What To Bring

How To Prepare For A Ride Guide Event

Prepare for any event in the same way as you would for a weekend riding trip! None of the items on this list are likely to be offered by Ride Guide. If you don't have some of these equipment, let us know ahead of time and we'll assist you in getting set up!

Here is everything we require and recommend for you to bring to set you up for success.

What is Required

  • Food! Make sure to pack a nice lunch with lot's of snacks.

  • Trail bike for morning skills and afternoon rides.

  • Clothing for all types of weather including rain, wind, and sun.

  • Hydration pack and/or water bottles. We will have water at the event, but we suggest that you fill them beforehand.

  • Trail helmet, riding sunglasses, and full-finger riding gloves.

  • Spare tube for your tire size. Make sure you talk with a bike shop to ensure you have the proper tube size and valve length for your wheels.

What is Recommend

  • Although we are perfectly happy and capable of giving instruction with a fixed seat post, we do suggest bringing a bike that has a dropper seat post so you are more comfortable practicing skills at slow speeds that require bike/body separation. We will be practicing with the seat up and down to ensure a well-rounded skillset.

  • To make sure your bike is in perfect working order for our event, make sure you do a full bike check before you arrive. We suggest getting it checked and serviced at a bike shop at least a week in advance.

  • Elbow and Knee pads.

  • A casual clothing set with casual sunglasses if you'd like to change after the event.

  • Basic riding tools for on the trail maintenance and repair. Tire levers, co2, multitool, and small pump. Although our instructors and guides will also have these items with them, we advise you to bring your own tools as you would to any long trail ride. We recommend that you bring these items on any trail ride, not during the morning skills instruction.

OVERVIEW OF ITEMS TO BRING​

Clothing:

Pack for all potential riding weather, including rain. Bring an extra set of clothing if you’d like to change after riding. Bring riding gloves.

Hydration:

Make sure you have a hydration pack or water bottles, and ideally fill them before coming to the event.

Lunch:

Although we’ll set you up with snacks, we ask that you bring your own packed lunch to the event. There will be limited time to leave the event to purchase food, so please bring something portable you can keep in your ride bag if possible. If you have something specific you like to have on the trail, please bring that along too. We take your food preference in consideration the best we can, but definitely bring your favorite snacks if you are food-sensitive.

Sunscreen & Other Protection:

Consider sunscreen, mosquito repellent, and similar things to keep you comfortable in various conditions.

Trail Helmet:

Bring a trail helmet for pedal oriented skills and rides, and riding glasses.

Arm and Leg Protection:

All that we recommend to bring is knee pads and elbow pads. Although we highly suggest to bring this protection, it is not required for the event.​

Pedals:

Although flats can help develop proper technique when learning new skills, you are more than welcome to use clipless pedals. Our instructors ride and teach in both clipless and flats. If you have both options available and are unsure which to use for this event, we do suggest you choose flats to ensure comfort in learning new skills before progressing to clipless.

Please read our blog post "The Pedal Misconception" to learn our philosophy on clipless vs flat pedals.​

Shoes:

Make sure to bring shoes that are compatible with the pedals you use. For clipless pedals, you need shoes with cleats, regardless of the pedal platform size. For flat pedals, you need shoes with flat soles and no cleats. Contact us for recommendations before the event.

Tubes and Tools:

Our instructors are always prepared to help handle trailside repairs, but bring basic riding tools if you have them. Bring a spare tube in case of a flat.

Bike:

Have your bike checked and tuned by a bike shop mechanic before you come to camp so that it’s in great working order and you’re set up for success.