Karen and Mark turned up as arranged and i chatted with them over a coffee about their expectations for the session and then we began.The skills check revealed that I had to work hard on their cornering with Body, footwork and looking skills missing but found a natural technique for anything heading straight towards them that would prove to be as great a value in their riding as I said.
I corrected their set ups and this enhanced their over all riding position. I worked on braking technique to enhance control and confidence in their riding. We moved onto the drop technique. From the word go they began landing perfectly and used their mental skill set also. After a good few goes we moved onto the skills trail.
the trail has 14 sections contained within it and I broke it down into segments to allow us to focus on it easier.
Pumping, fly out jumps, drops, steps and rock gardens were linked to flat, bermed, switchback and off camber corners. We worked our way down the trail applying their skill sets and I worked hard on body position and line choice when linking drops into corners. The overall change in their riding was awesome as confidence and commitment really shone through.
Mark needs to focus on his body position for the time being and Karen just blossomed. Both Karen and Mark were riding stuff they would previously have walked through and the smiles beamed across their faces.
Mental fatigue was a factor as they called an end to our session to smiles all round.
I can't wait to hear of their riding exploits in the future.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable session and looking back from a couple of months on - I still remember Tony's wise words telling me to look ahead and get my pedals correct for the corner. The setup changes Tony made has transformed our riding, I feel so much more comfortable now. Confidence has grown for both of us with drops and jumps and I can't wait to book the next session for the spring!
ReplyDeleteKaren