Cranks Around the Campfire Mountain Biking Festival

[stilluf]

Is there a single-day Pass?

Yes

 

[mattybfat]

My 9am deer park group

 

[DanBrodeen]

Thank you everyone for an amazing Cranks weekend! It may have been cut short by the weather today but we had a blast with you all Friday and Saturday! We won’t have the kid’s activities or official group rides today. If you are interested in riding before the heavy stuff starts meet at Vollers Field at 9. There will be some locals willing to show you the way. See you all next year!

 

[Kaleidopete]

not much, but...

 

[Cassinonorth]

Only got a couple myself. Solid weekend.

 

[Dominique]

S and me went for a ride on Friday night

Lots of fun on the intermediate Steven’s Ride

 

[JimN]

Thank you everyone for an amazing Cranks weekend!

Killer weekend! Thanks for organizing and keeping this event going, Dan. It's always such a fun time!

 

[iman29]

Got there later than planned on Saturday morning with Zach and barely made the start of the novice / beginner ride as the group was rolling past. Was a bit of a challenge with such a big group and then Zach bent his rear derailleur on a rock so we had to head back and walk all the way back up the road to my car. Lucky I had a decent parking spot near registration. Not off to a great start.

Went to the car to cool off and reset and got some drinks and snacks. We waited a bit for the repair tech but then a friend recommended to stop by the demo tent and see if they can help. Big shout
Out to the Tenafly bike guy who was able
To bend it back and tuned it to work even better then when we got there according to Zach.

At that point with no group rides around we just decided to go exploring on our own and followed the demo paper plate loop around and back. The climbing was tough but he pushed through and really enjoyed the single track section back down into camp.

Then we found the skills Course up by the field and rode that a few times and did more loops around the fire roads. Ran into @mare and some other folks I know along the way.

At 2:30-3:30 I did the beginner skills clinic and Zach was even able to join and he really Gained more confidence just from a few little things we learned. As part of that we sessioned the skills course rock garden and he got faster each time.

We were pretty tired at 4:00 but when I asked him what else he wanted to do he picked to go all the way back up
The fire road and do the plate loop one more time. Saw @Norm and family on a hike. We finished off one more loop
Of the skills course and called it a day.

Overall I know he had a blast being there for the first time and even riding on a bike that’s a bit less capable than most.

Nice to meet @DanBrodeen in person thanks for organizing this event we definitely want to come back. !

 

[onetracker]

Yes
Big and small mouth
Pickerel
Perch nice size to for campfire breakfast
Of course tons of blue gills

Suoer fun weekend. Riding was great. That lake is full of fish. Caught a bunch of good sized Pickerel, Small Mouth and Blue Gill. Thx for the tip!!

 

[kjarrett]

This was my first Cranks Around the Campfire. Really great experience overall and I got what I came for. Must say it was a little dicey finding a site, surprised to see the camp so full at 12:30 pm on Friday. 🤣 Happy with where I ended up though, met some great people and had easy access to the shower house (wonderful facility, clean & well maintained) which was a nice plus.

Skills clinic was fun. Great instructors, enjoyable time.

Did the Novice ride Saturday and am glad I did; it was fun, interesting and within my ability. Jeff Lenosky and I believe his son were with us, that was cool. Huge group! That tunnel we went through (twice!) was nuts, unnerving to ride literally in almost total darkness until my eyes and Transition lenses adjusted. Back at camp, had some difficulty following the pie plate loop (because I’m a moron). I still managed 14 miles over two rides, all solo, which meant I had to be extra cautious; those rocky bits and stream crossings you locals don’t bat an eyelash over were potentially deadly for me so I walked them. No shame in avoiding injury especially when riding alone, I say.

Decided to bounce on Saturday when I saw the Sunday forecast worsening, but as a result I didn’t have to pack wet gear (that's never fun). Missed the BBQ (dammit!) and the group pie plate ride Saturday afternoon but hey, shit happens.

Thanks to Dan and all the volunteers that made the event possible. Looking forward to next year!

 

[DanBrodeen]

This was my first Cranks Around the Campfire. Really great experience overall and I got what I came for. Must say it was a little dicey finding a site, surprised to see the camp so full at 12:30 pm on Friday. 🤣 Happy with where I ended up though, met some great people and had easy access to the shower house (wonderful facility, clean & well maintained) which was a nice plus.

