first timers, me and my 9yr old.

slitterman said:
well, guess i have alot to learn about places to ride near me. didnt think there were so many options. i shud be good to go by next week. surgery has me down now. kids ready to go, but i cant move that good right now. took a drive last week, and didnt quite find 6mile. maybe this week ill take a ride and try and find allaire, and other local spots.
im in sayreville, took dog for a walk in my local woods yesterday, mainly to see other places we could ride....along the river sayreville, south river.
found a couple different possible rides we can take...just to get him in the hang of things.
unfortunatley, dog came home with a bunch of ticks.
anyway. i appreciate the reply from you guys.
guess there are pleanty of places to ride near us.

maximus...thanks for offer.
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There is also "Frost Woods" on Summerhill road. VERY small park, but someone did build a huge drop/jump thing to play on.

I would be more than happy to show you Allaire and 6Mile when you are ready. I am VERY close to Sayerville.
 
on summerhill rd uh. amazes me how much is out there and i drive by everyday. work the 3rd shift on summerhill road.
but i guess since im just getting into the riding, maybe thats why i dont know.
soon enuff we will be headed out. i am feeling better, my son is ready to ride.
just picked up a bike yesterday for myself. used, but new to me. i was looking for a dj mtb but picked up a reg, xc i guess style specialized bike off clist.
i do appreciate the offers from some of you guy/gals? think its awsome that people offer options to people they dont know, but in order to offer help
awsome.
 
there is only one downfall here. my son will be leaving for d.r. in mid june. so hopefully i can get him out a couple times before get goes on summer vacation.
i plan to get hime out as much as possible. hopefully he loves it this time and comes home waiting to ride.
 
well today we made it out to 6mr. i had planned to leave here around 6am. talked to my son last night and he seemed siked. said, lets get up at 5. so we did. up at 5. packed and reay by 530. thnk we got to park around 6 or a little after.
now for the ride.
little hard for my young one. think he is a little scared. or riding or trying. not sure which. but thru farmland was ok. he may have stopped a time or two. then into the woods... at first he tried a bit. but then seemed...or he made it to be too tuff. which upset me a bit. not that the ride was tuff, but that he didnt push himself to try. mud was issue for him, slipping pedals, roots, etc.
now we are not riders. so i should understand it might be a bit hard. i woulda just like to see him push or try some more.
needless to say, i didnt make the entire trail. we got to about the part where theres a little bridge and then uphill with what looked like 2 different directions...
he walked most of the way back.
when we got to the car, he thougth we were headed home. but i headed across the way to the flat canal side. and we rode a good bit there. flat land was better for him. obviously. so not sure whats next.
i mean im gonna keep putting bikes on car and going. just might stick to flats or flatish, to build him up. think he needs to get better on bike, riding, shifting, etc before i get him in a trail.
i plan to head back there and do solo runs. 1 to get thru it all, 2 to get familiar with area3 to build my riding up a bit.
glad we went early. only saw 2 guys headed in when we were coming out.
then around 830 ish. saw like 3 trucks full of riders show up.
guess it was good that we were in and out. that way we wouldnt be in regular riders ways.
till next time....
 
Way to muddy for 6MR today. Check the conditions thread before you go next time, it's sooooo much better dry and riding when it's muddy ruts out the trail.

All part of the learning curve.
 
I took a family with a young boy out riding, he was on the wrong size bike (too big) on a flat paved trail and he was miserable. Took the same family out yesterday. He had a different bike, but this one was way too small. But this time I took them to Allaire, not only did he have a great time, and now wants to ride with us again, but he is thinking of taking up BMX.

The moral of the story, too easy and its boring, too hard and its demoralizing.

