficult of the trail from the trail directory before hoping on a group ride!

Don't ride outside your comfort zone!
If you are unsure of your level don't hesitate to ask.


http://www.mtbnj.com/wiki/Joining_a_MTBNJ_Group_Ride:_What_to_Expect

Beginner Overly social ride. Not focused on riding, more on hanging out. For FIRST timers looking to check out the mountain biking scene. Think Allaire Beginner Rides.
For: Focus on the group, not individual efforts. Developing skills. Will regroup more than necessary. Will not ride faster than the slowest rider in the group.
No Drop Ride.

Beginner+ Social ride, not very long in distance, say +8 miles.
For: Same as the 1 ride but may have a little more mileage. Would want to have a handful of rides under your belt. Think of the Allaire Beginner rides with less stops and the same pace.
No Drop Ride.

Intermediate Distance may vary, Steady, easy pace but regroups at intersections or at the top of hills. Less social than the Beginner group rides, More focused on riding.
For: Recreational Riders looking to push the pace. Great for a first ride at new park. A less intense pace for the cycling enthusiast.
No Drop Ride.

Intermediate+ - Steady pace. Less stopping than the easier Intermediate ride.
For: Riders have enough skills to ride any terrain. Wants to keep the heart rate up.
Drop/No Drop depending on group.

Advanced - Little to no stopping. Knowledge of the trail is needed.
For: A good challenge. Pushing to the limits.
You may be Dropped.

Advanced+ - Race pace. No friends ride. Meet back at the lot when you are done.
For: People looking to throw up, drop their friends they invited and leave people in the dust.
You may be Dropped.
 
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Good stuff, I think the great Anrothar tried getting something like this off the ground. If I remember correctly it was about as effective as MBA pushing the term "black diamond bike". Still, I like it
 
walter said:
Good stuff, I think the great Anrothar tried getting something like this off the ground. If I remember correctly it was about as effective as MBA pushing the term "black diamond bike". Still, I like it
Click to expand...

At least it will give EVERYONE an idea on what kind of ride they are joining or creating 🙂
 
Good job dude. Isn't there an explanation written like this some place else that define A, B, .... rides?
 
I would lie if I said I looked for it. I don't get that either, I want to try a PFW ride, but not sure what ride I would be in with the hairy legs and all.
 
I like it, because it uses common terms (beginner, intermediate, advanced).

You could also go with something like:

Beginner
Beginner+
Intermediate
Intermediate+
Advanced
Advanced+

Want to put it on the wiki?

Sean did try to do something like this. But it never took off. We should really try to enforce this. Someone recently mentioned using Google calendar, which is a solid idea. We'd need someone to manage it of course (that's a different discussion) but we could make the qualification to be included that the poster has to define a level or we won't add it to the calendar.
 
the pluses look better. I think it would be great if it turned into something like "nice bike but WHAT SIZE!?" I think you'd get more people that would turn out if they understood the pace of the ride.
 
Norm said:
I like it, because it uses common terms (beginner, intermediate, advanced).

You could also go with something like:

Beginner
Beginner+
Intermediate
Intermediate+
Advanced
Advanced+

Want to put it on the wiki?

Sean did try to do something like this. But it never took off. We should really try to enforce this. Someone recently mentioned using Google calendar, which is a solid idea. We'd need someone to manage it of course (that's a different discussion) but we could make the qualification to be included that the poster has to define a level or we won't add it to the calendar.
Click to expand...

There's a vbulletin "portal" feature that the forum could integrate right into. It has a built in calendar.
 
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I think 9 classes is too many. I can see A, A+, B, B+, C, and C+.

And F of course...
 
Norm said:
I like it, because it uses common terms (beginner, intermediate, advanced).

You could also go with something like:

Beginner
Beginner+
Intermediate
Intermediate+
Advanced
Advanced+

Want to put it on the wiki?

Sean did try to do something like this. But it never took off. We should really try to enforce this. Someone recently mentioned using Google calendar, which is a solid idea. We'd need someone to manage it of course (that's a different discussion) but we could make the qualification to be included that the poster has to define a level or we won't add it to the calendar.
Click to expand...
From a newbie's perspective this would be great! What's an 'easy' ride for some is not always the same for others. A good definition of each pace would encourage those of us who are still unsure of the trails to come out, but keep those who are looking for more of a challenge from getting bored. I also like the idea of a Google calendar to keep track.
 
This is a great idea.

Wonder if new post icons could be added to the list and associated with the levels similar to skiing signs...green circle, black diamond..etc.

It would make it easy to quickly scan down the list of threads to find a ride you may be interested in and people wouldn't necessarily have to type out the words all the time.

Also, maybe in the sticky indicate what is expected of you when you post a ride. Are you required to lead the whole time, bring coffee and donuts....
 
Nice suggestions!

I think we need to get the Google Calendar idea in action. If we set it up right it can be used as an RSS feed in some way. I need to figure out what that offers exactly.

Then we need ground rules. And a Calendar Gatekeeper.
 
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