MTB 101
At NORTHSTAR we use a beginner curriculum which is based upon the Canadian Mountain Bike Instructor Course (CMIC). It’s designed for those who have never ridden a mountain bike and want to start mountain biking and those who have mountain bikes but have not had a chance to ride trails. The 1 hour course covers basic techniques of riding on the trail such as; how to break, shift, understanding correct balance and other needed skills. This will allow you to enjoy a genuine mountain biking experience in a safe manner.
Lesson Flow
Stretching
A Physical trainer who is also a mountain biker has programed a special stretching program for mountain biking to stretch and soften the muscles you need for riding.
Neutral Position (Basic Riding Position)
Neutral Position = With the walking speed, put arches; middle of your feet on the pedals and make cranks level with the ground and stand on the bike with stretching legs.
Breaking (How to grip and apply breaks)
Brakes need to be used with one or two fingers; your index finger and or index finger and middle finger. Most of the time, you need to use both front and back brakes at same time though for practice, we will use front and back breaks separately. The point is to feather the breaks. No sudden breaking which can cause wheel locking and can also be dangerous.
Shifting (How to shift gears)
Shifting is controlled with your index finger and thumb. Pressing the shift lever while pedaling will make the gear change. Pressing the thumb lever on your right hand will shit down to a lighter gears for uphills and index lever will shift up to a heavier gears for accelerating.
Bike/Body Separation (Balance and weight position training on bikes)
MTB riding is almost like a riding a bull in a rodeo. You need to move your upper body positively to keep the balance on the bike.
Backward and forward: At a walking speed, crouch in the neutral position, move your upper body over handle bar and put your weight on the front wheel. Next pull your upper body back as you stretch your arms and move your hip to shift your weight over the back wheel. Practice this back and forth movement.
Side to side: At a walking speed, open your knees and lean your bike to the right and left. It is almost like riding on the sides of the tires, move your body to the opposite side to balance. Switch the side and keep balance. Practice this couple times.
Decent (Practicing to shift weight and how to use breaks on down hill terrain)
Use Bike/Body separation move your hip over to the back wheel with stretching arms. Almost like throwing the bike forward with breaking (front 7 : back 3).
Ascent
With siting position, move your upper body over the handle bar and keep traction on the back wheel to avoid wheel spin. Learn to choose a right gear to ascend up hills.
Balance Games (Standing Still Game, Slalom, etc)
Use all techniques you have learned and try the slalom to practice turning and weight shifting. Try standing balance games to practice breaking and balancing and get ready to head out to the trail.
Short Break
Trail Riding
Our guides will take you to single tracks. Variety of trails includes ups and downs gives you best first trail riding.
Rental Bikes
At NORTHSTAR you will find that we don’t hold back when it comes to gear. We have a fleet of KONA SHRED Mt. Bikes as our rental bikes. They are not only easy to handle for beginners but also tough.The light aluminum frame is designed for dirt jumping and has front suspension with 100mm of travel, disc breaks which allows even beginners to have a great time. We have a variety of frame sizes; 13″, 14″, 16″ which can fit all riders. Come ride with us and enjoy a real Canadian Mt. Bike.
About the Trails
Most of the trails are single track (about 1m wide) and are controlled by NORTHSTAR staff. For beginners, we provide easier trails first and eventually increase the difficulty as the rider progresses. Come ride in the amazing beauty of Norikur-Kogen!
*All the trails in Norikura-Kogen need to have certified guides to ride because of safety and environmental protection.
Season
From mid May to end of October
Pricing
With Lodging
Half day (3h) ¥5,500 （￥4,500*）
Full day (6h) ¥8,500 （￥7,000*）
Without Lodging
Half day (3h) ¥6,000 （¥5,000*）
Full day (6h) ¥9,500 （¥7,700*）
*Prices include lesson fee, guiding fee, rental bike fee, bike insurance and an original NORTHSTAR water bottle. (price*) is for with your own bike. If you would like to bring your bike we need to judge the bike is able to ride trails and we might need you to rent our rentals. Also the price above does not include insurances. We recommend our insurance.
Age Restriction
4th grade and up and needs to be able to ride bike with standing.
*For elementally school students participates need to have a guardian to participate with.
Group Size
From 3 people up to 10 people.
Registration
Please contact us from Reservation Page. Please note that our lodge guests have first priority for the lessons, so contact us before coming to ensure availability.
Disclaimer
Guides will make the final decision about what trail to ride. Please understand that we will have your safety as a primary focus of this mountain bike tour. We will take into consideration the riding ability of our guests, the weather, and the condition of the trail to make this evaluation.
Lesson/Tour Cancelation
If we decide that rain on the day or by the day before cause to make the trail condition worse or riding will make damage trails, we will cancel lesson or tour for a half day or whole day to protect our trails.
