Ian and Ralph come from Oxford for a skills session

Ian and Ralph wanted to have more control and confidence in their riding and their local riding is the Chilterns. I found they needed work on both looking and body positioning during the skills check and I made some set up changes to assist the corrections.
 We began with the application of both mental and physical skills in the drop technique.

It didn't take them long to get air for the 1st time since they were kids and they ate up all 3 drops!
From there we moved onto the skills trail and the 14 sections that are present in it and I began working on linking the sections together via their exits and entries. Flat, bermed, off camber and switchback turns were linked to upslopes, steps, rock gardens, pump bumps  and drops. We moved down the trail methodically, always linking the previous sections to the next and after a break they were riding the whole trail end to end.

 They were recommended by a friend who had been coached by myself previously and they had told them how mentally tiring the coaching is and I could see that they were tiring quickly. I knew they had a little left so I moved them on to applying both physical and mental skills to riding down steeps with their new body position and they were stunned at how controlled it felt and knew why!
 Our session ended after a couple of runs and we retired to the local pub for a well earned pint to celebrate an awesome session and a great end to a weeks coaching.
 High5!

Kas brings his mate Matt for a skills session

 Kas came to me 18months ago and wanted to attend another session and to share it with his riding buddy Matt. The skills check revealed I needed to work on their looking and body positioning and also I knew I'd work on their mental skills too.

 The first technique we applied the skills to was riding over logs using the skill set and from there we moved onto the drop technique and it was here that I was able to show them why the skills enabled them to begin to style it and move the bike in the air .
 We moved onto the skills trail and began work on linking the 14 sections contained within it together using the identified control areas. Pre jumping, rock gardens, steps, fly out jumps and drops were linked to flat, bermed, off camber and switchback turns. I worked methodically down the trail always adding the previous sections to the newest and soon they were riding the whole trail fast and in control. Any errors were self diagnosed too.

 I knew from our previous session what capacity Kas has for mental learning so I moved them on after a good few runs to the 6ft tabletop and gap jump.

 Both sailed over the jumps and Matt was blown away at how easy it all felt as his youth flooded back with memories of bmx and he styled it over the gap jump!
 From there I wanted to work on their body positioning when riding steeps and we moved into the quarry for that.

I used a high drop off first to work on both braking and body position and then we moved onto a lower near vertical drop off and I demonstrated 2 ways of riding into them and they followed suit.

 I could see they were tiring quickly and mistakes started creeping in so our session ended right there and we celebrated the session over a pint in the local pub.
Awesome riding guys,
High5!

A 1 to 1 skills session for Lee

 Lee attended a public skills session last year and wanted a one to one session to bring on his riding further. I could see during the skills check that I needed to work on his body positioning and also his mental skills also.
 We began with cornering and using half the skills trail worked on linking 4 corners to pre jumping and a rock garden, later adding in absorbing upslopes and steps  to stick to the ground . lee is no slouch on a bike and it was showing as he was flying along.

I moved onto the drop technique and I was able to work with Lee on moving the bike in the air to begin to style it too. Later we moved onto the 6ft tabletop and gap jump to work on jumping at different speeds and controlling take off and landing using the skills sets.

I moved on to work on applying his new body position to riding steep drop offs and different ways of riding down them and once again, after using his mental skills, he rode them easily.

 We moved again onto another trail and I worked on manualing sections on the trail.

For our final task, I wanted to work on his fear of ladder drops and once I had given Lee control of that environment, he was able to ride along high ladders with ease and commit to the gap ladder drop. Our session came to a close after a couple more goes as mentally he was tired. Amazing progession Lee
High5!