This is what it is all about. Riding. Our members host group rides on a regular basis. We also try to organize a few road trips a season to sweet riding areas outside of Durham Region.

The DMBA uses ClubMTB to allow members to easily schedule group rides. As a member of the DMBA you will have an account created on ClubMTB. If you are a DMBA member and are having trouble please contact the DMBA’s ClubMTB administrator.

DMBA rides are intended for members, but are open to the public as well. We do this to show riders the best trails in the area. If you have a good time consider joining the DMBA and riding at other great places in Durham Region. Please don’t abuse our hospitality, we don’t want to turn people away but if you want to ride with us regularly we have to insist that you become a member.

We rate our rides in three ways. Technical difficulty of the trails, pace of the group, and duration of the ride. This make’s it a bit easier to decide which ride to join.

Technical Difficulty (or Skill Level):

• beginner: double track and some novice single track
• intermediate: single track that has some obstacles or features: log overs, roots, small rocks, etc.
• advanced: single track that has more technicality involved, maybe some drop offs, rock faces, steep sections, off camber sections, big logovers, etc.
• expert: much bigger drops, tighter off camber turns, higher speeds, loose soil.

Group Pace (or Fitness Level):

• easy:  ~10km/h average, lots of rests, rests in the 5 minute range.
• intermediate: ~12 km/h average, fewer rests, rests less than 5 minutes, uses the tag system.
• hard: ~15 km/h average, rests are the exception, uses the tag system to keep the group together.
• race: > 18 km/h average, no rests, if you’re dropped too bad.

Duration is up to the ride organizer, but typically the beginner/easy pace rides will be shorter; in the 1.25 to 1.5 hours range, and the  advanced/hard pace rides will be in the 2 to 2.5 hour range (possibly even longer).

The Tag System: When a larger group (15-20 riders) starts out it will start to break up into smaller groups. To keep the entire group on the same course we use the Tag System. If you are the last person in one of the smaller groups your job is to wait until you can see the first person in the next smaller group. You let them know which way the whole group is going and start riding again. Everyone does this until the last person, the sweeper, comes along.

Ride Schedule 2011