We are noticing a lot of riders having a hard time continuing riding throughout the practice or slowing down significantly after the first 30 minutes. Please talk pro-actively about warming up at an easy slow pace. Then be sure to begin the practice with a slow enough warm up for the riders. Riders should be able to chat freely and not be out of breath at all on the warm up. If no one is talking, start asking questions to get riders talking as a good gauge if your warm up is slow enough. If riders are complaining it’s too slow during the warm up, then you know you are doing it right.
Off Limit Trails:
- Limelight (Rush)
- Jacob’s Ladder
- Levitate / Zooropa / Vertigo
- Maple Hollow DH
- Any trail where riders in your group intentionally jump their bikes. This means if riders jump, that trail immediately becomes officially off limits to that group until the group gets permission from the head coaches.
TRAILS THAT ONLY PINK, BLACK, SILVER, and RED CAN RIDE IF THE RIDE LEADER APPROVES (until further notice):
- Upper Rush (which is the section from the Peakview Trailhead down to the upper intersection with Canyon Hollow by the s-curves and bridge, and includes the following named trails: Rush Flow, Through the Trees, and the upper part of Exit Stage Left)
- Middle Rush (which includes the section of Exit Stage Left from the intersection with Canyon Hollow by the s-curves and bridge down to where Rush crosses the lower part of Canyon Hollow)
- Lower Rush (which includes the section from where Rush crosses the lower part of Canyon Hollow down to the five-way intersection)
PINK / BLACK / SILVER / RED
15 minute slow easy warm-up. We are continuing to build a strong fitness base this week. Focus on getting a lot of miles that riders can ride around an effort level 4 out of 10. Continuous pedaling with infrequent stops is ideal. Think about utilizing the trails on Ann’s West towards Maple Hollow area for variety for the riders. Black and Silver will combine today. It’s ok if they spread out a bit after the warm up. Ride leaders be aware of the natural gaps and place yourself accordingly so there’s a sweep in between any gaps that form.
ORANGE / YELLOW
15 minute slow easy warm-up. We are continuing to build a strong fitness base this week. Focus on continuous pedaling. Set a goal as a group to see how far up Ann’s East you can get without stopping. Before heading out on the trails, review looking ahead on the trail and picking out the best line so as to avoid getting hung up on small obstacles. This also includes giving the person in front of you enough space so you can see what’s coming up in the trail. There are enough ride leaders for these groups to split up if there are natural gaps in your group. Feel free to mix up the order of the groups while riding to let different kids be behind the leader and ride behind new people. We’d like to know which kids are not getting pushed enough or are getting pushed too hard in these groups so we can move riders accordingly.
GREEN / BLUE
15 minute slow easy warm-up. We are continuing to build a strong fitness base this week. Focus on continuous pedaling. Set a goal as a group to see how far up Ann’s you can get without stopping (points of reference in order of distance from the tunnel: park bench, Ann’s Point, river crossing, Edelweiss trail). Before heading out on the trails review shifting techniques, particularly looking ahead and shifting before you are on the hill. Head up to the tunnel and onto Ann’s East. This section of Ann’s is a great place to practice shifting before and after little climbs. Calling out shifts (like the telephone game) throughout your ride is a great way to work on this skill. Every rider needs to call it out for the person behind them throughout the group. Return to Little Valley in time to do a few loops on A, B, Or C lines to re-emphasize cornering skills and ready positions. There are enough ride leaders to split up as well if there are natural gaps in your group.
PURPLE
15 minute slow easy warm-up. While keeping the pace conversational as part of the warm up, see if you can get all the way to the tunnel without stopping. From there, explore a little farther up Ann’s East for more extended pedaling. Challenge the group to set a goal of continue pedaling for a certain amount of time (15 minutes) before stopping to rest. Adjust the time to more or less as you see fit for your group. Keep the pace slow and steady to keep riders from needing to stop. Celebrate meeting the goal, then do it again. Return to the beginner loops in Little Valley by 7:30. Spend the last 30 minutes practicing ready position and cornering skills on the A, B and C lines.