Nick, Barney and Grant's mega-avalanche session

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The lads came to me wanting a polish on their skills before the Mega in July.
They wanted to be more fluid and controlled on singletrack and also able to handle airtime too.
I ran them through my skills check and found the missing skills and also a great habit too which we then applied to jumps an drops later on.
I adjusted their set ups and showed them why I did so before moving onto the drops first.
In no time at all all 3 were flying through the air and I worked hard on body position in flight so they could begin to style it in the air too.
Next, we moved onto the skills trail and began linking the 14 sections on it together. It came clear early on that they were fast, really fast and once their looking, footwork and body position was worked on they really went BOOM!
They linked flat, switchback, off camber and bermed corners to rocks, pump bumps, fly outs , steps and drops. Each time we linked the new section to the previous and they really began to shift.

I timed them in segments so they could see what the errors cost and the improvements were worth to them in time and it was outstanding.
Once we began riding the whole trail they really flew. Nicks footwork worked wonders for him and Grant and Barney rode end to end in the same time. A new record for the trail!
To end our session i moved them onto the 6ft tabletop and in no time at all they were over it smoothly and even rode the gap jump side a few times, making time to style it too of course.


The session ended as they became mentally tired and I closed it with a riding demonstration on the woodwork and then we chilled out to a cold beer.
Great day!

Rob's one to one session

Rob came to me on recommendation from a previous rider and on meeting i gave him the outline for the session and gave my commitments to him.
The skills check revealed the areas that needed work and also uncovered some great habits.
I changed Rob's set up too and then we moved onto the drop sections.
Rob said he had a habit of going over the bars and I could see why as a body position habit needed correcting. Once it was corrected Rob began sailing through the air and landing perfectly.
Next we moved onto the skills trail and it's 14 sections contained within it.
Working our way down the trail methodically, we linked each section to the next.
We linked pumping. rock gardens, steps, drops and fly out jumps to flat, bermed, off camber and switchback corners.
We moved down the trail, linking each section to the next and the fluidity and smoothness was there for all to see.
I worked heavily on linking drops into berms and we moved onto an isolated berm to solidify this.
Mental tiredness crept in and that ended our session before a physical shut down/ crash occured.
great session Rob.

Alison's return session

Alison has previously attended 2 group coaching sessions along with her friends at Nirvanacycles.com and now wanted to bring her riding on more on a personal level.
It was great to see that Alison had worked on her skill set and now we were going to work on body positioning in corners as well as flow and then onto style in the air and the mental side of the skill set for bigger jumps.


I worked hard on linking the drop technique to berms. I worked on line choice and braking areas and soon Alison really began to ride faster and smoother.
By the time we'd worked our way down the skills trail and all of its 14 sections , Alison was really shifting fast. I timed a 60 meter section and worked on the sections within and she took 4 seconds off by flowing through rather than trying to be fast.
I then moved onto the tabletop and once again worked on moving the bike in the air to make it begin to look stylish and in no time at all she was flying across it, followed by the gap side too.

To finish off our session we moved to a 9ft gap jump with a 3ft step down take off and here Alison used her mental skill set to great effect and sailed over it time and time again before our session came to a close with a riding demonstration from myself and a cold beer!
Awesome riding Alison!!

Emma's new begining

Emma has little mtb experience and wanted to get things right from the ground up, quite literally.
I made set up changes and began working on her missing skills after the skills check. The skills check un covered a natural habit that I knew would serve Emma well later in the session.
This habit was bogged down by footwork and looking skills missing and once corrected we moved to the drops and she began to fly!
I worked hard on braking technique and her habit of braking on landing but we got there and Emma flew off the 2 of the 3 drops confidently and with great commitment.
I then used 3 quarters of the skills trail and starting at the top we applied pumping and unweighting. Flat, bermed and switchback corners were linked to rock gardens, fly outs and drops. Emma's new looking and body position in corners really mixed well with her already natural footwork and she began to really flow smooth and faster through turns, even the occasional mistake was backed up by her telling me what she did wrong which was awesome.
Finally, I moved us onto the pumping trail and Emma's natural push was used here too and in no time at all she was pumping so well that she was getting air over a table top on that trail.
I really am looking forward to Emma's riding updates!
Great session.

Trevor's return

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I coached Trevor in a group last year at nirvanacycles.com and Trevor contacted me saying he was lacking confidence once more and wanted my help.
During the skills check it was great to see footwork and looking was still there and that I could now work on his body position in corners. I also found he had lost one of his skill set during the push technique and that didn't help his lack of confidence.
The first technique we went through was his previous biggest fear, DROPS!
In no time at all Trevor was landing perfectly off the first two drops and then I worked on a protective mechanism that appeared on the largest drop and he began landing that perfectly too.
Trevor was visibly growing more confident and as we moved onto the trail this vein carried on.
His new body position in corners really made him flow more though them and his braking during corners disappeared.
We worked on speed manuals, rock gardens, steps, fly outs and drops. Linking them to flat , switchback, off camber and bermed corners.



I worked hard with Trev on linking drops into berms and he really got to grips with it.
We then rode the entire trail and he was riding so fluidly and way faster than before.
With each complete run he got faster and smoother and his smile was beaming across his face. The Trevor of last year who lacked confidence had gone and this new Trevor had arrived.
Lastly I moved him onto the 6ft tabletop and showed him how his skill set applies.
It didn't take long before he sailed across it perfectly to yells of delight.

After riding it over and over again , Trevor then rode towards the gap jump and nailed that too!
after 3-4 more clear runs of the gap I called an end to the session as he became mentally tired.
Trevor, today was an absolute pleasure!

Ed and Tom's 2 to 1 session

Ed and Tom found their way to me through their other sport, windsurfing.
On meeting them I began working on installing the skill set after finding out what they were missing and also what good habits they already had.
Drops were first on the menu and here they applied their new skill set and sailed off all 3 drops smoothly.


I then moved them onto the trail and we began working on pumping and linking the 14 sections on the trail together with the correct braking zones. Methodically, we moved down the trail ading the next section to the previous ones and the lads got smoother and faster as a result.
I worked on linking drops into corners too before riding the entire trail end to end a few times.
They linked drops, steps and flyouts to flat, bermed, switchback and off camber turns. Even riding the rock garden too.
Both Ed and Tom were really flying down the trail and the smiles were testament to this.
Finally, I began work on jumping tabletops.
In no time at all both were sailing over the jump and landing perfectly, something they had never done before today.


Their footwork and looking really emphasized their push and with commitment and confidence they then rode the gap jump side too!
The session came to and end with a cold beer.
Great session!

Paul's freeride focus session

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Paul has been to me for coaching 3 times before in a group session but wanted a one to one to really focus on him alone as he wanted a freeride/north shore focused session.
I began with showing him 2 ways to dismount on woodwork to give him a control over his bike if he felt a loss of balance.
With that we proceeded with riding a low ladder that leads to a 2ft drop and worked on that before moving to a ladder that's higher and larger drop wise. Now with his ability to control his bike high up Paul rode smoothly the drop and linked it into a wooden berm too.


I then began working on another section, a step up to a platform and a step down. We worked on this until it was smooth and then Paul linked it to the drop and wooden berm to smiles all round.


We then moved onto a larger ladder drop that was claustrophobic in appearance and worked on line choice into a corner and he rode that easily and very controlled.
Next, was another gap, ladder drop and Paul used his mental skills here and applied his push as ever and landed sweetly. To finish off our session he then linked that into a 9ft gap jump that linked to a berm too!

Paul himself, called an end to the session with it having far exceed his expectations and hopes.
A great session and a pleasure to have spent the time with him.