Kev makes the trip from somerset for drops, jumps and corners

Kev arrived as arranged and I immediately put him through the skills check. This revealed a tidy rider but with a couple of missing skills that bogged down his techniques out on the quantocks etc.
We began with drops then drops into berms. I worked hard on his looking and body position in both techniques.
We moved onto the tabletop and 6ft gap jump to apply his new skill set to this technique and the same result occurred.





After a while, we moved onto the pump and jump trail and I worked on pumping the gain speed. In no time at all, Kev was generating enough speed from the first couple of sections to jump the 9ft tabletop.
I then brought him onto a very low ladder to work on his mental skills and to deal with a very common fear. Once corrected, Kev was confidently riding along and off a low ladder drop. It was clear that we could move it up a notch.




We worked hard on linking an advanced ladder drop into a wooden berm and Kev really got to grips with it and was railing it by the end.
To round off our session we worked on another drop and linked it to a 9ft gap jump and into a berm. Once Kev had ridden each one he then linked them together smoothly and fluidly.

This capped off a great session and the smooth unhurried progress we made was awesome in a single session. I can't wait for Kev's future riding updates.

Andy comes down from Stockport for a 1 to 1 session

I rode with Andy in the peak district some seven years ago and he contacted me wanting to work on his cornering and his confidence on downhill singletrack trails.
The skills check revealed the missing skills but also some great ones picked up over the past 15 years of riding.
After a few set up changes I set to work.
1st, we went to the drops to work on applying the skill set to that technique and I worked on Andy's body position a lot. In no time at all, he was landing perfectly.

We then moved onto the skills trail and began working on the 14 individual sections contained within it before linking them together using the identified braking areas.
Rock gardens, steps, pump bumps, fly out jumps and drops were all linked to switchback, flat, off camber and bermed corners. I worked hard with Andy on his looking and body position skills and it took a while but it began to click and Andy noticeably began riding a lot faster than previously, taking 4 seconds off a timed 70 meter segment of 6 sections.

Andy rode the trail end to end quite a few times and the wet conditions started to matter less to him as he gained confidence and commitment within his riding.
Lastly, we moved onto the tabletop and Andy once more used his skill set to sail over the 6ft tabletop with ease. He then applied his new mental skill set to sail over the 6ft gap jump also, laughing out loud as he did.
Andy called an end to the session himself as he was tiring mentally so I put the coffee on and did a riding demonstration of the exact same skill set in use in my own riding on the high woodwork.
Good to see you again Andy and awesome session!

Harry's first bmx park session

Harry is 14yrs old and never ridden a skatepark before and his parents booked the session for him to learn the etiquette of riding park and also the basics.
Mark Atkins did the majority of the session with Harry and began with just riding around the street section to get comfortable on the bike. It was clear that Harry was comfortable on a bike so we showed him how to ride out of a 4ft quarter pipe at the end of the street section.


After a while it was time to learn how to drop in and we used a small ramp first to get Harry used to coping before bringing him to a larger ramp with no coping to dial the technique.

Things really began to come together and soon harry was riding into the spine ramp mini and carving the ramp too.

Finally, we brought Harry to the bowl and began with pumping around the bowl. We then added riding out at the end. To cap it off, Harry rode into the bowl, pumped around it and then rode out with a massive smile on his face, bringing the session to a close.
Great session Harry!

5 months later, Sam returns with a friend

Sam has only been riding for a year and came to me back in March for a skills session and wanted to push things a bit further and this time he brought his riding buddy, Chris.
I could see that some good habits had been picked up by Chris from Sam and that made the sessions direction simpler for me.
Chris used to pull his bike into the air on jumps and drops and I needed to correct this first before moving onto the drops.
Here I got them to use their new skills set and even began to style it in the air too.



I then worked on drops into corners. Line choice, body position, looking and foot work were used and they began to fly around the corner.
Next, we worked on jumping the 6ft tabletop and also the gap jump next to it. Once again, they sailed over it easily and the gap side too.
I then moved onto a low ladder to work on their mental skill set before adding the drop off of the end. Once they were happy there I moved them to a ladder 7ft high with a gap to a wooden landing. They wanted a break and we shared a coffee and they noticed the 9ft gap jump. Both were happier to ride that they said than the ladder drop so I worked on that for 5mins. To both of their surprises, they sailed over it time and time again.

They then both asked to go back to the high ladder drop and one by one they rode it easily. They even added the following wooden berm into the mix!

Watching them ride with such confidence was awesome to witness and after a while they began to tire mentally and our session ended with a demonstration of the exact same skill set in use in my own riding on the highest ladders at herts.
Amazing day.

Keith's return session

Keith had a session with me last year and wanted a follow up session as he felt he was slipping in certain areas.
I could see the new bar set up he had and that he'd not retained the set up i gave him and that effected his riding.
I could see he had a body position fault in corners and also his looking wasn't as it was so I set to work.
On the drops I worked on Keith's body position in flight and that simplified everything for him as confidence grew, he began riding all 3 drops easily.


We then moved onto the trail and worked hard on embedding the new body position in corners.
i broke the trail into its 14 sections and worked on them individually before linking them together using the correct braking areas and Keith could really feel the difference in his riding,
Saving 4 seconds on a timed 70 meter section alone.


