Beginner to Advanced!

[Tall Steve]

All,

I need someone to help me out with rating the trails that are around middle tn. I am a beginner mtb, but would consider myself a intermediate roadie. I can turn the crank. I have spent most of my time at AEDC with one trip to Bell, which was not pretty. Fell on a skinny bridge.

Which trails should I start with? How should I progress through them? I am comfortable with AEDC. There are a couple of steep hills that get to me, but for the most part, I am on my bike the entire 13 miles. Where do I go from here that I wont get myself into trouble. I am not a fast rider. I guess I am looking for a easiest to hardest ranking. Is that possible.

thanks,

Tall Steve

[bang-flash]

Rating something is pretty subjective and everyone's opinion is going to differ. That being said I will list a few trails around the Nashville area Easiest to hardest that I think you may enjoy.

AEDC
Lock 4
Chickasaw Trace
Tims' Ford
Defeated Creek
Monty Bell
Hamilton Creek

[TNcaveman]

All of the trails around here are doable by any beginner. Since you can do 13 miles at AEDC, you should not have a problem. Just take a map, learn how to read it incase you want to bailout early. Tims Ford is about the only trail with no bailout route.



Steve

[Tall Steve]

thanks. Where does Fairview fall in this list?

[FullSquishy]

Originally Posted by Tall Steve

thanks. Where does Fairview fall in this list?

It is the easiest trail we have. Great for beginners or someone looking for some nice views and a pretty easy mtb. spin. Be sure to call first as it is closed for weather often.

[baconrocket]

i did it wrong. the first trail i rode after 8 years of mountain biking in west tn was hamilton creek. i thought i was going to die.

i kept riding it. fwiw i think monty is my favorite. lock 4 is probably a good place to start IMO. i have no experience with AEDC

[idocbkr]

I consider myself a relative beginner as well.

Lock 4 would be my first choice as well

I have ridden AEDC, Jones Mill, Hamilton Creek, Tim's Ford, and Cotton Mill

If you have plenty of cardio, I think you will be ok with Tim's Ford...there are plenty of climbs, but I don't remember it being too technical.

Long Hunter and Ham Creek I thought were ok, too, but they are ROCKY. Also, I haven't ridden the most difficult sections of Ham Creek.

[Tall Steve]

I have been riding AEDC, Lock 4, and Chickasaw. I feel most comfortable on AEDC, but have been there many times. Lock 4 is doable for me, but I have only been there twice. There is one place that I have not mastered, but that will come. I went to Chickasaw only once. I did great until I got the trail of tears. The easy and moderate sections were great fun.

[homer]

Eddie's got it right, with Defeated and MB being a toss-up, to me.

I'd put Jones Mill between Aedc and L4.

[00accord4cyl]

I would say Long Hunter is one of the easiest also...and it is really short

[Tall Steve]

Ok, so my update to this thread is as follows, easiest to the hardest I have ridden so far;

Fairview
AEDC - my good ole place.
Lock 4 - very fun place to go. Lots of variety
Tims (very cardio rich)
Chickasaw - has easy section,s but also tough towards the end
Shutes - good rock training here - has very easy section at beginning
Montgomery Bell - only once here. 2nd time on a mtb. Very bad crash on one of the skinny bridges.

[homer]

Then there's
Defeated Creek- Lock 4 on steroids.- 9 mi.
Hamilton Creek- It's rockin'! (pun intended)- 12.5 mi. +- including advanced loop.

[Tall Steve]

Update to this thread is as follows, easiest to the hardest I have ridden so far;

Fairview
AEDC - my good ole place.
Lock 4 - very fun place to go. Lots of variety
Long Hunter - short, but fast....good variety of rocks, gravel and dirt.
Tims (very cardio rich)
Chickasaw - has easy to moderate sections but also tough towards the end
Shutes - good rock training here - has very easy section at beginning
Montgomery Bell - only once here. 2nd time on a mtb.

[gszman]

I rode Defeated last weekend after few years not riding. I thought it was a tough one to do

[Blackberry]

I've only ridden 4 trails now, but as a true beginner here is how I'd rate them from easiest to hardest

Lock 4 - good fast trail and lots of variety
Shutes Branch - the front 2.5 miles or so is great for beginners. the middle section is good for working on rocks (skip the white rocks as a beginner). the end section has nice flow and less rocks
Hamilton Creek - I only did the beginner/intermediate sections near the lake. not as bad as I had expected but certainly a slow go and pretty technical.
Montgomery Bell - did the advanced section 1st time on a mtb...almost made me never want to go again. however, this trail does have something for every skill level.

[Tall Steve]

Funny you would say that about Montgomery Bell. The second time on a MTB, my son took me out there. I was not happy about it either. Almost hurt myself on one those skinny bridges. Not a very good place for beginners.

[homer]

If you were on a skinny bridge,...you probably weren't on a beginner trail. As I did, if you wander off onto a green or yellow trail...prepare to have your butt handed to ya. However, the only way to do them, is to do them.

[twolfcon]

There's no foul in walking any part of any trail your not comfortable with.

However... there is if you wind up in a creek with 15 people watching you.

[Blackberry]

I rode Long Hunter for the first time on Sunday and here is now how I'd rate the trails from beginner to hardest.

Long Hunter
Lock 4
Shutes Branch
Hamilton Creek
MB

[homer]

Originally Posted by Blackberry

I rode Long Hunter for the first time on Sunday and here is now how I'd rate the trails from beginner to hardest.

Long Hunter
Lock 4
Shutes Branch
Hamilton Creek
MB

Are you including the advanced side of HC in that? Check out Defeated Creek, too!

[tvancleve]

Originally Posted by van98765

MB can be very easy or very hard, depending on what route you take. a fairly easy route - when you see the signs at the trail head, go left on red trail until you see "back blue" sign. go that way and around back to the trailhead (follow the signs). repeat if desired. as you get used to it, you can also take the other blue and white trails that fork off from the red trail. these all eventually end up back on the red trail. it's a beautiful thing.

if you get on the yellow trail, you are in for a major workout. lots of big hills. green and yellow are best left to the mountain bike experts IMO.

gotta love the blue and white trails.

I resemble that remark! Have ridden the ytellow twice now and got a major workout both times. Only landed on my arse once though!

[Blackberry]

Since I have now ridden a bit more and also the advanced side at hammy...

Long Hunter
Lock 4
Shutes Branch
Chickasaw (strictly based on the climbing)
MB
Hamilton Creek

[Tall Steve]

Updated
Fairview
AEDC - my good ole place.
Lock 4 - very fun place to go. Lots of variety
Long Hunter - short, but fast....good variety of rocks, gravel and dirt. This trail could be considered a good beginner trail if taken at a slower pace. Faster in the loose rock, sand and white rock area results in a harder rating.
Tims (very cardio rich)
Chickasaw - has easy to moderate sections but also tough towards the end
Shutes - good rock training here - has very easy section at beginning.
Hamilton Creek - beginner trail has a couple of big jumps, but with go arounds. Same for intermediate section. Advance section is tough. Lots of continual rock gardens. (hike a bike sections)
Montgomery Bell - only once here. 2nd time on a mtb.

[tgober]

I've ridden at Long Hunter, Lock 4 and Hammy only. Out of the 3, LH is the easiest, then Lock 4 and lastly Hammy. In order to build my skills and confidence, I've chosen to ride only LH until I feel very comfortable. So far, I've been riding it only for 2 months. This may not work for you, but it's working great for me. I've not crashed and my speed is improving.