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!
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.
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.
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.
Race starts. From how to push off at the gun to how to deal with some rubbing of elbows and wheels!
The advantages and disadvantages of the hole shot (aka starting as hard as you can)! When to stay and when to go!
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!
Marking your competition and pacing. Playing to strengths and weaknesses.
How to use your peripherals with eyes and ears!
Randoms: Eating, equipment to carry, clothing, bike set-up.
This class is limited to 15 people so sign up today!
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!
Of course there is a limit to everything, but until it reaches a certain depth or consistency, riding in snow can leave you with some memories to carry through the entire summer. Maybe you'll even be excited for winter to return!
When it snows the traction can get better in some places but you will definitely have to up your game on riding with the bike sliding around underneath you. This seems contradictory but what you soon realize is that even though you might be sliding around in the corners, it's predictable and consistent. That consistency is key to being comfortable on a new surface. The more you begin to trust what will happen in given situations the more comfortable you can be expanding your comfort range.
How to ride the snow? Stay loose on the bike keeping the elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, and shoulders active. You have to be ready to let the bike choose it's own path sometimes and counter-balance becomes key to survival. Angling the bike underneath you is critical to keeping yourself out of the snow. For a good counter-balance drill go into a field and practice riding slowly around in circles changing directions to transfer weight and the angle of the bike. When I say slow I mean agonizingly slow. This might be best to do on flat pedals or without your mtb shoes so you can put a foot down easily. Try starting to slow down to a stop then pedal away without putting a foot down. Do all of this while staying out of the saddle.
A counter-balance drill that benefits snow riding!
1. Choose a gear in the middle front ring middle rear cog region.
2. Go flat pedals or non clipless shoes if you're afraid of falling over.
3. Choose a place with a small incline.
4. Pedal as slow as you can. I call it the slow game.
4.5. Be sure to do most of this out of the saddle.
5. Counter-balance your weight by angling the bike but keeping your hips above your feet.
6. Practice slowing to a stop, then starting again without putting a foot down. Try pausing at that stop longer and longer while staying balanced.
7. Change directions frequently.
8. Do this with a friend, playing slow follow the leader. Try to trick them into putting a foot down.
This is the philosophy behind doing skills and drills in parks. If we were to try and practice on the trail there are constant variables that effect your attempt to practice that one skill you are trying to dial. In a field we can set up an obstacle and eliminate almost all of the variables so that we can get down to the business of learning the key movements needed to perform certain skills. Consistency is key! The snow is a big variable, but you soon realize it's an equalizer that blankets your trail. Don't be afraid of the snow, ride it and learn new things you'd never have the opportunity to practice over and over again without it.
Why ride in the snow? There are several good reasons to go out when the conditions get weird! For one it's good to change up the routine and introduce our bodies to new problems and experiences. Without having to drive some extra distance the snow changes your regular riding trails into a completely new place. The corners have a different dynamic, snow has filled in some choppier sections and smoothed out those spots that normally suck your wheel into momentum blackholes. I often find myself taking new lines in the snow I would never use on regular dry days. Contrary to surface logic, traction can get better, depending on the snow conditions.
Two factors effect the possibility of riding in the snow on the ground. Depth and consistency. A light fluffy snow that's freshly fallen can be ridden in at depths up to 5 or 6 inches, sometimes more depending on your leg strength and tolerance. That fresh snow will part nicely for your tires as you plow through. As the flakes get bigger and wetter and the depth grows a fun ride can quickly turn into a slog.
On the far end of that consistency range is the deeper snow that has been through a warm day then frozen to form a crust on top that can actually support the weight of you and the bike. This is a rare but magical event you'll never forget. When the snow is like this you'll soon find yourself leaving the trail riding through the woods in places never imagined.
When the snow gets to deep, be happy because it's a good chance to play on the cross country skis. If you're a mountain biker and you haven't given the XC skis a chance you owe it to yourself to try. Imagine having the ability to go places your bike never went because there were no trails? A whole world of exploration awaits!
Corners come at you in many different ways. This session will start with the fundamentals of a balanced body position, corner initiating, and slow speed exercises. We'll work up to moderate speed corners by the end of the session.
Cornering is a constantly challenging skill. No matter how good you get, it always feels like there is room for improvement. The best thing you can do is get the foundation established and build on good technique for years to come.
We'll cover:
Tight Twisty turns
Slow direction changes
Ratcheting
Switchbacks
Front and wheel rear tracking
We will meet at the Belmont Plateau and work in the fields with some trail riding if it is not too wet. This session will be two hours and is limited to 8 riders. The price will be $30 a person.
Welcome to another TakeAim Cycling Skills clinic on log hopping. This will be good for riders who took last weeks log hopping session or intermediate riders looking for the next step in getting up and over things.
