Please read the following guidelines carefully, and pick the levels that best describe your skill and fitness.
If you are unsure if a trip is right for you, please contact us at ride@sacredrides.com.
You've never ridden a mountain bike before.
You have limited experience with off-road trail riding.
You're hooked on riding off-road and wide dirt trails (atv trails or doubletrack), but still lack the skills and confidence to consistently ride terrain with roots, rocks, tight corners, tight trees and steeps. Singletrack - what is singletrack?
Your dedication to mountain biking has led you to your first handful of rides on real singletrack. You enjoy the smooth mellow singletrack, although often the trees feel too tight, the climbs come too quick to shift and have you walking, and the obstacles have you a bit surprised as you did not even know people ride right over logs!
TERRAIN
At a controlled speed and on mellow singletrack terrain, you are comfortable riding a variety of singletrack which may include tight trees, mud, loose rocks and sand.
OBSTACLES
You are comfortable and confident rolling over small obstacles (a couple inches high) like roots, rocks and small rollable drops (a couple inches high). You do not take your wheels off the ground.
BIKE PARKS
If you have ridden a bike park, you are comfortable on all green trails and easy blue trails. You roll over obstacles with ease, although keep both wheels on the ground.
BIKE SKILLS
You are confident and successful executing the following basic bike handling skills on mellow singletrack:
Shifting - you anticipate the terrain and shift gears accordingly.
Descending - you are comfortable and balanced standing up off of your seat and can maintain level pedals for the entire descent.
Speed Control and Braking - you use momentum to climb rolling terrain and are comfortable using both your front and back brakes when required.
TERRAIN
You are comfortable riding a variety of singletrack which may include tight trees, mud, loose rocks and sand and are comfortable doing so on more challenging terrain.
OBSTACLES
You are comfortable and confident with a front wheel lift and rear wheel lift to get up and over larger obstacles (up to 6 inches) such as roots and rocks that are not rollable. On small rollable drops (up to 1 foot) with a clean open landing, you feel comfortable airing off of it having both wheels off the ground at the same time.
BIKE PARKS
If you have ridden a bike park, you are comfortable on all green trails and blue trails. You are working on drops and jumps.
BIKE SKILLS
You are confident and successful executing the following bike handling skills on a variety of singletrack:
Shifting - you anticipate hills by shifting gears often and smoothly.
Climbing - you shift your bodyweight forward in efforts to keep traction on your front wheel. Climbing is typically successful, unless technical roots, rocks or corners have you walking a short section.
Descending - you are comfortable and balanced standing up off of your seat and can maintain level pedals for the entire descent. You are comfortable with speed and letting go of your brakes as long as you can see the exit or end of the descent.
Speed Control and Braking - you use momentum to climb rolling terrain and are comfortable using both your front and back brakes when required.
Cornering - you understand effective cornering techniques although still need to work on your timing and coordination.
TERRAIN
You are comfortable riding a variety of singletrack which may include tight trees, mud, loose rocks and sand and are comfortable doing so on aggressive terrain with little braking.
OBSTACLES
You often J-hop over obstacles such as roots and rocks that less advanced riders may wheel lift over. Drops (up to 2 feet) excite you and there is no question about airing off of it, having both wheels leave the ground.
BIKE PARK
If you have ridden a bike park, you are comfortable on all green, blue and black trails. You are working on larger drops and larger jumps.
BIKE SKILLS
You are confident and successful executing the following bike handling skills on a variety of singletrack:
Shifting - you anticipate hills by shifting gears often and smoothly.
Climbing - you shift your bodyweight forward in efforts to keep traction on your front wheel. Climbing that involves technical roots, rocks and switchbacks are typically no issue for you.
Descending - you use the brakes sparingly, air off every little rock, root and drop you can find.
Speed Control and Braking - you use momentum to climb rolling terrain and are comfortable using both your front and back brakes independently of each other when required.
Cornering - your timing and coordination on all types of berms is solid. You are comfortable leaning your bike through the corner and exit with exceleration.
TERRAIN
You are comfortable riding a variety of singletrack which may include tight trees, mud, loose rocks and sand and are comfortable doing so on aggressive terrain with little braking. You rarely, if ever, walk.
