21st may 2011, intermediate

Todays course highlighted to me the importance of making the right gear/bike choice - you can never be too experienced to make mistakes in choice or take price shortcuts you could regret later. Peter had a good bike but it was too big which meant he had to make twice the effort to get the front wheel off the ground for step ups, and jumping drops, while wheelie drops and manuals were virtually out of the question. There are ways around this such as a shorter stem which maybe enough to get the body further back and in the right balance zone - certainly worth trying. I bought a new seat post as my 8 year old Thomson had worn to an hourglass shape which made clamping tricky when putting the saddle up and down - too loose when up, too tight to fully clamp when down. I went for a cheaper Nukeproof one, but on opening the box found it was painted not anodised. two rides and lots of paint has come off effectively making it thicker in some places than others - so now I have the same problems after 2 days that it took the Thomson 8 years to get. Buy cheap buy twice!

Intermediate course, 8th may

Dave had openly admitted before the course that he was lacking skill the confidence to commit. Hopefully the letter below will say more than I can about how successful we were in sorting that out.

Hi Steve, thanks for the photos and a great day's training around the beautiful Hebden Bridge.
The course is a good mix of instruction, explanation, demonstration as well as ongoing tips and hints which were clear, logical and easy to follow. My head has been buzzing since Sunday and I have already moved my brake levers to a new, more inboard position. Plus I have put on some flat pedals and been out a couple of times trying wheelies, endos, and bunny hops etc. Next time I go out on a ride I will definitely repeat any technical sections I'm not happy with, it really is the only way to learn.
 This course has given me the tools in which to improve my mountain bike experience, which I can now practice, which will lead to more confidence and greater enjoyment.
 I would recommend to anybody who is struggling with any aspects of mountain biking to attend one of your courses. It's ironic that we spend hundreds if not thousands on a bike, (all the gear and no idea, ring any bells?) yet how much do we spend on upgrading our skill-set?
 As it turned out, the day ended up as 'one to one' due to the fact the other students unfortunately couldn't make it. But even though you only had me to instruct, it was still a 4:00pm finish (as per your course details). I think some lesser instructors would have taken that opportunity to shorten the time taken on the actual day, citing, 'less riders equals early finish'! But you didn't do that which is a big plus in my book.
 So once again many thanks Steve, and keep up the good work. 
Best regards,
 Dave

Beginner course, 7th May

I can only say that the weather was somewhat variable but all the worst rain came while we were in the shelter of woodland so a good time was had anyway. Amy was keen as mustard and took everything in pretty quickly. Soon she was dropping down some steep drops and had the jump sussed on the second go. She started the day with only two brake positions - off and skidding but the nature of the descents meant that she couldn't get away with that for long and by the end she was demonstrating some fine modulation.  The sun came out for the final gnarly descent which she tackled confidently and cleanly.