This session will review initiating the front wheel lift through pressure control and move on to the front wheel lift through a modified wheelie/ pedal kick.
Once people start to understand getting over a log on a flat ground the need to move towards getting over logs on uphills and downhills is the next situation we often encounter on the trails.
Do any of these things happen to you when trying to get over logs? You jam your front wheel. Go over the bars. Slam your chainrings or rear wheel. Make it over a log but are no longer in control of the direction you want to be going. Come out and we'll work on the proper techniques that will make your log traveling smoother and more controlled!
Bonus benefits! The skills you learn from good log hopping techniques will translate to other areas of your riding experience! Skip along root sections and controlled technical climbing are just two of them!
We will meet at the Belmont Plateau and work in the fields with some trail riding if it is not too wet. This session will be two hours and is limited to 7 riders. The price will be $30 a person.
One of the most magical experiences we should all hope to achieve is that sense of floating on our bike over rough surfaces, especially when pedaling! Think riding cobbles at the Paris Roubaix. This past weekend I had that moment on a long winding cross ride that involved abandoned unused railroad tracks and other chunky terrain.
You might think that railroad tracks, washboard roads and cobbled streets are the worst thing you can imagine spending any amount of time on and you're probably right.
Growing up on a dirt road I remember how over time breaking bumps would form and I discovered that driving over them at different speeds produced unexpected results. At slow speeds it felt like your car was going to be knocked to it's breaking point while at higher speeds it seemed as if the car was floating over some mild rumble strips.
How do you make the bike float over these annoying surfaces that threaten to shake out your fillings? This refers to riding long flat sections where you have to pedal to keep going.
1. Stay loose. Keep your hinges active. Ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, wrists. Sit in your suspension.
2. Stay off the brakes. Use only light skimming to slow down.
3. Look ahead, eyes forward.
4. Keep the front wheel light.*
5. *Let the bars float around in a loose half grip. No tight grips. Allow the upper body to relax.
6. Use a bigger gear. This is not a time to spin 120 cadence. Walk on the pedals. Like taking two steps at a time. Keep your weight in your feet.**
7. **Sit on the seat, but keep the butt ready to float by transferring weight to your pedals.
8. Keep your momentum up and find the rhythm that allows you to float on top and not sink into the square edges.
Here is a great slow motion video of the famous cobbles of Paris Roubaix.
Notice how the arm muscles are loose and flapping. If these guys had a death grip their forearms would be rock solid.
Look at the hands and see if they show signs of being relaxed or are transmitting tension? At 1:12 you can see how relaxed the index fingers of the rider. How many other body clues can you see?
More cool research:
http://perso.ens-lyon.fr/nicolas.taberlet/washboard/
This is the first TakeAim Cycling Training camp. Come to the land of my winter training.
Register here. https://www.bikereg.com/Net/18033
Escape the winter slush and head to North Florida with TakeAim Cycling for a three or four day block of mountain biking to kick off your 2013 season.
Included in Camp Package:
Three or four days of riding. 2-4hrs each ride with guide and instructor Harlan Price. Ride any of the days Thursday-Sunday. You might use Thursday or Sunday as a travel day.
Meals; Thursday (Dinner), Friday/ Saturday (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner), Sunday (Breakfast, Lunch). We will ask for dietary restrictions and every meal will emphasize healthy choices for endurance athletes.
Skills sessions Friday and Saturday Morning with video analysis.
Evening discussions on various topics related to racing, riding and trail performance.
Goals of the Camp
Provide excellent winter base miles in a learning environment free of distractions.
Improve skills on the trails.
Teach recovery techniques for maximizing multi-day riding efforts to benefit stage races, training blocks, or your next ambitious mountain biking trip.
Practice breathing techniques for a better riding experience.
Why Florida for Mountain Biking?
You might question the idea of mountain biking in Florida, but the lack of elevation means you can work on steady aerobic output while honing mountain bike skills. That style of trail will help you to become a smoother, more efficient rider in any singletrack. Traditional training convention emphasises the importance of riding on the road to meet targeted training zones and to avoid the inconsistency of mountain biking’s terrain that forces you to spike your effort levels.
The unique hand built trails of White Springs kiss the banks of the Suwannee River and wind through the Pine and Oak tree forests draped in the spanish moss of North Florida. The trail surface is a combination of pine needles and oak leaves on top of white river sand. It’s not a sandbox! You won’t be slogging through deep loose sand. Instead you’ll be honing your cornering techniques as you learn body position, braking skills, and the act of being comfortable with choosing lines while letting the wheels slide around underneath you.
The trails are a series of singletrack loops connected by dualtrack, pavement, fireroad and dirt roads. If a rider is lagging behind, it will be easy to allow riders to split up and come back to those on a different pace.
