Free Bikes 4 Kidz Gran Fondo

Trail Kids Mountain Bike Programs are part of the Loppet Foundation’s Trail Kids year-round programming.

Trail Kids offers six-week mountain bike sessions for novice to advanced riders. Participants ages 7-13 will explore the paved & single-track trails in and around Theodore Wirth Park while gaining skills they can use for a lifetime! (for programming for 13 and older, check out LCW Juniors programs)! The focus of the mountain bike sessions is to develop skills, meet new friends, and have fun while building confidence riding single track trails.

Ability Level Guide: For those who have NO experience mountain biking on singletrack trails it is highly recommended that they take one of our Beginner Mountain Bike Clinics before joining the six-week evening sessions. When registering your child make sure to indicate their ability level as described in the Trail Kids MTB Skill Level Guide.

Ages: Ages 7 – 13, beginner to advanced abilities welcome; we split into different coaching groups based on ability, pacing, and age. We do not have programs for kids 6 years of age and under, so please do not register them until they turn seven years old.

Equipment Needed: All participants will need their own mountain bike, helmet, and water carrier (no bottle cage on handlebars - CamelBaks are a great option too!). Mountain bikes need to have both front and back wheel brakes on the handle bars (no peddle brakes). No kickstands are allowed. Tires must have tread and be wide enough to ride safely on mountain bike trails. For more on mountain bike equipment, view the Trail Kids MTB Equipment Guide.

*Please note that rental bikes are not available for our 6-Week offerings.

Swag: Trail Kids T-shirt and water bottle for all participants available at no additional cost. In an effort to reduce waste, TK Swag is now listed as an optional “add-on” during your registration. If you’d like your participant to receive this swag please ensure it is selected.

Friend Requests: For safety and equity reasons, Trail Kids does not offer friend requests as part of registration. The mass quantity of friend requests made it impossible to accommodate them all and greatly impacted safety and group dynamics. We would love to allow everyone to practice with their friends, but if we cannot accommodate all friend requests, we cannot offer them to everyone. We encourage riders to embrace the opportunity to form new friendships through our programs!

Weather Cancellations: While Trail Kids embraces the belief that the outdoors can be enjoyed in any weather, there are some weather circumstances, including high temperatures, thunderstorms, etc. that can create unsafe or wildly unpleasant experiences for our coaches and participants. We will occasionally cancel or shorten practices due to extreme weather. We make weather calls the day of, 90 minutes before the start of practice. We will contact you via email and/or Team App about adjustments to practices; please do not ask in advance. Assume practice is always running unless you have received an email or a Team App notification otherwise (be sure that you can receive Team App notifications and do not unsubscribe from RunSignUp). Due to the lack of adequate indoor space and additional programs utilizing it already, Trail Kids is unable to shift practices inside on days where we have inclement weather/AQI. In instances where practice is canceled due to inclement weather, we do not offer

refunds or make up practices.

Financial Assistance: To apply please fill out the Loppet Financial Assistance Application. We will follow up with you with instructions on how to register at a price that is manageable for your family. Applications for programs that start two weeks or less from the date of submission will not be approved. *Limitations apply, please see the application form for rules and restrictions. In most instances there will be a $500 financial assistance cap per person/per year.

Sibling Discount: For those families who have three or more kids in the Trail Kids offering we can provide a fifteen percent discount code. Please email [email protected] for more information.

Refund Policy: The Loppet will issue a full refund of the program fee minus the original processing fee up until 6 weeks before the program starts. Between 6 weeks and 4 weeks from the program start date, a 50% refund will be issued. Between 4 and 3 weeks from the program start date, a 25% refund will be issued. There are no refunds for any cancellations within less than 3 weeks of the start of a program. During the program, if your child has a medical issue that makes it impossible to participate, please contact the TK Admin team email at [email protected]. If the Loppet cancels a program, a full refund will be issued. For instructions on how to request a refund, click here.

Gear Western Country Half Marathon & Borton Volvo 5k

Saturday, October 10th, 2026

The Gear Western Country Half Marathon and Borton Volvo 5k is a small town event with a big time feel. Our course offers you a taste of Minnesota with quiet country roads, rolling hills, lakes, and crushed limestone trails.

After finishing, linger for some unique western themed post race refreshments, and of course awards! We will be hanging out, having fun, and cheering on every participant.

Location

Gear West Ski and Bike - 1786 W. Wayzata Blvd. Long Lake, MN 55356

Schedule

Packet Pickup/Late Registration - Friday Noon-6pm

Day of Packet Pickup/Registration - Saturday 6:30am-8:15am

Gear Western Half Marathon - 8:30am

Borton Volvo 5k - 9:00am

Borton Volvo 5k Awards - 10:00am

Gear Western Half Marathon Awards - 10:30am

Party/Cheer on EVERY Finisher - 9:15-Noon

Awards/Swag

Top 3 Overall Awards (5k and Half)

5 Year Age Groups (5k and Half) (19 & Under, and 70+)

Spirit Award/Best Western Outfit - (Special Bonus Award if you run in Cowboy boots!)

Red Lantern Award