Sometimes the rider doesn't know what they already have!

Oli came to me wanting to rebuild his confidence in his overall riding and maybe even get some air under his wheels but that wasn't of paramount importance.
The skills check revealed some great skills already present and only tweaks required. Even his set up was correct, just his mental skills needed boosting.
I began with drops and showed why Oli's natural unweight of the front wheel applied and he began landing absolutely perfectly from the very first go.
after riding all 3 drops a few times I moved us onto the skills trail and worked on pumping, Braking areas and linking sections on a trail together using the trails energy.
We linked berms, flat, off camber and switchback turns with rock gardens, drops, fly out jumps and steps.


As we worked our way down the trail methodically, Oli really began to blossom as a rider as he began to believe the truth in his skill set.
After a few fast flowy runs of the entire trail I moved onto our final application of the skills, Jumping tabletops.



In only 4 runs Oli sailed over the table top and the smile said it all. Finally, Oli looked and felt like the rider he wanted to become!
Oli called an end to the session himself as tiredness from the adrenalin of the day took its toll.
A great end to a truly great day.

Showing Neil the truth in his riding

Neil's search for help in his riding led him to me and when he turned up I discovered his new Bionicon bike was faulty so he had to use my Transition bottlerocket for the session.
I ran him through my skills check and showed him why my bike is set up the way it is and I set to work on his missing looking and body position skills.
The skills check revealed a natural un weight of the front wheel but it was covered up by a missing skill, once corrected Neil 's riding went off the hook!
I began with the drop technique and Neil really flew and began landing perfectly immediately. After he rad ridden all 3 drops using both the physical and mental skill set that I teach, I also worked on beginning to style in the air too.




I worked hard on Neil's cornering before linking drops into berms which he found easier than ever.
We then moved onto jumping and eventually the tabletop and gap jump too.
Neil's skills set grew and grew as he sailed over each side of the 6ft jump with ease.

We then moved onto the trail and worked on pumping and pre jumping and also linking the 14 sections along the trail together using the identified braking areas.
Neil rode end to end faster and faster and smoothly.
Lastly we moved onto the pump/jump trail.

Using his new pumping technique, Neil used the trails energy rather than pedaling to generate enough speed to jump a 10ft tabletop mid trail and then began flowing along the entire trail and railing the berm at the end.
After maybe ten goes, mental fatigue showed and our session ended to a cold beer and a riding demonstration by myself of the skill set in use in my own riding on the high woodwork.
High5 Neil.

Awakening the rider in Robin

Robin came to me wanting to work on his all round riding and confidence whilst riding.
I gave him my commitment for his coaching and set about correcting his set up and identified the missing and also present skills during my skills check. Once corrected I set about showing Robin why it applies to all his riding.
We began with braking control and then onto the 3 drops where Robin applied his natural unweight of the bike that blossomed once I had corrected the fault in it.
He rode all 3 drops smoothly and drama free before we moved onto the skills trail itself.
I broke the trail down and we focused on the sections in it in bite size chunks before moving down the trail and adding it to the previous.
I worked on pumping, pre jumping, rock gardens, steps, drops and fly out jumps, berms, off camber, switchback and flat corners. I worked hard on Robin's body position, feet and looking in all aspects of his riding and he began riding faster and more fluid as he rode to the vanishing point of the trail.
I worked on drops into corners and worked on line choice there too before finally riding the entire trail end to end. Each run of the trail was getting more controlled and smooth as Robin used both the physical and mental skill set to good effect.
Lastly, I showed how and why the skills applied to jumping tabletops and Robin woke the inner child in him as he sailed over it time and again.


He then confidently and with wonderful commitment , rode the 6ft gap jump too and you could hear him giggling in mid air!
An amazing session ended with a tour of the herts woodwork and a cold beer.

Susie and Neil's 2 to 1 session

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Susie and Neil made their way up to me from Brighton after being recommended by some riders they know. I began with set up changes and the skills check revealed the missing skills but also uncovered some good habits too.
I began working on their footwork and looking and later on their body positioning.
We began with braking technique and then moved onto the drop technique where they applied their new skills to get both wheels in the air .
WE moved onto the trail and I worked on pumping, rock gardens, steps, up ramps, and linked them through berms, flat, off camber and switchback corners. We gradually worked our way along the trail working on it in segments and isolating the sections within it. I worked on the mental skill set and how and why to apply it.
When we got to the fly out, i showed why their skill set applied to getting the wheels to get air born and worked on the common fear of falling backwards when faced with these.
Finally, they rode the entire trail and began linking the 14 sections on the trail together using the identified braking zones and they rode smooth and more fluid than ever before .
The session ended after 4.5 hours to a riding demonstration by myself of the skills in use my own riding on the high woodwork of herts.
Great session!

Unearthing the rider in Carl

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Carl has been planning on coming to me for a skills session for ages and today was the day.
He stayed the night in his camper van at the skills trails over night and woke up refreshed and ready.
I changed his set up and corrected his missing skills during the skills check and also uncovered some really good habits too.
I found he needed work on body positioning and looking so I set to work.
We began with drops and once I got Carl to control his natural push he began landing perfectly and quickly ate all 3 drops easily.
I then moved on to the skills trail and I broke it down into segments to allow us to focus on the sections contained within it. I worked on pumping and pre jumping, flat, bermed, switchback and off camber turns, rock gardens, steps, fly out jumps and drops. I worked with Carl methodically on linking each section to the next using the trails energy and the correct braking areas.

I worked hard on line choice when linking drops into corners too before we began riding the trail end to end. Carl's riding became so fluid and flowy and as he rode to the vanishing point, he felt slower and slower even though he was flying along the trail.
Next up, we moved onto the 6ft tabletop and the gap jump side of it too and once again, Carl was flying through the air and landing smoothly on both the tabletop and then used his mental skill set to ride the gap too.


Finally, I began working with Carl on the pump trail and as his pumping developed he began to get airbourne and to be able to choose whether to take off or pump across each mound/jump.


Carl's energy management really developed well and after half an hour of riding it, mental fatigue began to show and we called an end to a fantastic session with myself giving a riding demonstration on the herts woodwork of the same skill set in use in my own riding.

andre's group session

Andre, Andrew and Paul cam e to me for an air session. the skills check revealed the areas that needed work and Although cornering needed work i developed their push to unweight the front of the bike and after a few set up changes, we moved onto drops.
In no time at all they were landing perfectly and after a short break we moved onto the trail to work on cornering. We linked flat, bermed, switchback and off camber turns to rock gardens, pumping, fly out jumps, steps and drops and the flow began to show immediately.



To end our session we moved onto the tabletop. I worked hard on not only body position and looking but also the mental skill set too.
Their faces as they landed perfectly on the transition of the tabletop was amazing and a picture to behold.
The session ended and I gave them a demonstration of the skill set in use in my own riding on the high woodwork at the herts skills area.
Awesome session.

3 brothers share a mtb skills session

Sam, Zach and Theo are brothers and their dad brought them the skills session. On meeting I gave them an outline for the session and asked their aspirations too.
The skills check revealed missing body,footwork and looking skills but uncovered a natural push to unweight.
Once I had corrected their set ups, I set to work.
We began on the drops and in no time at all they all were landing perfectly 2 wheels down on all 3 drops, great start!
I moved onto the trail and worked on pumping and the other sections on the trail. We worked on flat, bermed, switchback and off camber turns, steps, drops, rocks and fly out jumps. I demonstrated how and why the skill set applied and where the braking areas were. Gradually they began to really shift as we worked our way down the trail working on the next section and adding the previous ones.

