Yet another newbie

K

KevinG

New Member
After posting my first thread here with a question on trail building:

http://www.mtbnj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10440

I thought I should take some time to introduce myself.

My name is Kevin, and I'm in South Jersey (Mt. Laurel). I'm turning 39 years old on Wednesday (yes, April fools day). As a teenager, I was massively into BMX. Had a sweet Redline, and was mostly into dirt jumping and flatland tricks. Then women and computers entered my life. Fast forward a bunch of years, and my son learns to ride a two wheeler. I need a bike...so what do I do? I buy a 20" BMX. An integral Bel Air to be specific. BMX was always so expensive as a kid...being able to splurge on good parts is fun as an adult.

Turns out that I'm not as good as I used to be on a BMX. 🙂 Back problems not-withstanding, I didn't ride it very hard. In the meantime, my son grew out of his 16" bike, and it was time to move up. For his birthday (10 years old) in February, we bought him a Giant MTX 250 (24" hardtail). Knowing that I wouldn't be able to keep up with him on my 20", I bought myself a Gary Fisher Wahoo (26" hardtail).

We've been riding the streets mostly, and a few local paths through the trees. Nothing hardcore yet. We're both learning to be comfortable on our new bikes. I did get a bike rack for the back of the car as we fully intend to travel to the "local" south jersey spots once the weather gets nicer and we get more experienced.

Hope to see you on the trails!
-Kevin
 
Pic of my bike...well, not my bike, but aside from the pedals, this is what it looks like:

http://www.fisherbikes.com/img/bikes/2009/1600x1200/wahoo_silver.jpg

You probably didn't mean this one, but the bel air looks like this (again, not my pic):

http://www.bmx-zone.com/articlePic.php?id=689

I don't think the trails will be big enough, or interesting enough for anyone else to ride on (yet). Unless they were (very) local.

The biggest problem is that a majority of the land is "wetlands"...which means it's generally soggy most of the summer... So, I'm only building trails higher than the water table. The interesting part of the trails though is that it is generally parallel to a nice 5 foot fall off, and the trail snakes up and down that. Pictures or video would do better to describe it...
 
Last edited:
not another newbie...jk welcome. starting in april beginner group rides at allaire on tuesday nights...fun you should come out i think people older then you go..jk...🙂
 
Hi im tyler, people call me tyler stump. They call me tyler stump because I fell on a stump and hit my hump. I got up and found a big lump. Then I took a dump.
 
mr.chainsaw said:
not another newbie...jk welcome. starting in april beginner group rides at allaire on tuesday nights...fun you should come out i think people older then you go..jk...🙂
Click to expand...

By the time I get home from work, pack the bikes on the car, and get to allaire, I doubt there would be anyone left. :cry:

Otherwise, thanks for all of the kind greetings.

-Kevin
 
KevinG said:
By the time I get home from work, pack the bikes on the car, and get to allaire, I doubt there would be anyone left. :cry:

Otherwise, thanks for all of the kind greetings.

-Kevin
Click to expand...

Pack the bikes ahead of time and take them to work with you, be ready to leave straight from work. Is what alot do around here. If you can at all make it I STRONGLY suggest you go. I've ridden with only a handful of the people on this board and I can say you will LOVE riding with them. Also alot of knowledge to be had from this group while out on the trails!
 
southernerinnj said:
Pack the bikes ahead of time and take them to work with you, be ready to leave straight from work. Is what alot do around here. If you can at all make it I STRONGLY suggest you go. I've ridden with only a handful of the people on this board and I can say you will LOVE riding with them. Also alot of knowledge to be had from this group while out on the trails!
Click to expand...

This sounds really interesting...Of course I work in the exact opposite direction... What time does the crowd meet up? How long do they ride? I'd also be dealing with rush-hour traffic, so it's not going to be easy...

-Kevin
 
I believe the Allaire rides start around 6 or so. I'm not 100% sure. Maybe Frank will stop by and give a better Idea, but I know the pace is always as fast as the slowest person / no drop rule. BTW Frank and the people who run those rides would be a great resource for you to get trail building info off of. They are experts at the craft to say the least.
 
southernerinnj said:
I believe the Allaire rides start around 6 or so. I'm not 100% sure. Maybe Frank will stop by and give a better Idea, but I know the pace is always as fast as the slowest person / no drop rule. BTW Frank and the people who run those rides would be a great resource for you to get trail building info off of. They are experts at the craft to say the least.
Click to expand...

Okay, I'd have to really plan ahead and leave work early. mapquest puts it at an hour and 20 minutes...It's probably closer to 2 hours at that time of the day. Leaving at 4:00 isn't unrealistic since that's when the markets close anyway.

I'd love to get insight from Frank et. al. Is there somewhere better for my thread on trail building to get noticed, or is it in the right place already?

Planning for this is going to lead to a bunch of other questions, maybe requiring a new thread... but, since I've never been on one of these organized rides far from home, I'd want to know what I would be expected to have with me. Tools? Tubes? Backpack for carrying these things? Food? Drink? etc...

Thanks again.
-Kevin
 
That link is a great resource. I think at a minimum you should carry a tube, some patches, a multi tool, and a pump. You can toss those in a saddle pack, or pick up a camelbak. You'll need your own water, and most people carry a few gu packs or clif bars, or any incarnation of those sorts of energy foods. They give you a good boost before you hit the trail. I'd also bring something to snack on in the car, since you'll be riding at dinner time (don't know about you, but I'd be starving). As southerner said, most people carry an assortment of tools and spare items, so chances are someone will have what you need, but you always want to play it safe and cover the basics for yourself.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom