Group Rides are fun to go out to ride the local trails and make new mountain bike friends. **Recommended for skill levels of Beginner and up** The riding levels that EMBFest uses are as follows: New to Mountain Biking = You have experience riding a bike, but are new to off trail riding. You understand the basic of how a bike works and ride your bike on paved trails or simple wider gravel trails. Beginner = You have ridden some green single track and are comfortable with easier trails. You understand how your bike works. You understand one finger braking, but need to practice more. You are getting better at knowing when to shift on hills and are walking up them less. You remember and execute basic body positions to suit trail needs (climbing, descending, gentle corners). Beginner Plus = You are consistent on all green rated single track and most blue rated single track. You have attempted black rated but maybe walked a bunch of sections. You can ride over most obstacles comfortably. You have started steeper roll downs, but aren't totally comfortable yet. You have a solid understanding and execution of body positions to suit the trail needs. You can adjust quickly to sharp corners, climbs or descends. One-finger braking is natural. You know when to shift for sudden trail changes but are working on consistency. Intermediate = You are successfully accomplishing the blue rated single track in Edmonton. You have shown consistency on black rated and are walking less sections. Quick thinking is coming easier (ie: shifting, independent braking, rad cornering). You are a natural when it comes to executing proper body positions to suit the trail needs. You are consistent at utilizing the space required for corners. You can climb most technical trails without stopping or getting hung up. You can descend most technical sections; choosing lines to keep you smooth. Intermediate Plus = You are consistently riding all blue rated single track and most of the black rated trails. You don’t think twice about riding a new (to you) trail. You can successfully complete smaller drops on trail and execute high speed efficient cornering. Your bike handling is like second nature and you can quickly shift, adjust body position and pedal power. You have the ability to successfully accomplish most technical climbs and descents.