I linked their new drop technique to cornering technique too before we rode the entire trail end to end a few times.
Even when they made errors they now knew why and how to correct it. They really began to ride fluidly and with flow.
After a break to give them a rest mentally, I began work on applying their push technique to jumping tabletops and even the 6ft gap too.

In no time at all they were sailing over the tabletop and using their new mental skill set, they all rode the gap jump side too.
The session ended and I demonstrated the same skill set I had instilled in them being used in my own riding on the herts woodwork.
Great session guys and I look forward to our ongoing connection.

Bringing out the rider in Joe

Joe had been riding a bit for the past few years and spent loads of cash on the next bit of kit to make him faster but had plateaued none the less, this led him to me.
On meeting, I gave him my commitments for the session and a rough outline of how and why I would go about this.
The skills check uncovered a natural ability to unweight the front wheel but it was bogged down by a missing skill and his cornering was non existent.
Once corrected, I moved onto the drop technique and once I had covered the mental skill set too, Joe began landing perfectly from the off set.


In no time at all, Joe had ridden all 3 drops and it came time to work on the skills trail itself.
I demonstrated pumping and we used that to connect to the trails energy and used it to link flat, bermed, off camber and switchback corners, rock gardens, fly out jumps, steps and drops.

We worked our way gradually along the trail, linking the 14 sections contained within it together using the correct braking areas. I worked hard on linking his new drop technique to his new cornering technique before we began riding the entire trail top to bottom. Each run was faster and smoother than the previous and Joe was blown away at how natural it already felt.
We had a break for coffee and to reflect on the session so far and I said i'd now teach him why his natural front wheel unweight applied to jumping tabletops.
To his great surprise, he was flying over it time and again with a massive smile on his face.


To top it all off, Joe rode the 6ft gap jump side too!
Mental fatigue really hit after this and we ended the session to a demonstration of the skill set I had installed in Joe being used in my own riding on the woodwork of herts.
Awesome session.

A skills session for Zach

Zach hasn't been riding mtb's for long and has a back ground in time trials etc.
He came to me on recommendation and as soon as we met I gave him an outline for the session and my commitments to him for his coaching.
The skills check revealed a natural push that was bogged down by missing foot and looking skills and also some work was drastically needed in cornering too.
To Zach's surprise, we began with drops but in no time at all he was landing perfectly on all 3 drops as the power of his push technique shone through.
We moved onto the skills trail and worked on flat, switchback, off camber and bermed corners. We linked them to pumping, steps, rock gardens, flyouts and drops.



We worked our way gradually down the trail, working on the individual sections before adding the previous to the next one.
I worked hard with linking corners and drops together and soon Zach was motoring saving 3 seconds on a timed 70 meter segment.
We then began riding the entire trail end to end and with each run, Zach was smoother and faster.
We had a coffee break as Zach began to show tiredness but I really wanted to teach him to apply his push for jumping tabletops and after the break that's exactly what I did.


I managed his approach speed and added it gradually and in a short while he was sailing over the 6ft tabletop effortlessly.
Mental fatigue finally got the better of Zach and we called an end to the session just after 4 hours and I gave him a riding demonstration of the skill set in use in my riding on the herts woodwork.
Great session Zach!

Murray and Chris's 2 to 1 session

Murray has been with me before and for this session brought along Chris.
The skills check showed me what had stuck with Murray from before but also the missing and present skills in Chris too!
I adapted their set ups and once corrected we moved as always to the drop technique.
Both Murray and Chris were landing perfectly in no time at all so it was time to move onto the skills trail.
On the skills trail, we worked on pumping and linked it into flat, bermed, off camber and switchback corners. Steps, rock gardens, fly out jumps and drops.
We worked methodically and gradually down the trail, adding the next segment to the previous before finally, we were riding the entire trail.
Body position, footwork and looking were developed to grate effect as they began to flow along the trail faster but smoother than before.
I worked on the mental skills too and they applied them positively through out the session.
Our session ended as mental fatigue began to show and before the errors became larger.
Awesome session guys!