3/11/2013

Skills session with BikeSport

Saturday was a great day to be outdoors and have a skills session with one of the most well known mountain bike teams in the area. BikeSport super Woman Jill Newman go the ladies of the BikeSport team together and we spend half a day dialing in among other things, logs, turns, and drops. We had an honorary male, but it was okay cause he learned new things too! Thanks Jill, Audra, Kristin and Ryan!

Everyone improved and I even got a message after the session from Audra about her first ride out with her new skills.
"Today was EXCELLENT! Stop at VF to practice what I learned today and it was GREAT!!! Did almost every log over and did one three times to try to get the timing right; chainrings kept catching but I made it over!"

It's great to know people are getting more out of their riding after a few hours of work!

Thanks BikeSport for having me out!




3/08/2013

Two clinics with the Trail Spinners on the 16th!

On March 16th I'm putting on two clinics in Delaware.
One is a cornering clinic for two hours and the other I'm really excited about because it's a class on Racing Fundamentals.
It's for anyone interested in racing or racers with experience but want to hone some skills and strategy.

See below for full descriptions!
All classes can be signed up for on the MeetUp Site or contact me directly and I'll add you to the list.


Cornering!
http://www.meetup.com/cornering


The trails of the entire Trail Spinner territory are an amazing collection of corners coming at you in rapid fire. Let's do a 2 hour clinic to bring new joy to your experience of cornering. In the process you'll get more speed with less work!
Corners come in a variety of shapes and sizes and how you enter and exit them can equal free speed and more flow. In this clinic we'll work on all the parts that equate to fun and confident cornering.
1. Body position is critical to gaining maximum traction and control. Do you counter-balance your weight, look around the corners, carry the magic speed in and out of a corner? We'll work on that!
2. How are your line choices? Do you chop early and scrub speed resulting in needing more energy to get started again?
3. Always putting an outside foot down? Maybe what you do on the road doesn't equate to the trails!
4. Braking in that corner? Lets find that predictive braking intuition!
This will be a two hour clinic for anyone who's been riding a bike for more than a year and feels comfortable riding on the trails of the Trail Spinner region. The time will be spent doing cornering drills in a field and on a piece of trail. You don't have to be a hot shot racer or even a daily ripper. Both those people are welcome and can benefit but since we aren't going on a "ride" there will be no one getting dropped.

Class is limited to 10 people so don't hesitate!

Racing Fundamentals! 

Are you curious about racing or have been doing it for a couple years now but still haven't gotten comfortable with the start line nerves or the stampede when the gun goes off? Maybe you are just looking for an edge? This two hour session will not only increase your confidence at the races it will make the experience safer for everyone involved!
Racing a mountain bike is extremely exhilarating and few other sports can mimic it's feel of adrenaline while pushing yourself to new heights! It can also be dangerous when the mind is lacking oxygen and decisions need to be instinctual when things are happening quickly. Come out and let me guide you through some confidence building exercises that mimic different aspects of racing.
In two hours we'll cover a variety of topics.
  1. Race starts. From how to push off at the gun to how to deal with some rubbing of elbows and wheels!
  2. The advantages and disadvantages of the hole shot (aka starting as hard as you can)! When to stay and when to go!
  3. Passing on the trail. Calling your pass, letting the pass happen. This can be done so smoothly there is very little momentum lost for either rider!
  4. Marking your competition and pacing. Playing to strengths and weaknesses.
  5. How to use your peripherals with eyes and ears!
  6. Randoms: Eating, equipment to carry, clothing, bike set-up.
This class is limited to 15 people so sign up today!


3/06/2013

Starting to feel like a Trail Spinner


In the span of three days I drove down to hang out with the Trail Spinners. Sunday I was invited to give a clinic to their ride leaders and last night I got to give a meager presentation about teaching skills to see what the interest would be from the general membership. Despite my off-the-cuff speech the reception was warm and promising for future clinics with this great group of riders.

The Trail Spinners have a long history and an even longer network of trails that spreads out into many parks such as White Clay, Fair Hill, Middle Run, Brandywine, Judge Morris and the list goes on. These particular parks are so easy to connect it's hard to tell where they begin or end and you need some instinctive animal sense to know when you've crossed into another land managers territory.

If you are a Trail Spinner or want to become one, look for upcoming clinics at one of these great parks. On topic are clinics for Intro to Racing, Cornering, and more advanced racing. It can change topics, but chances are these will happen in the next few weeks!