Trek Women's Dirt Series Review - Loooooooong

So, I wanted to be involved in the Trek Women's Dirt Series in Hood River. I live here, had heard good things about the camp and was assured that all skill levels could be accommodated. At first, I thought I'd volunteer. I'm of Scottish heritage and I'm a little cheap, so to be honest, I wanted to participate in the camp but didn't really want to have to pay.

In the end, I just signed up and paid my $325ish dollars. I had a very busy month at work and decided that I needed a treat without any responsibilities. I was a little worried that I would feel like I wasn't getting my money's worth out of the camp since it was in my town and I would be riding trails that I already knew.

Pros:

It's definitely worth $325ish dollars.

The demo gear was great and at no extra charge. The coaching sessions in the morning were fantastic, with very user friendly, appropriately graded stunts.

The coaches where mostly excellent. In the skills sessions I thought they were all excellent, on the trail sessions in the afternoon, the coaching was mostly good but I have a comment on that I'll make below.

Overall, I felt the organization did a very good job of placing people in groups according to their skill level, as per a questionnaire we were asked to fill out at the beginning of camp.

The lunch was much better than average fair that I've seen at events like this. They made a big effort to accommodate people's food issues. Not an easy task!

We had a few injuries at the camp. These injuries were not a fault of the organization. I mention them under "pros" because they were handled professionally and appropriately. I have a lot of experience in "out in the field" medicine, so I say this with solid background.

The group vibe was unbelieveably supportive and I met several ladies to ride with at my skill level.

Jennifer Wilson is an amazing switchbacks coach.

Karen (sorry I don't know her last name) was fantastic on drops and jumps.

Charlotte was great at wheel lifts and straight line riding. Plus she gave me a ton fo fantastic training tips for my next big adventure. She's done long mountain bike stage races and is a wealth of knowledge for how to train for these things as a real person with a job and family.

There were other coaches that I had who were apprentices that I was really impressed wit. Jill Hardiman, especially.

The riding was great of course. That is a function of where we are, but cudos to Dirt Series for their location selection.

Cons:

Our morning skills sessions where 2 sessions of a little over an hour each. It would have been great if they could have been condensed a bit and made into 3 sessions, with the total coaching time in the AM being a little longer. There seemed to be a lot of dead time at the LBS in the morning before we got started. It would be good if registration started a bit earlier and we spent less time at the LBS.

Saturday was a REALLY long day for my group. There was socializing time in the evening at the LBS with dinner delivered. I never made it there as we didn't get back from the afternoon trail session until nearly 7 pm. There was no way I was going to make it to the social hour at that point.

Sunday was hard, mostly because I was fried from Saturday. So I think that overall, the Saturday trail ride needs to be shorter (in time at least, including shuttling etc) in order to make the weekend more manageable. An easy way to do this would be to up the cost a bit and add a shuttle bus service. That would save a lot of organization time, dealing with getting cars ready etc.

Lunch was great but, we are PNWers, therefore, some efforts at recycling and/or composting are expected.

Finally, I understand that it is the coaches job to encourage people to push their abilities. But I am generally a pretty aggressive person (read - I tend to push the envelope more than I should at the expense of my body) and at times I felt like I was being encouraged to do something that I'm pretty sure I should not have tried. In one instance I think this encouragement contributed to an injury in our group. It could have been worse but fortunately it wasn't. The participant was concussed, badly enough that she couldn't continue the ride or the camp the next day. But really, in medical terms this was considered a minor concussion and she will be fine, Ultimately, the participant is responsible for their own safety. That is how it should be. But I do feel that in this one instance the participant was encouraged beyond their ability in a place where the consequences of screw-up could be significant. It's one thing to push someone when the consequences of a screw-up are minor. It is an entirely different matter when the consequences could be devastating. Please note that I only felt this way with one coach in the entire team of people I dealt with and we were exposed to a lot of different coaches.