We linked flat, bermed, off camber and switchback corners to rock gardens, pump bumps, steps, fly outs and drops.
I worked hard on line choice when linking drops into turns too before Keith began riding the entire trail end to end.
Each run was way more fluid than the previous as his footwork, looking and body position changes paid dividends.


I moved us onto the 6ft tabletop and to Keith's surprise it was easier than it looked and in a short while, he sailed over it letting out a giggle as he did it. Time and again he flew over it with control and consummate ease.


Keith then looked at the 6ft gap jump side of it too and using his mental skill set i taught him, he sailed over it 5-6 times before mental tiredness began to show, bringing our session to a close.
At the end of the session I demonstrated exactly the same skills and techniques in use in my own riding on the high woodwork at Herts.
Awesome session Keith!

Helping James search for mtb skills

James has had coaching twice before and wasn't entirely happy with it but his search led him to me.
On meeting, I gave him my commitment for his coaching and we began with set up and the skills check which showed me what was missing. I could see James had footwork, looking and body positioning faults and also missed a skill on his natural unweight technique.
Once corrected, I worked on his mental skills too as we moved to the drops.
James was surprised how easy it was once he had his skills enhanced and was landing perfectly time and time again.
We moved onto the coaching trail. we worked on pumping to use the trails energy and linked it to flat, bermed, off camber and switchback turns. Rock gardens, fly out jumps, steps and drops.
We worked on each section before linking it to the previous one using the identified braking areas. Methodically, we moved down the trail. we worked on each section before adding it to the previous and soon we were riding the entire trail. James was so confident in his skill set now that he moved back to the drops to ride the largest one that he'd previously not considered.
After a good few runs of the entire trail we moved onto the 6ft tabletop. Much to James's surprise, he cleared it easily after a few body position and looking reminders and he never looked back after.



The inner child in James was smiling and the expression on his face was a picture of contentment and happiness as our session came to an end.
Amazing session that ended a great day.

Andy the bike doctors session

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Andy came to me all the way from Grimsby and camped overnight at Herts to be fresh for his session.
After a coffee, we began with the skills check and it revealed that Andy needed work on footwork, looking and body position in corners and also had a missing skill when un weighting.
I corrected his set up and we set to work.
As always, we began with the drop technique and why the physical and mental skills apply.
In no time at all Andy was landing perfectly.
We moved onto the trail. there we worked on pumping to use the trails energy and linked it to flat, bermed, off camber and switchback turns. Rock gardens, fly out jumps, steps and drops.
We worked on each section before linking it to the previous one using the identified braking areas.
I worked hard on the fly out so that Andy could apply his natural push and get used to the air time it produced.
I also worked hard on linking drops into berms. I worked on line choice and the ease of carry speed through the sections as a result.
Finally, Andy rode the entire trail end to end far more smoothly than before and with control.
Each run was faster than the previous too.
Finally we worked on applying the skill set to jumping tabletops.
In no time at all, Andy sailed over the 6ft jump easily and effortlessly. A big laugh rang out mid air and a smile beamed across his face.
After a few more runs, the session came to a natural end.
Great session Andy!

Phil's one to one

Phil came to herts yesterday evening and stayed locally so he was fresh for the session. His partner Becca had been on a session with me a while ago but kept quite on what and why I do things.
The skills check revealed looking and footwork was missing but also an awesome body position habit that flourished once the 2 missing skills were corrected.
I changed his set up and set to work firstly on the drops.
I showed why the skill set applied to this technique and Phil rode all 3 easily and confidently, using his mental skill set too.
We moved onto the skills trail and it's 14 sections which I broke down into bite size chunks so we could work comfortably on the skill set.
Pumping was used to generate speed from the trail. Flat, bermed, off camber and switchback turns were linked to rock gardens, fly out jumps, steps and drops. Phil was surprised how easy it was to get air time on the fly out jump and soon began to relax into his riding and the flow soon followed.
We worked on linking drops into corners too before finally riding the whole trail end to end a few times. Each run was more fluid than the previous and Phil could tell me any errors in the run as he moved through conscious and unconscious action.
I gave Phil a choice of pumping development on the pump/jump trail or learn to apply the skills set to jumping tabletops. He chose tabletops.




It took him no time at all to clear the tabletop and as the video shows from his first clear, he needed to unweight the rear to nose into the transition. This he corrected on his next few goes and was landing perfectly. A lack of concentration and a front brake that decided to work (thanks avid) made him wash out on the fire road as he stopped for another go. This showed mentally he was tired and we ended the session there and then.
Great session Phil and I can't wait to hear the riding updates.
See you soon.

Iain's one to one session

Iain has been riding for years but in recent times has had set backs in his confidence.
During the skills check I made the necessary set up changes and corrected the missing skills but also uncovered some great habits too.
We began with drops and with his new body positioning and looking skills in place he began landing perfectly and soon rode all 3 drops with consummate ease.


We then moved onto the trail and worked on pumping and cornering and began working our way down the trails 14 sections individually before joining them together.

I worked hard on body position, footwork and looking in corners and soon Iain was riding faster and way smoother than previously.
I worked hard on joining his new drop technique to his cornering technique before riding the entire trail end to end a few times.
Iain began to show signs of tiring so I moved us off the trail to teach him to properly jump tabletops.
He had jumped some before but never really understood what he was doing and sometimes it went wrong.

In a few short steps Iain sailed over the jump a couple of times before himself, calling an end to the session as he was so tired.
Great session Iain and I look forward to the riding updates.