The key to building up confidence is to gradually ride harder and harder things and doing a skills course is a way of fast tracking the whole process and this is exactly what this group demonstrated. From being quite a nervous looking bunch in the morning freely admitting that anything pointing downhill was not on the top of the list of their preferences to turning into very competent riders with far better skills than the average biker in just a day!
Emma announced in the car park that she detested any size of drop off and it was difficult to believe that this was the same lady who relished at having a go at the "Devil's Drop" just hours later. Same with Phil and Ben who several times said they would never have thought they would ride the stuff they now rode with confidence.
The key change they all made was to look further ahead, which not only made them anticipate what was coming but most of all allowed them to relax so they could move with the bike instead of being rigid. Once being able to move around on the bike we explored shifting the weight around for different situations. As usual we added special tricks such as power assisted front wheel lifts, tight turns, setting off on a hill etc.
A really great day apart from the fact I managed to completely and utterly mangle my rear derailleur, but that is a suppose an occupational hazard and a small price to pay to see the happy and excited participants while they proved to themselves that they were far better riders than they had ever imagined!
Hi Emmy,
Thanks for the photos its great to see what we achieved!!
Phil and I thoroughly enjoyed the day.
Your tuition is very clear and easy to understand and your riding tips are invaluable.
It is amazing how even the smallest of changes in thinking and riding can make such a big difference to ability and confidence.
We will keep practicing I promise ;0)
Thanks again for a great day
Emma & Phil
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