We will maximize the trails that are in the area and there will be times when we ride the same trails repeatedly to master a section or a skill. The emphasis will be to stay on the pedals and find a comfortable endurance pace.
We will be staying at the Stephen Foster Folk Center and State Park, located in White Springs Florida. There is one stop light in White Springs which embodies the ideal of a sleepy southern town. Resting on the banks of the Suwannee River this quite village used to be a bustling tourist destination at the turn of the century. Five large hotels hosted the guests who were searching for the healing waters of the natural springs that bubble up from the Florida Aquifer. Besides mountain biking, Hamilton County offers a variety of outdoor activities, including hiking, canoeing, and spring hopping.
Ideally the best candidates for this camp would be a group of riders who know each other and have similar skill levels. Otherwise this camp will be best for Cat 1 (expert) or good Cat 2 (Sport) riders. These rides are going to be steady not fast, but a rider needs to be in good physical shape to ride four hours non-stop. Of course we will pause for mechanicals, emergencies, eating, and taking in a view or two. The entry is capped at five to keep the skill variance to a minimum. No rider will be left behind. If someone chooses to go back early or there is an emergency there will be maps and an emergency action plan. At no time will we be so far away from home base that it will be difficult to get home.
Lodging
The Cabins at the Stephen Foster Folk Center and State Park are more like full houses with all the amenities one could ask for. The maximum number of guests in each cabin is set at 6 by the park. I have limited the camp to five so we will be under capacity but space will still be cozy. There are two bedrooms. One has a queen bed and the other has bunk beds. The living room has two fold out couches that are very comfortable. Whoever gets the couches will get a $50 discount on their camp fee. If you need to have a single bed and you want to reserve it there will be an option to pay an extra $50.
The Cabin has a beautiful wrap around porch, has an outside, as well as indoor shower, and is within the park. Read more about it here.
Recovery Yoga for Athletes For two evenings we will be going just down the street to the Suwannee River Yoga studios to practice a style of yoga developed to enhance recovery from exercise while improving performance on the bike. TakeAim Cycling has been working to create a yoga practice that will help athletes in three different ways.
Promote quicker recovery through relaxation techniques.
Increase breathing awareness to benefit athletes trying to stay calm and efficient while at hard efforts on the bike.
Increase body awareness to isolate and eliminate tension on the bike.
Schedule Thursday: A travel day with an optional ride.
1:00pm: Pickup from Jacksonville airport. (Roundtrip pickup has an additional $75 fee)
2:30-4:30pm: Introductions and ride for 2 hours
7:00pm: Dinner and discussion
Friday:
8am Breakfast
9:30-11:30am: Skills Clinic
12pm: Lunch
1-5pm: Ride!
5-6:30pm: Relax and eat
6:30-7:45pm: Recovery Yoga
Evening: Eat more, discussions about racing and riding.
Saturday:
8am Breakfast
9:30-11:30am: Skills Clinic
11:30am: Lunch
12-3:30pm: Ride!
4-5pm: Relax, recovery drink, snacking
5-6:15pm: Recovery Yoga
7:30pm Dinner
Evening: Eat more, discussions about racing and riding.
Sunday: A travel day with an optional ride.
7am: Breakfast
8-10am: Ride
11am: Checkout: There will be time to shower and clean up.
12pm: Leave for airport: Arrival time at Airport should be 1:30
Fee:
$375 a person
$1500 if you reserve the whole camp for your group.
Airport Pickup/Dropoff: $75 additional fee for roundtrip.
Pick up from Jacksonville Airport on Thursday: 1pm Return to airport on Sunday: 1:30pm We would prefer that you find your own way to and from the training camp but if you are coming from far enough away to warrant a flight we will be making one trip to the Jacksonville airport on Thursday and one on Sunday. We will be able to pick up and drop off an unlimited number of riders. Depending on when you arrive you might be sitting at the airport for a brief amount of time. Schedule accordingly. If the situation arises, we can alter the pickup to be earlier and the drop off to be later.
About Harlan Price I am a North Florida native who began racing mountain bikes professionally after graduating from the University of Florida and moving to Pennsylvania. Specializing primarily in endurance racing I would often return to my warm southern roots for winter training and racing. I've always emphasized a deliberate training plan to get to the highest levels of the racing ranks. Highlights of my career included two endurance national championship titles and a spot on Team USA at the 2009 Marathon World Championships. I've always loved racing 100 milers and stage races but in recent years I have been exploring the world of Enduro racing. I've written for Dirt Rag Magazine, Bicycling and Bike Mag. Since 2006 I've been working with athletes through training camps, training plans, and skills clinics. Currently I concentrate solely on camps and skills training. I love giving people tools that get stronger the more they use them. Understanding good training techniques, and the foundations of mountain bike skills will benefit riders for years to come. Learn more about me and my company TakeAim Cycling.
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