Practices start tomorrow. There are a few things to know before the season’s first practice. This article helps get you ready for the first team ride of the year.
Practice Packs
- Riders and coaches, you can view your pack assignment here.
- If we find last year’s signs, they’ll be set up somewhere in the parking area. Please report to your color. For example, if you’re in the blue pack, you go to the blue sign. If for some reason we can’t find the signs, we’ll try to do something else (colored something-or-others).
- If your practice pack appears to be too slow or too fast, please let the leader know after practice. We’ll figure out a better placement for you. We did our best, but only about 40% of people got a TT, so it’s somewhat of a guessing game
Coaches’ Tips for First-Timers
- Being a “leader” means three things: Check kids in, check kids out, and don’t lose anyone. You can do this from anywhere in the pack, not just the front. In fact, you can’t really coach from the front! Plan to rotate through the pack.
- Start every practice with a quick bike safety check: Check tires for adequate pressure, check brakes to be sure they’re working, check cranks/bracket to make sure they’re not falling off, and check wheel skewers to make sure they’re tight (especially QRs).
- Week 1 – Do a slow roll somewhere (like say just the parking lot, or the first little loop at a trail) to establish how you’re going to lead the group. Will you be up front? Or will you be in the middle, etc. How do you call out turns, etc. Set some simple expectations before you hit the woods.
- Identify one or more sweepers: Nobody should ever be riding alone in the woods. To ensure that doesn’t happen, you need one (or more, preferably) parents at the back of your pack ensuring nobody gets left behind. If you are consistently dropping someone (or a group) consider splitting your pack for the day. If you have enough coaches you can send 2 with a front group and 2 with a back group. It’s ok to decide this on the fly.
- Stop at intersections that are even remotely confusing: To ensure you don’t lose anyone and to ensure your sweepers have time to let you know how things are going at the back of your pack, ensure the who group stops periodically (this doesn’t really apply to the varsity-level groups). This is where sweepers and leaders can communicate about how it’s going.
Sweeping 101:
- If you’re a sweeper, don’t pass kids in your group. Ever.
- Always stay at the back. You’re the watcher on the wall, the bulwark against the sea, the guardian at the gate… whatever you want to call it, it’s up to you that nobody falls out the back of your group and ends up alone.
- If someone in your group has a mechanical, you can stop to work on it with that rider. If you have a second sweeper, send them ahead with the group and resolve the issue to the best of your ability (including walking out with the rider). If you don’t have a second sweeper, keep your group together.
- Don’t lose anyone! You’ll do great. 😉
Student Riders: What to bring (required)
- Helmet: Riders should have their helmets on 100% of the time they swing a leg over their bike. We don’t want to see anyone without a helmet on even standing over their bike.
- Bike (in working order): We will go over some basic bike safety checks before practices this week. We do not have a team mechanic, so it’s important to bring a bike that’s ready for a trail ride. We do have discounts at all our sponsor bike shops so if you need help, check out our sponsors page and get a tuneup!
- Water: It’s going to get hot this week, and for much of the season. 1 water bottle per hour is a good guide. Or if you have a hydration pack, wear that.
Other recommended things to bring:
- Spare Parts / Bike Tool / Tube / Sealant: Especially for our older kids, fixing a flat tire on the trail is a great skill to develop. Coaches ride with some stuff, but not enough to cover every situation. We do recommend a small bag with the necessary items to fix simple issues (chain, tire, allen-wrenches).
- Bug Repellant: There are lots of ticks this year. I found three on myself at Owasippe last week, and one on my leg at CSGA this week. Wear bug repellant to keep them off. Please do a tick-check after practice.