Take him to a fun but easy trail till he gets used to it, then take him to 6M.

some kids would handle 6M just fine first time out, some wont. I always suggest something more like Allaire first. The blue trail there is easy, but still fun. Or any park with flatter trails, smooth easy turns, not twist ones, and almost no obstacles. Once he gets more confident, then you take him to other places.

dont misunderstand, I LOVE 6M, but I would not take a real brand new beginner there, unless they were REAL stoked about it and had a FULL awareness of the risks of riding (working hard, logs, crashes, mud)
 
slitterman said:
well today we made it out to 6mr. i had planned to leave here around 6am. talked to my son last night and he seemed siked. said, lets get up at 5. so we did. up at 5. packed and reay by 530. thnk we got to park around 6 or a little after.
now for the ride.
little hard for my young one. think he is a little scared. or riding or trying. not sure which. but thru farmland was ok. he may have stopped a time or two. then into the woods... at first he tried a bit. but then seemed...or he made it to be too tuff. which upset me a bit. not that the ride was tuff, but that he didnt push himself to try. mud was issue for him, slipping pedals, roots, etc.
now we are not riders. so i should understand it might be a bit hard. i woulda just like to see him push or try some more.
needless to say, i didnt make the entire trail. we got to about the part where theres a little bridge and then uphill with what looked like 2 different directions...
he walked most of the way back.
when we got to the car, he thougth we were headed home. but i headed across the way to the flat canal side. and we rode a good bit there. flat land was better for him. obviously. so not sure whats next.
i mean im gonna keep putting bikes on car and going. just might stick to flats or flatish, to build him up. think he needs to get better on bike, riding, shifting, etc before i get him in a trail.
i plan to head back there and do solo runs. 1 to get thru it all, 2 to get familiar with area3 to build my riding up a bit.
glad we went early. only saw 2 guys headed in when we were coming out.
then around 830 ish. saw like 3 trucks full of riders show up.
guess it was good that we were in and out. that way we wouldnt be in regular riders ways.
till next time....
Click to expand...

listen to me...two words...right down the GSP from Sayreville....you ready for it...here it comes....two words...Tatum Park.
 
2 words. got it il look into that.
maybe i was wrong for taking him there yesterday. i didnt think that it was too muddy but might have affected ride
sons riding a 24 octane. diamond back. unfortunatley i dont have moneys right now to be buying bikes. soon as i get back to work and some bills cought up, ill look into bike size and if he needs a different size that will help, ill go that route.
was thinking about heading to allaire tomorrow am. but with the continued rains, not sure if that is a good idea.
will be riding. local spots, the flatter ones. think the more we ride where he is comfortable, the more he will build his riding.
thanks for replies guys, much appreciated.
 
slitterman said:
2 words. got it il look into that.
maybe i was wrong for taking him there yesterday. i didnt think that it was too muddy but might have affected ride
sons riding a 24 octane. diamond back. unfortunatley i dont have moneys right now to be buying bikes. soon as i get back to work and some bills cought up, ill look into bike size and if he needs a different size that will help, ill go that route.
was thinking about heading to allaire tomorrow am. but with the continued rains, not sure if that is a good idea.
will be riding. local spots, the flatter ones. think the more we ride where he is comfortable, the more he will build his riding.
thanks for replies guys, much appreciated.
Click to expand...
cheesequake is good. but if Six Mile was a bit much. Cheesequake miught be as well. not very technical but the trails are filled with roots.

Tatum is mostly mowed field-edge and fire roads with some non-technical single track thrown in. it is barely "mouintain biking" but is the PERFECT place to introduce a kid to the sport. there is also a mountain bike race there (Woods Hollow Classic) every year run by the County Parks Dept.
 
wonderturtle said:
cheesequake is good. but if Six Mile was a bit much. Cheesequake miught be as well. not very technical but the trails are filled with roots.

Tatum is mostly mowed field-edge and fire roads with some non-technical single track thrown in. it is barely "mouintain biking" but is the PERFECT place to introduce a kid to the sport. there is also a mountain bike race there (Woods Hollow Classic) every year run by the County Parks Dept.
Click to expand...

think we are off the 6mile for now. and headed to the non mountain bike part tomorrow in the early am. depending on how that goes, i might head to huber from there. but non mountain bikers prob dont belong there either. so after tomorrow, ill see what happens.
 
