A one to one for corners, jumps and drops!

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Russ contacted me wanting to develop his riding wherever I saw fit as he already had vast experience in riding different places but wanted to maybe push onto another level.
After the skills check I discovered that he was one sided in corners and was almost perfect in straight on sections. This meant that in terms of drops and jumps, our session was on a mental level and its application.
1st up was the drop technique. starting on a 1ft drop I ironed out the tendency to crouch on take off before moving onto the larger drop. We then moved onto the trail where I worked on Russ's cornering heavily in flat, off camber, bermed and tight 180 degree turns. I also worked on linking sections together and trail energy management. We worked our way down the trail linking each section to the previous one until we were riding the complete trail and Russ was really flowing!

I moved onto the alpine style switchbacks and worked on his footwork and looking. Russ commented on the ease of this technique.
Next up, we moved onto the table top and I checked out Russ's jumping style and corrected any errors before moving to the gap side. Not only was Russ jumping the gap smoothly but I was also able to begin to get him to style the jump too.

I next began to work heavily on the mental skills set as I worked on a gap jump from a half sawn tree, Watching Russ sailing over effortlessly, using his skill set was awesome but he wanted more! Now I worked on his peripheral vision fears and advanced drops from ladders.
Russ used the skill set in this context and the ease that he completed both ladder drops belied his experience in doing them as he looked like he had always ridden them!
We ended our session there and retreated to the warming around the fire and a well deserved beer.
Great session!

Joost's 3rd skills session

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Joost had previously attended 2 other sessions with myself over the past year and after becoming a father and finding he didn't get out as much as he wanted, he came to me for a refresh and to develop further.
As usual the skills check told me what I needed to know and I set about working on the things I found.
We began with corners that link into corners, here we worked on off camber corner into a drop into a berm. I identified a body position fault and we worked hard on this before moving onto a big fear of his, Steeps!
I worked on what made up his fear and broke it down. I worked on the control of the steep section and also the visual side of the fear and very quickly Joost was riding it.
We rode the entire coaching trail so I could see how he reacts to unseen sections and was pleased to see he had developed great footwork in corners.
I taught Joost the beginnings of jumping on a previous session but needed to expand that now onto gaps too.
Once the tabletop and its gap side were ridden effortlessly, we moved onto the low shore ladder drop to work once more on his peripheral fears before moving onto the log booter gap jump of 10-12ft. Here I worked on the techniques required in the run up too. Flat corner into a pump hole before riding up the 18" wide log and sailing over the gap. Joost was smiling as it was by far the largest jump he had ever ridden and wanted more, so I moved us onto a 3.5 meter gap step down that is proceeded by a corner.

Joost was blown away at how effortless it felt as he applied both his physical skill set and also the mental skill set to sail over the gap.
Before we knew it four and a half hours had past and our session came to a natural end.
I hope the move back to Holland goes well and I look forward to the riding pictures.
High5!

Owens' one to one skills session

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Owen came to me for coaching wanting an all round skills polishing. After the skills check I discovered some good habits and also where he was lacking. I set about correcting this and we moved straight onto drops.
Here I demonstrated why and how the skills apply to this technique and soon Owen was flying and landing perfectly.
Next we moved onto the trail. Here we worked on pumping, steps, rocks, fly outs and drops. As well as, flat,off camber, bermed and switchback corners. We worked our way methodically down the trail, working on each section and linking it to the next and using the correct braking zones.


We worked on linking sections together including drops into corners. We rode the trail end to end quite a few times and the flow in owen's riding blossomed.
We finally moved onto the technique for jumping and once again it didn't take Owen long to clear the tabletop and he even moved over to the gap side and rode that a few times too!
Our session came to a close here and I am looking forward to hearing of his future riding exploits.
High5 Owen!

Jo's 2nd coaching session with myself.

Jo had a session with me last year and wanted a follow up to check her uptake of the skill set and also to work on her psychological skill set too.
As always I checked her skill set using my skills check and we went onto the coaching trail where we split in half. We worked on cornering more especially braking on entry to corners and pedaling in them too. We also worked on linking drops into corners.









A few complete runs of the trail showed a more fluid riding style than previously.
We moved onto the alpine style switchbacks and Jo's footwork was worked on here to match her looking and body positioning.
Next up was the tabletop and the gap side of the jump. Gaps are a huge step for Jo and one of her reasons for returning to me. In no time at all Jo was sailing over the tabletop and we worked on beginning to style/move the bike in the air.




In her own time Jo used her mental skills set to ride the gap side of the jump too.
Lastly we moved over to a gap jump that challenged her fears further by having a narrow approach to the gap by riding up a halved tree. In three runs Jo cleared the jump perfectly and the whoops of joy were evidence of her happiness. Jo called an end to the session afterwards with a big smile on her face and I look forward as ever to her riding updates.

Rob and Petes 2 to 1 session

Rob and Pete are brothers. They came to me for a overall skills polish and as usual I ran them through my skills check to identify what areas need work and also what is already present.
I set about correcting the physical skills and we moved on to the drops to apply them to that technique.


Next, we moved onto the trail and worked on the sections contained within and linking them together. We worked on speed manuals, rocks, corners of all types, fly outs, steps and drops.
We worked our way down the trail working on each section before adding the next to it.
We worked on linking drops into corners too.


We rode the trail end to end and the flow became evident as both Pete and Rob began really flowing down the trail in slippy conditions.
Next, I worked on the jump technique. Both of them took no time at all in clearing the 6ft tabletop and then they moved over to the gap side of the jump and sailed over that too!