OBSTACLES
You often J-hop over obstacles such as roots and rocks that less advanced riders may wheel lift over. Drops (over 2 feet) excite you and there is no question about airing off of them, having both wheels leave the ground.
BIKE PARK
If you have ridden a bike park, you are comfortable on all green, blue, black and double black trails. You are working on larger drops and larger jumps found on “pro-lines”.
BIKE SKILLS
You are confident and successful executing the following bike handling skills on a variety of singletrack:
Shifting - you anticipate hills by shifting gears often and smoothly.
Climbing - you shift your bodyweight forward in efforts to keep traction on your front wheel. Climbing technical roots, rocks and switchbacks are no issue for you.
Descending - you use the brakes sparingly and air off of every rock, root and drop you can find.
Speed Control and Braking - you use momentum to climb rolling terrain and are comfortable using both your front and back brakes independently of each other when required.
Cornering - your timing and coordination on all types of berms, switchbacks and corners is solid. You are comfortable leaning your bike through fast corners and exit with exceleration.
You are a mountain bike god/goddess. You can handle the most technical terrain imaginable, eat up steeps for breakfast and can ride stunts up to 8 feet high.
Note: “Pedal time” means just that, hours pedaling. For example: 6 hours of pedal time would likely turn into an 8 hour day out on the bike once breaks are included.
You are a couch potato.
You cannot ride for more than half an hour on flat terrain at a time, and the thought of climbing on a bike is daunting.
You exercise less than 1 hour per week.
You live a fairly sedentary life with little physical activity other than walking.
You can handle a 1 hour bike ride on flat terrain at a relaxed pace.
Riding for multiple days in a row is not possible.
Small, short hills are challenging to climb, but are sometimes manageable.
You exercise on average 1 hour per week (including riding a mountain bike).
You are capable of 2 hours of pedal time in a day at a relaxed pace, as long as there are several breaks.
Riding for multiple days in a row sounds daunting, but you could handle 2 or 3 days of it at no more than 2 hours of pedal time per day.
You can handle one or two easy climbs of up to 150 vertical metres (330 ft.) total.
You exercise on average 2 hours per week (including riding a mountain bike).
You are capable of riding for multiple days in a row at a moderate pace for an average of 2 hours of pedal time each day.
You could handle adding in a day requiring up to 3 hours of pedal time.
You are capable of climbing up to 200 vertical metres (650 ft.) in a day.
You exercise on average 3 hours per week.
Your exercise regime includes a combination of endurance training like riding a bike and strength training.
You are capable of riding for multiple days in a row at a moderate pace for an average of 2-3 hours of pedal time each day.
You could handle adding in a day requiring up to 4 hours of pedal time.
You are confident climbing up to a total of 300 vertical metres (1,000 ft.) in a day.
You exercise on average 4 hours per week.
Your exercise regime includes a combination of endurance training like riding a bike and strength training.
You are capable of riding for multiple days in a row at a moderate pace for an average of 3-4 hours of pedal time each day.
You could handle adding in a day requiring up to 5 hours of pedal time.
You can handle moderately steep climbs of up to a total of 500 vertical metres (1,650 ft.) in a day.
You exercise on average 5 hours per week.
Your exercise regime includes a combination of endurance training like riding a bike and strength training.
You are capable of riding for multiple days in a row at a moderate pace for an average of 3-4 hours of pedal time each day.
You could handle adding in a day requiring up to 5 hours of pedal time.
You can handle moderate climbs up to 750 vertical metres (2,450 ft) total in a day.
You exercise on average 6 hours per week.
Your exercise regime includes a combination of endurance training like riding a bike and strength training.
You are capable of riding for multiple days in a row at a moderate pace for an average of 3-4 hours of pedal time each day.
You could handle adding in a day requiring up to 6 hours of pedal time.
You have little trouble climbing 1,000 vertical metres (3,280 ft.) in a day on steep terrain.
You exercise on average 6-10 hours per week.
Your exercise regime includes a combination of endurance training like riding a bike and strength training.
You are capable of riding for multiple days in a row at a moderate pace for an average of 3-4 hours of pedal time each day.
You could handle adding in a day requiring up to 6 hours of pedal time.
You can handle steep, sustained climbs of up to 1,500m (4,920 ft) in a day.
You exercise over 10 hours per week.
Your exercise regime includes a combination of endurance training like riding a bike and strength training.