I still say give Mercer a try. No elevation change at all. Just stay on the west side to avoid all the roots!

slitterman said:
think we are off the 6mile for now. and headed to the non mountain bike part tomorrow in the early am. depending on how that goes, i might head to huber from there. but non mountain bikers prob dont belong there either. so after tomorrow, ill see what happens.
Click to expand...
 
Just get him riding as much as possible (without burning him out). He'll enjoy the ride much more with a little fitness under his belt. Tatum Park looks like a good bet, but riding around the neighborhood would also work.
 
well yesterday we got up at 5am again. and out the door by 530. went to tatum,huber and hartsthorne...all closed. so we went back to tatum. parked in chinese church and rode into park. was good for him i think. he stopped a couple times but then got back on and rode....unlike what happend at 6m. and hour or so later he said his belly hurt, so we tried to find our way back.
all in all, decent ride. and i think this is where il try and have him build his skills up.
not too far. and good enuff for us no pros...
appreciate the replies and help.
 
slitterman said:
well yesterday we got up at 5am again. and out the door by 530. went to tatum,huber and hartsthorne...all closed. so we went back to tatum. parked in chinese church and rode into park. was good for him i think. he stopped a couple times but then got back on and rode....unlike what happend at 6m. and hour or so later he said his belly hurt, so we tried to find our way back.
all in all, decent ride. and i think this is where il try and have him build his skills up.
not too far. and good enuff for us no pros...
appreciate the replies and help.
Click to expand...
good to hear.

for future reference with respect to Hartshorne and Huber being closed.

the Hartshorne lot on Navesink Road (ie. the "lower lot" or the "Buttermilk Valley parking lot") never closes nor does the Huber lot on Locust Point Road

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Locust+Point+Road,+Atlantic+Highlands,+NJ&ie=UTF-8
 
thanks for heading me in the right direction. might not have worked out to good if i kept taking my kid who was not ready for 6m back there.
not sure where i tried to get into parks. but was thinking about maybe starting at tatum and if he did good and wanted to try, to shoot over to huber.
but think its better to just run what he can. and get good there. before heading to tuffer place. thanks again man.
 
slitterman said:
thanks for heading me in the right direction. might not have worked out to good if i kept taking my kid who was not ready for 6m back there.
not sure where i tried to get into parks. but was thinking about maybe starting at tatum and if he did good and wanted to try, to shoot over to huber.
but think its better to just run what he can. and get good there. before heading to tuffer place. thanks again man.
Click to expand...

I've got an eleven year old who is finally starting to get the hang of it. I think I started him at about 9. He is not the sportiest (nor the most coordinated kid) but part of it is that I didn't take him enough. Maybe two - three time a season. Anyway...he does pretty well at Allaire and Thompson Park in Lincroft/Middletown. I really am trying not to push him too hard because I don't want to discourage him (as I did with every other sport).
We live right next door s to Thompson Park which has a little more single track that Tatum but also has a lot of flat meadow trails also similar to Tatum. Also near by is the "Other side of Holmdel Park" (Sort of across the street from the main entrance called the Raminessen (sp?) section...very scenic and you won't see another soul." There is about 5 miles of relatively easy trails. I think Huber & Harthshorn Woods would be way to tough for a 9 year old. They key is not to discourage him because it is something you could do together for a long time to come if he likes it.
 
been riding with nieces and nephew. Mercer seems best for beginning then allaire only a slight step up. relatively no hills at mercer but they get the idea of trails. six mile is along the lines of allaire it seems. of course there is some avoiding of sections and some walking. alot of patient teaching and positive feedback. when we're done and eating i point out how food tastes even better after a hard ride. they seem to get a kick out of it. I also try to teach them what getting their second wind means. hope this is helpful.
 
thanks guys. appreciate feedback and suggestions. i thought tatum was a good place. didnt seem too hard for him. yet after about an hour, we headed home. might have to give mercer a try. only bad thing is that my son is leaving for d.r. in about a week and a half. he wont be back in jersey till mid august. guess between now and when he gets back, i need to get out to these parks solo and get an idea of whats what and where...that way i can let him know where we are headed when he gets back. thats an iffy part when we ride. i dont know where we are headed. so when he askes, which way, where we headed....i never know.
thanks again.
 
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