Beginner course, 10th April

I don't need to say anything on this one, I'll let a photo and Karl's letter say it.
"Hi Steve
First of all let me say thanks for a fantastic day, the weather was glorious and the photos look amazing, I can't believe that’s me on the bike doing those crazy downhill runs, it just shows what can be achieved with the proper instruction. Which leads me nicely onto the feedback section. Well what can I say, from start to finish everything was done so professionally, Steve is so knowledgeable about the techniques needed to ride the trails safely and more importantly with confidence, It was the first time I have ever done anything remotely like this and initially didn't think it was possible but having someone who understands your fears and worries helped me to overcome them and really enjoy the riding. Everything you need to know is broken down into sections and explained thoroughly so that you fully understand the technique before you dive head first into oblivion. Which makes it even more satisfying when you reach the end intact and look back to where you have just come from. Smiles all round. The debrief is very informative and along with the photos you can really see how good (or bad) you really are, which gives you something to build on. It was a real pleasure being there and I would definitely recommend anyone who wants to get the most from their riding to look on the website and give it a go, you won't be sorry. So once again a big Thank you Steve,
All the best
Karl   "

3rd April, Intermediate course

Richard's pre course info showed that he'd ridden in plenty of places including the Lakes so I knew we would be starting on a higher level than is usual. A couple of showers before we started meant that some of our challenges would have an extra slickness to beef up the challenge though and luckily there are several variations to the route that means every level of "intermediate" can be catered for. We were soon fine tuning corners and climbs and moving onto the technical stuff. "I didn't know stuff that steep was rideable" (or words to that effect) were soon being uttered. Unfortunately I was too busy watching to snap that one. We finished by pushing the speed and effeciency aspects of riding a hardtail down gnarly descents and were both suitably tired but happy by the end of the day. Shame I then had to ride back up the massive hill (we'd avoided by uplifting that morning) to get the car! The photo on the left was an attempt to convey the speed but it only sort of worked.

"Hi Steve,
Thanks for the course! Really cool montage photo too :) It was great to learn some new techniques and to push myself to do things I would of otherwise just skipped or walked. Also giving me the confidence to try some of those small jumps was great fun and I'm sure I'll trying it a lot more on the trails around and about Leeds this week :)

Thanks for the comments as well, I'll keep them in mind especially keeping a bit further back on the steeper bits as I think it will improve my speed and confidence on the descents. 

Thanks again for a great course.

Richard"

2nd April, Beginner course

In contrast to last weeks Phil this weeks Phil had only ridden his mountain bike about 6 times prior to the course, although was pretty fit from road riding. It was soon apparent that his eagerness to learn meant he grasped every skill and wrestled it into submission. after a small downpour (avoided courtesy of a handy bridge) the weather cleared to give us a great day out. Little had he expected at the start that within three hours he would be getting a bit of air and by the end working on a descent that verges on the intermediate!
"I really did feel that I have gained a far better insight into what I should be doing [I will be waking in the small hours shouting the mantra ' Look ahead !!'] and it has given me a lot more confidence in my approach. All credit to you for your patience and very subtle prods in pushing the envelope...A really big thank you again for the day."

27th March Beginners course

Spring appears to have arrived, and when Phil arrived I immediately got the impression he was definitely at the higher end of "beginner" so we rode the "advanced beginner route" with Phil soaking up all the skills like a sponge. As well as all the normal beginner skills we also worked at getting better flow out of single track sections and basic pumping skills to carry that speed. We finished on the tricky descent which Phil coped with pretty well. We also worked on some elements of bike set up to improve braking feel and control. All done in shorts weather with a hazy August like sun. Couldn't be better!