Finally we moved back onto the trail for a few more runs before ending the session as fatigue began showing.
I really enjoyed today's session and really look forward to the updates of their rides!

Filling the gap in Mikes jumps and drops

Mike contacted me wanting to over come his fears in mtbing, particularly gap jumps.
He had previously been coached by other companies but his riding path led him to me. Having traveled all the way from the wirral, it was not an easy choice but I set to work immediatley.
After the skills check I found he had missing skills that contributed to his fears so I worked on his looking and body positioning firstly before moving onto his psychological skill set.
The first technique was drops and once the faults were ironed out I moved onto cornering and linking drops into corners.



I worked on Mikes body position in corners as well as his footwork.
We then moved onto jumping and after a few fly outs to flat on the trail, I moved us onto the tabletop to work on the technique proper. In a short space of time, Mike was airborne and landing perfectly time and time again. It was time to confront his biggest fear, GAPS!
Mike rode the gap side of the tabletop after a countdown of his mental skill set and the whole development of the session came clear to him.
We then moved onto a 9ft gap step down and Once again, Mike sailed across it.



We rode the gap together for a bit, changing approach speeds and our riding order to replicate trail riding conditions before moving onto our final section for the day.
I showed Mike the 10-12ft gap jump when he arrived and I could see he thought I was mad thinking he could ride it but over the period of our session, I had built him up gradually to this moment. I demonstrated riding it and then Mike walked up and rode it, not touching the small safety sheet I use to protect the rear wheel if the rider came up short. Next time it was removed and he flew over confidently and showing great commitment.
After a couple more runs tiredness showed and Mike himself called a close to the session, bringing to a close an awesome session.
High5 Mike!

Steffen and Nigel's 2 to 1 session

I met Steffen and Nige at a windy Herts skills area and as usual the first thing I did was run them through the skills health check. I discovered what they were missing and as importantly, what they do that's correct.
I made a few set up adjustments to enhance their riding positions and the changes took immediate effect.
The 1st technique we covered was drops. I worked heavily on both their looking and body position here and soon the lads were landing perfectly. I then covered their mental skills and they applied them to ride the larger of the 3 drops and the smiles grew.
Next we moved onto the trail and worked on the 14 sections contained within it in a methodical fashion.
I worked on their footwork, looking and body positioning in corners and we applied the push in different contexts through out the trail.
Flat, bermed,off camber and switch backed corners were worked on as were drops, rocks, steps, pumping and up ramps.
methodically, We worked our way down the trail, linking each section to the previous smoothly.
We rode the trail end to end a few times and both Steffen and Nigel remarked on how flowly it felt.
The wind was blowing straight at the table top when I began working on their jumping. I showed how to use their push in this context and the lads were flying. It didn't take very long for both to clear the 6ft table top. Steffen, filled with new confidence rode the gap jump a few times too.
The wind changed direction and blew from the side which brought our session to a natural close.
Great session lads!

A new trail being born

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I have spent a while now revamping the old dual track and making it into a single track trail that is roll able to half way then the 2nd half is made of progressively larger gaps.
initially, we dug the grass off the trail then i filled my van with sand from the quarry and gradually lined the trail. the trail always required pedaling but the mid section of small step down and step up just didn't work and sucked any speed out at this point. so Myself and Llew worked on that and left old boy Paul and Mark to start on the landings for the gap jumps. Tom turned up and reshaped the learner dirt jump and made its landing wider too.
There's still loads of work to do but a good trail shouldn't be rushed.

8th jan public jumps and drops course.

We met for a 10am start at the Herts skills area,
i began with finding out what skills were missing and set about re installing the ones that were absent.
The first technique we cover was drops. Beginning with a kerb sized drop, I showed how the push technique fitted in with the drop technique and in time all 6 riders were riding all 3 drops , ranging from 6 inches to 3ft in height.
Next, we moved onto a section with drops linking into corners to make it more realistic with regular trail riding, once again the riders all linked the sections effortlessly.
Now it came time to start to jump.
using a fly out we worked on the take of side of the technique, before moving onto the table top section.


By controlling their speed management, I gradually added speed whilst working on their remaining skills and soon every rider sailed over the table top. Some moved over to the gap side of the jump too and rode that over and over agin, reinforcing the technique.
finally I showed the group a 9ft step down gap and Ian , using his mental skill set rode it first try.
Our session ended here as tiredness was showing on all the riders, so the session ended.
Awesome session !!!!!

Radioman's one to one session

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Tim met me for a one to one finally after the snow delayed our session. On meeting, we chatted about his aspirations for the session and I gave him my commitments for the session..
Firstly, I ran him through the skills check where I see what is missing and bogging his riding progression down. I found he had footwork and didn't look correctly whilst riding. I set about correcting these before moving onto the drop technique. We worked hard on body positioning during this technique as I matched his push to a speed for this technique.
We then moved onto the coaching trail and its 14 sections contained within it.
I worked with Tim on his cornering on flat, bermed , switchback and off camber corners.
we linked drops and rock sections into corners as well as the speed manual and the beginnings of the jump technique.
Gradually we worked our way down the trail and Tim really began to flow and link each section to the next fluidly. His footwork was massively improved as was his looking skill.
After a few complete runs of the trail we moved onto to the tabletop and worked on the jump technique also.
In a very short space of time, Tim was sailing over the jump. His confidence was such that he used his mental skill set and rode the gap side of the jump a few times too!
Our session ended as the rain just started and Tim left me smiling from ear to ear.
Great session Radioman!