Skills clinic was fun. Great instructors, enjoyable time.

Did the Novice ride Saturday and am glad I did; it was fun, interesting and within my ability. Jeff Lenosky and I believe his son were with us, that was cool. Huge group! That tunnel we went through (twice!) was nuts, unnerving to ride literally in almost total darkness until my eyes and Transition lenses adjusted. Back at camp, had some difficulty following the pie plate loop (because I’m a moron). I still managed 14 miles over two rides, all solo, which meant I had to be extra cautious; those rocky bits and stream crossings you locals don’t bat an eyelash over were potentially deadly for me so I walked them. No shame in avoiding injury especially when riding alone, I say.

Decided to bounce on Saturday when I saw the Sunday forecast worsening, but as a result I didn’t have to pack wet gear (that's never fun). Missed the BBQ (dammit!) and the group pie plate ride Saturday afternoon but hey, shit happens.

Thanks to Dan and all the volunteers that made the event possible. Looking forward to next year!

Love the recap and stoked you had such an awesome time! Dan

 

[Cassinonorth]

Back at camp, had some difficulty following the pie plate loop (because I’m a moron).

I will say, there were a couple parts where an extra plate would've been nice but I get it, temporary loop and all. Putting up and taking down 100 plates must be a pain for sure.

The demos were so cool, huge ups to Tenafly Bike shop for the setup. They had every bike I wanted to try (my next bike is in the picture I picked before...Ripmo).

 

[Norm]

Thanks Dan for the weekend. Obviously I would suggest you schedule this for a non-rainy weekend next year but otherwise, great job. Thanks for the efforts!

For anyone who was at the event, and took some pictures of people on some of the trails out there - if you have any interest in sharing your pics & experiences for the Q3 JORBA newsletter, I would appreciate it. Please reach out to me with a PM/DM/Conversation if you have any interest in this at all. I'm only looking for 2 pics and maybe 2-3 paragraphs, and will happily work with anyone to put it together.

Thanks!

 

[DanBrodeen]

Thanks Dan for the weekend. Obviously I would suggest you schedule this for a non-rainy weekend next year but otherwise, great job. Thanks for the efforts!

For anyone who was at the event, and took some pictures of people on some of the trails out there - if you have any interest in sharing your pics & experiences for the Q3 JORBA newsletter, I would appreciate it. Please reach out to me with a PM/DM/Conversation if you have any interest in this at all. I'm only looking for 2 pics and maybe 2-3 paragraphs, and will happily work with anyone to put it together.

Thanks!

Welcome Norm! Its a tricky time of year for the weather. The 24HOA proved that.

Would also appreciate any photos from the event! Thanks!

 

[Mitch]

I hated it. Thanks Dan.

 

[zip]

We put up two plates at each turn or trail intersection in case one falls down or a bear pulls it down which actually happened this weekend. One plate was ripped down with dirty smudge and a rotten log was rolled over next to it. Theory is a bear looking for grubs. Next year we are going to change the official name to "pie plate". Thanks to three well known " locals" who took them down on a rainy ride Sunday. They were covereed in mud but grinning when they came back!
Volunteer spots abound of all levels of involvement. Please PM Dan or me and find out when next years planning meeting will be.
Thanks to all for coming and despite the hasty exit, left the camp clean.

 

[stilluf]

Excellent event, will be back next year to actually join the group rides. The guys from Tenafly bike works were really cool, especially Danny who told me to "just crush it" each time he passed a demo bike over to me! I rode three demos (Ibis Ripley, Ripmo, Yeti SB 130) and it really helped the decision making process in replacing my stolen bike.

BTW - very impressive turnout of women and girls! probably the most I've seen at any MTB event. Makes me very hopeful for the future of our sport.

 

[Cassinonorth]

I rode three demos (Ibis Ripley, Ripmo, Yeti SB 130) and it really helped the decision making process in replacing my stolen bike.

...well??? what did you pick?

 

[Steve Vai]

Everyone isn't getting a Sqweeb?

 

[Jerzeejoe]

Was out 1st Cranks and def look forward to it again next year👍🏻.. My kid had a blast and was cool to chat with some of the MTBNJ crew along the way even though I cant remember names 🤷🏼‍♂️.. Thanks for leading the rides and see ya soon
Joe & JC