5/08/2012

TAC racers at Iron Hill!

Congrats to Nathalie and Jesse on their spectacular rides in some sloppy conditions. Even though the rain held off the course was still wet and sloppy. The mud was sticky and energy tapping while the wet made every corner and rock an opportunity to use some body english to hold a line.

Since I've been back I've given a few lessons and am currently in the middle of a two day clinic with the Whiskey Springs Junior MTB Team. A rider who took a lesson last week sent me this very nice email soon after our first session. Dan has been riding for years...

"I went for my first ride since the lesson today (round the Wiss) and so it was my first opportunity to put into practice the different points we covered. I noticed a significant difference in how confident and relaxed I felt, not just on the downhill sections but generally. Pretty cool.

The adjustment to my tire pressure also made a noticeable difference, allowing me to get up rocky sections with less slipping of the back tire than usual, and, not sure if it was my imagination but I felt more stable when cornering in what were fairly slippery conditions."
Dan

That kind of feedback makes me feel great teaching skills to people.

5/03/2012

Two Day's of Sessions!

The past couple days have been great! I had two new clients that really saw some areas for improvement and we made some good progress in that direction.

I just want to point out a quick exercise for understanding handlebar control and what finger to brake with. This was demonstrated to me in class at Endless Biking!

1. Stand on your non-drive side and hold the grips with 4 fingers and a thumb, then pull up on the bars a couple times toward your chest.
2. Now do it without your index finger a couple times.
3. Then try it without just your middle finger.
4. How about without your index or your middle finger around the bars?

Most people will find that the index finger braking gives them more handlebar control than middle finger braking. And if you are two finger braking you really need to make the switch to one finger!

Which finger do you brake with?

5/01/2012

Officially North Shore Trained

Exciting news for Take Aim Cycling! I spent the last 10 days in North Vancouver taking classes from Darren Butler at Endless Biking. What kind of classes?..Coaching classes! You might think that just because I have a ton of riding experience and coaching as well, I'd be fine doing what I do. Well, I'll say that there is nothing like getting educated by someone who has been doing it as long and as well as Darren.
I'll elaborate later, but now I have  a  client I have to meet. Just know, that I invested in me so I can invest in you!