Final comments:

Do it! It's awesome and I learned a ton.:D:cool:

Remember that ultimately you are always responsible for your own safety, just like you are any day you go out to ride.:o

Fill out all the questionnaires before you go, they really do use the info to place you well.

Take advantage of the knowledge and equipment available at the camp. It's well worth it!!:D

Use the shin guards if you're using platforms pedals!! Trust me on this one. I don't call my platforms "shin-shredders" for no reason. I got cocky and it was hot so I took my shin guards off... ouch.:eek::mad:

The door prizes are great.:cool:

The unexpected benefit:

I met other ladies in my area to ride with of very similar abilities. It doesn't sound like much, but that's actually kind of hard for me. So I was really happy about that.:D:D

Thanks for the great review. This is the camp I wanted to do when it was in Bend, OR the weekend of August 4th, but couldn't because of my wedding. So, if they are back next year, I am in.

Thanks for the write up. "They" never tell you ahead of time how much energy a weekend long camp takes out of you. I've done many and I am always fried at the end of it. I agree that shuttled trail rides are the way to go for day #2. This is how they do it in BC. It just saves energy so you can focus on the ride and applying you new skills.

2 days later, I am covered in bruises. I didn't fall that much so this is a bit surprising. And I'll still really tired. It was very hot this weekend and it hasn't cooled off much in the last two days so I have a feeling that the heat may be a big factor.

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Originally Posted by Wahine

2 days later, I am covered in bruises. I didn't fall that much so this is a bit surprising. And I'll still really tired. It was very hot this weekend and it hasn't cooled off much in the last two days so I have a feeling that the heat may be a big factor.

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I think the heat explains the tiredness factor....and perhaps the falls were harder than you realized at the time?

I finally get to mtb this weekend after a 2.5 week mountain biking desert of no trail riding AND the lows temps are said to be in the mid-50's with daytime temps in lowish 70s! I think I might need to take a light jacket camping with me :eek: I am tuff, I can handle it :cool:

I think that the long weekend of using body and mind together, in new ways, is exhausting. The heat may add to it, but it's not the only factor.
One year I had an odometer on my mtb. We did 7 miles of riding around in loops in the gravel parking lot in one morning skills session. Don't underestimate how much energy you put out physically, plus the mental part.

I have to give the Trek Dirt Series another Big Gold Star. This thread was brought to their attention and I was contacted directly to be thanked for taking the time to do the write up and with a sincere request to discuss the incident on the trail with me and ask how I thought it could have been handled differently.:cool::cool:

So not only did they put on a great event but they are also very serious about feedback and improvement.:D:D:D

That's great, Wahine. Clearly, they take what they do really seriously. Now if they'd just offer some camps in the Midwest! :D

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Originally Posted by indysteel

That's great, Wahine. Clearly, they take what they do really seriously. Now if they'd just offer some camps in the Midwest! :D

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Agreed :) I think that it would be good for me to attend a 2-3 clinic where they had a section that focused on skills at my level for a good portion of each day. I can't afford to travel across the country to attend one so they will just have to come here :cool: I love the mountain bike clinic we have, for a 1-day clinic at my level I don't think it could get much better than it was this year...but I need longer exposure I think.

You could see if Betterride goes to the Midwest. I think Gene will go anywhere if you get a certain number of people together for a very reasonable price.

There's a number of BetterRide clinics near me but, at ~$650 pp, it's a tough pill to swallow. The price alone makes the Dirt Series attractive to me.

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Originally Posted by Becky

There's a number of BetterRide clinics near me but, at ~$650 pp, it's a tough pill to swallow. The price alone makes the Dirt Series attractive to me.

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Yikes! I could hire a coach for a couple of days for some serious one-on-one for less than that! That just might be worth saving up for...

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Originally Posted by Irulan

You could see if Betterride goes to the Midwest. I think Gene will go anywhere if you get a certain number of people together for a very reasonable price.

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He's hosted a couple in Cincinnati if memory serves. We have a local clinic that I passes on this year because I felt like I was in between groups. Maybe next year....

