Spring in Decorah is off to a slow start with surprise snow and temperatures below average for this time of year. Folks are antzy for dry trails, especially with the 2018 Decorah Time Trials around the corner. It's unknown yet as to how firm the dirt trails will be by April 28th...only time will tell.
The ride we plan to have at 5 p.m. on April 24th is yet to be determined due to trail conditions. It's far too soon for us to promise a mountain bike ride yet. As the event gets closer, we will finalize details of where we will ride.
We are also in the early planning stages of a skills clinic that will go over some basics of bike handling, shifting, and braking that Travis and Josie will host. The plan is to have one in May and one in June, but with current weather conditions showing unpredictability, they are waiting a few more weeks to finalize the May date. This will be an event you will have to register for, as you will be using a mountain bike from Decorah Bicycles and there are limited numbers. This is due to the clinic being hosted on a grassy area and wider tires will feel more stable (than a hybrid or road bike.)
This is a great opportunity for folks who would love to learn the basics, and these basics can be applied to any type of cycling.
FWD Mother/Daughter Rides
Current schedule for the FWD Mother/Daughter Rides:
Tuesday, June 12th and 26th at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, July 10th and 24th at 7 p.m.
FWD Mother/Son Rides
Current schedule for the FWD Mother/Son Rides:
Sunday, June 3rd at 9 a.m.
Saturday, June 16th at 9 a.m.
Saturday, June 23rd at 9 a.m.
*all rides subject to change depending on trail conditions
A reminder that registration for our Mother/Kid rides will be opening up on
April 24th. If you cannot attend the event, you are welcome to email Josie to sign you and your child up for these rides. We are limiting the number of parents/kids to 10 total. Send an
email to Josie to register. Please list off the days you are planning to attend and if you are attending the Mother/Daughter or Mother/Son rides.
We can increase the number of participants if we have volunteers who are interested in helping out either Kim or Josie on these rides. Email josie@decorahbicycles.com if you wish to help out!
Please remember that we want to ensure that all bikes being used for these rides are in good working order. Bikes should have functioning brakes and if they have gears, they should shift smoothly.
We are not able to perform tune-ups on bikes during the ride- it is your responsibility to ensure you and your child have safe and functional bikes for these rides. Please plan ahead and get your bike(s) serviced before the riding season, especially if your child is also participating in the Decorah Parks and Recreation Mountain Biking Class. FWD Ride Leads can make the call on any bike they deem unsafe for the ride they are leading. This is to ensure the safety of all involved.
Please keep in mind that planning ahead does not mean bringing your bike in on Monday morning and having it finished by Monday afternoon. Most service jobs are completed at Decorah Bicycles within 24 to 48 hours.
If you wish to rent a bike for the mountain bike ride the cost will be $20.00. The rental also includes a helmet. (Which is a must for any of our FWD rides!)
In addition, if you are not on the FWD Mother/Kid Ride email list, please send an email to Josie and she'll put you on the list. This will be used to send out reminders of rides if a ride is canceled due to weather, and inform you of any special events FWD might be hosting. Email is a truly solid way of staying connected with any changes, as there have been instances where updates on a Facebook Event page were not seen.
We've had several ask about ordering the sleeveless Fearless Women of Dirt jersey. We will take orders for any of our Fearless Women of Dirt jerseys (short sleeve, sleeveless, and freeride) during our FWD Women's Night.
*If you ordered a jersey through the Team Store, it should be mailed out by April 11th from Borah Teamwear. If you find yourself with a size that does not work for you, Borah Teamwear WILL assist!
Decorah Bicycles currently has short sleeve, full-zip FWD jerseys in stock!
(XS-XL available)
$79.99
If you are not able to attend the FWD Women's Night and wish to order a jersey, email Josie your size and style option before April 28th. We will publicize this on our social media accounts closer to the date. This is an opportunity to order any style of FWD jersey, particularly if you need a size larger than XL or you need a XS size.
We're very excited for the riding season to start, but we know that there are folks who are nervous about attending a group ride. We've compiled a
Group Ride 101 post that should answer most questions. If you have further questions or concerns, you are very welcome to email Josie. Our hope is that Fearless Women of Dirt will grow and eventually we can set up further rides to better cater to the varying rider levels that would like to attend.
This is another
handy guide to read prior to joining our group rides. This will cover some basics of common accessories or gear items that can improve your experience with mountain biking.
We are going to cover several items listed on this guide with our
GRAND PRIZE at our FWD Women's Night! We will have a Specialized Tactic helmet ($75 value), a pair of fingerless BG Gel gloves ($35 value), pair of Specialized Sport shorts ($50 value), a Decorah Bicycles jersey ($80 value), and a Specialized Cap ($25 value). This setup will work with you on mountain bike rides, gravel, or pavement.
What do you have to do to get this awesome setup? Join our FWD women's night!
What we'd love even more is if you became a member of Fearless Women of Dirt, that will truly complete this awesome package prize.
We will have other great prizes from our sponsors for the evening:
ESI Grips,
Joshua Tree Life,
Impact Coffee,
Decorah Bicycles,
Shebeest, and
Specialized Bicycles.
Notes on the FWD Women's Night Format-
We plan to have some sort of ride leaving from Decorah Bicycles at 5 p.m. Ideally if you need a bike, you should plan to be at Decorah Bicycles by 4:45 p.m to get set up.
Our ride will be determined on trail conditions. If the soft trails are not in good condition, we will ride the Trout Run Trail. Our end time for the ride will be approx. 6:30 p.m./6:45 p.m.
Travis will be at the shop to let folks in if they beat us to the shop.
The social event will officially start at 7 p.m. Please be at the shop before 7 p.m. so you do not miss out, but if you absolutely cannot be at the shop before 7 p.m. you are still welcome to come! If you missed out on anything you wished to learn, Josie can fill you in later.
We will draw for door prizes at the end of the presentations.
Post prize drawing we can take jersey orders, membership payments, and complete ride registrations.
If you cannot stay until 9 p.m. and you want to purchase a FWD membership, order a jersey, or register for one of the Mother/Kid rides- Travis can assist with those if we're still in the discussion format. Membership/Ride registration can also happen at any point during regular Decorah Bicycles business hours.
We have a poll going on our
Facebook page pertaining to group rides. Due to our late spring, we're not entirely sure on what the soft trails will be like for the start of our riding season. Options include riding the Trout Run Trail loop or riding Trout Run Trail to River Road and riding to Lower Dam and back. We're also open to riding part-way to Bluffton, tho it depends on rider level/confidence of those attending. Ideally, we want to host a weekly ride of some sort and figure that either of these options will provide an opportunity for us to ride together. We can even incorporate some skill lessons that can be practiced on our ride that can later be transferred to the trails!
Last but not least....
Decorah Time Trials! They are happening and will be held on Saturday, April 28th. Even if you have no desire to participate (
since the weather is super questionable) the participants love to see your smiling faces down in Death Vally or at the Finish Line! (
You can even drive up to Van Peenen Park and catch some of the action!)
Attending as a spectator is free. If you wish to join the Time Trials the short course fee is $15.00 and the long course fee is $25.00
Awards will be at
T-Bock's in the upstairs.
