Beginners course 270410

I could get used to this weather! Lovely day yet again and a quiet mid-week session for Mark who already had some mountain biking experience but wished to improve on his core skills to be able to ride more techincal terrain. And very well he rode too, climbing like a mountain goat up the slabby climb using a mix of skills and sheer determination! Very impressive performance both uphill and downhill!

Beginners course 25/04/10

After a few weeks of holiday over Easter it was great getting back to coaching, especially with such a nice and pleasant group as this Saturday's. Beckie, Andy and Lindsay all were like sponges soaking up every piece of advice and putting it into practise. No course is ever the same as new experiences makes me tweak little things here and there and this time I put in the exercise called "tummy on the saddle, thighs on handlebars" (not both at the same time though!) to get them moving around on the bike early on in the day. The exercises paid off as they all managed to do even the most daunting drop-off the beginners course ever take in. We almost had to forcibly drag Lindsay away from it as she enjoyed practising on it so much! Beckie pulled out all the bravery she could master and did herself proud by believing in herself and her skills to go down quite terrifying slopes. Andy, who rode off-road for the first time only a month and a half ago, quickly developed his core skills to become a very proficient rider!

I just wanted to thank you so much for a great day yesterday. I feel like my confidence with handling my bike has improved massively & I can't wait to get out & about around the hills & obstables(!) of Hertfordshire to put it into practice.

The location is absolutely stunning & I wish you all the success in the world for future courses & your lovely B&B! I hope to visit again sometime & stay a bit longer & maybe try my hand at the intermediate course.....?!?

Best regards
Beckie

Beginners course that turned into intermediate course!

James had booked in for the beginners course but with a lot of experience of mountain biking already, I suggested we would do the intermediate course but with extra emphasis on core skills. The luxury of being the only person booked on the course is of course that it can be tailor made to suit the individual! He happily agreed. Once we got up on the hill he quickly got the hang of difficult descending, timing drop-offs and smooth speed control, which was good since the weather yet again was against us. Today it was even snowing! After lunch James cleared the boardwalk of doom, thanks to his nice drag braking technique and good balance! Not surprisingly he had a BMX background which really showed in the bunny hopping and jumping and his overall very good perception of what he was doing on the bike and what slight changes might be needed to achieve perfection!

Intermediate course 29/03/10

It is about time to have some before after photos of a group!

Before: clean, happy, energetic with slight nervousness in the air but ready to go!

After: Muddy, wet, tired, relaxed, even happier and thoroughly bonded as a group!

Lots of skills learnt and even more to go home and practise on! Martin, Angela and James showed that even despite the horrible cold, wet and windy weather, fun can be had on bikes!

Beginners course 28/03/10

Ross, Paul and Peter came and together created a great group for skills training, in the nicer than forecasted weather. (Although it didn't feel quite as warm as the picture seem to be saying looking at Ross's bare arms and legs! Brrrr!) They all quickly soaked up every technical detail and we had the opportunity to add on some of the intermediate stuff to keep pushing the boundaries. No crashes, but Paul after having easily rolled off the largest drop-off decided seconds later due to an "SPD moment" to take a dip in the wettest and muddiest puddle just minutes before the end of the course finish, just to make sure he didn't return back clean!

Boardwalk success!

For the first time since starting the intermediate courses a participant finally managed to ride the boardwalk! The boardwalk is in my back garden and was built to my specification to be a bit difficult......understatement! It is very difficult but thankfully not scary as it is only just above ground level. I have been wondering for a while now whether to try and make it easier, but thankfully Brian showed yesterday that it can be done! No photos of it which is a shame!

Got a photo of him riding the largest drop-off on the course. It is quite amusing seeing peoples faces when they first have a look at the drop. I can see it in their eyes that they are seriously in doubt whether they want to have a go or not. Brian was no exception! Once they realise that the technique is the same as for the smaller drops and they try it out, this one doesn't feel much harder and the enthusiasm is written all over their faces!

Getting quite busy!

Today was the fourth day in a week I was doing a skills day! Despite not covering miles and miles during the courses I can actually feel my fitness improve!

Earlier this week I had the oldest participant so far who was 72 years young! A rugged and experienced mountaineer, he was adding off-road riding to the numerous adventure activities he has experience of and very well he did too. Despite having to use one of my bikes as it turned out his had two broken spokes he did both steps and drops and some climbs in between! And didn't fall off once!

Today I had the pleasure of having Martin on the course (pictured) who is later doing the mountain bike leader training at Mountain Bike Instruction. His aim was to make sure there were no gaps in his skills knowledge before doing the leadership course and I'm glad to say he did very well through out the whole day and hopefully will have good use out of his newly aquired skill of lifting his front wheel over the most evil looking obstacles on the climbs!