Saturday morning No Drop Group Mountain Bike Rides

  Big Hill Cycle is happy to bring Mountain Bike group rides to the Cochrane area for our clients and friends. Our rides will be geared towards Beginner/Intermediate riders capable of a 1–2-hour ride. These rides are "No Drop" rides which means we will never leave you behind and the only pressure on you to ride faster will come from within. Encouragement, knowledge sharing, fun and fitness are our goals for the ride. There is no payment needed, more on that later.

Are you a new rider looking for someone to ride with, or don’t know the trails? This would be a ride for you.

Have you been riding for a while but feel your fitness and skills are lacking? Join us and feel your confidence grow.

Full Suspension Mountain bikes or Hardtail Mountain bikes will be needed on these rides. You will not need an expensive bike to participate. Your bike does need to be in good working condition but also be capable to ride in the mountains not just a dirt track. Not all Mountain Bikes are designed for the mountains. Examples of our rides would be Merlin View or Ranger summit in West Bragg.

https://braggcreektrails.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/WBC_Full_Georeferenced_2020.pdf

Our rides will be adult coed, Beginner/Intermediate. Able to riding narrow trails with roots and rocks. We look forward to offering women’s only rides once we have the numbers to do so!

We will offer Gravel, Kids, and Road rides in the future. Next year we will start our BHC Club Ride, stay tuned. What is the difference between a Club Ride and a Group ride you ask? A Club has a membership and fees as well as matching jerseys. Any riders with 2 or more group rides will receive 50% off 2024 club ride fee. Space will be limited. More info to come January 2024.

Group ride participants will receive 20% off parts, clothing and accessories on the day of the ride. Discounts can not be combined.

Riders will meet at Big Hill Cycle; we will leave the parking lot at 8:30 AM sharp. Waivers will need to be signed as well as carpool organization. Arrive early. It is a 45 min drive to trail head, 1.5hr ride time, some socializing and then back to the store by noon on average. Riders that want to meet at trailhead can email Shane.

Rides will be West Bragg to begin with, but we will branch out to the rest of Kananaskis and Canmore as the season and riders’ progress.

All participants are asked to Join the WhatsApp Group chat and let me know if you are in for the day and to get up to date info. Email [email protected] for more info.

Schedule: Weather dependent

September 9th 8:30AM- Reconnect-Long distance 

September 16th 8:30AM- New climb trail on Moose Mountain down Family Guy

New Climb Trail

https://www.trailforks.com/trails/family-guy/

September 23rd 8:30AM- Canmore Nordic Center EKG

Etiquette

Our group ride rules are simple.  The rules are there to ensure the safety and enjoyment of the riders in our group.  Please respect them.

For Yourself

• Make sure your bike is in good working condition.
• Always wear a helmet. NO HELMET = NO RIDE.
• Be prepared - water, food, tools, adequate clothing.
• Make sure you contact store to let them know you will be on our group ride.

For Others

• Respect for other members, trail users, property and the environment.
• Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated.
• Dogs are not allowed on group rides.

Riding

• Stay in control of your bike at all times.
• Observe the minimum impact code.
• Ride, don't slide. Avoid skidding.
• Know your limits. Ride to the conditions.
• Ride on open trails only.
• Stay on the trail and avoid sensitive areas.
• Be courteous and respect other trail users.
• Keep the trails open - support trail maintenance activities.

E-Bikes on Group Rides

 Class 1 e-bikes (pedal assist only).

• It’s not what you ride, it’s how you ride.  Be sure to ride with the group's pace on the way up and the way down.
• Never overtake the ride leader or fall behind the sweep, and aim to ride at the group pace which will be determined by the Ride Leader.
• Don’t flaunt your e-bike power, don’t be too talkative on long/steep climbs, some won’t have breath to talk
• Choose the level of ride (Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced/Expert) based on your technical descending capabilities, not whether you can keep up on the climbs.  The Ride Leader can advise which group will best suit you if you have not ridden with Big Hill Cycle in the past.
• Ensure you have sufficient range in your battery for the planned ride duration, and allow additional margin for delays or a longer than anticipated ride.  This is typically 1.5 to 2 hours for a weekend ride.