I've been to a Betterride clinic and found it to be worth every penny. I know it's pricey, but not only do you walk away with new skills, but you also walk away with the correct methods to practice and advance these skills on your own after the camp is over.

Many things have "clicked" with me since I left the camp because I continued to practice what was taught in a structured way. Some things I couldn't quite get during the camp, but now with knowledge of the correct methods and skills drills to hone them, I continue to get better and better.

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Originally Posted by Loraura

Many things have "clicked" with me since I left the camp because I continued to practice what was taught in a structured way. Some things I couldn't quite get during the camp, but now with knowledge of the correct methods and skills drills to hone them, I continue to get better and better.

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I've experienced the same thing. Having a couple of techniques sessions per week where I focus on improving skills has really helped to solidify what I learned. I'm doing things now that I wasn't able to do at the clinic and I have a much better ability to self diagnose what went wrong when I don't clear something.

Loraura and Wahine, how did each of you feel about learning from men vs. women and vice versa? I find that I usually learn athletic skills from women more easily than I do from men.

In general, I would say that is true for me as well. If you gave me 10 female coaches, I'd learn well from 8/10, men it would be much lower, maybe 3/10. I say it this way because I have had some amazing male coaches that I wouldn't have traded for a woman anyday. I just think the hit rate is lower.

Women definitely think differently than men do and I feel like a female coach can tap into that and use it to help teach more easily than men can in general.

I'm not even sure it's a male/female thing so much as a "do you know how to talk to students" issue. The Dirt Series folks have a paid job to explain concepts to beginners -- explaining where your center of gravity should be, where your pedals should be, explaining how friction and momentum work with our against you, where to look and how that helps, common mistakes, etc etc.

My husband, when I asked how he got around a switchback, sort of blinked at me and said "I don't know, I just.. ride it." I doubt it was because he was male, I just don't think he's ever had to break it down into the minutia and try to explain it to someone else. It'd be like asking the average person on the street about what is it that makes a poem the best in the world.

-- gnat!

I agree completely with Gnat. But I'd also add that I think that women tend to break things down into steps/details more automatically. There's actually some research out there to support this, maybe not in coaching specifically but definitely in spatial cognition and navigation.

So can anyone learn to coach in that manner, absolutely. I just think it comes more naturally to women. Realizing of course that there is a very large spectrum of thought patterns/styles within either gender.

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Originally Posted by Wahine

I agree completely with Gnat. But I'd also add that I think that women tend to break things down into steps/details more automatically. There's actually some research out there to support this, maybe not in coaching specifically but definitely in spatial cognition and navigation.

So can anyone learn to coach in that manner, absolutely. I just think it comes more naturally to women. Realizing of course that there is a very large spectrum of thought patterns/styles within either gender.

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You just said in a few sentences what I've thinking all day.

I should add that another reason I learn better from women has to do with my own personality. I'm more self conscious about trying new skills around men that I don't know well than I am around any woman. This is true even if the man happens to be the instructor.

I'm also more likely to try a new skill if I've seen other women do it. In fact, I experienced this on a recent ride with Jessmarimba. She rode 2 steep downhill switchbacks that I had been walking. Seeing Jess ride those switchbacks was more confidence inspiring than watching my hubby ace them time and time again. I aced both of the switchbacks, too, but may not have even attempted them yet if not for seeing Jess doing it.

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Originally Posted by Artista

I'm also more likely to try a new skill if I've seen other women do it. In fact, I experienced this on a recent ride with Jessmarimba. She rode 2 steep downhill switchbacks that I had been walking. Seeing Jess ride those switchbacks was more confidence inspiring than watching my hubby ace them time and time again. I aced both of the switchbacks, too, but may not have even attempted them yet if not for seeing Jess doing it.

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I totally get this. If I don't ride some of the stuff the boys do, I'm totally OK with that. If I see another woman do it, suddenly I want to be able to do it too.

If I get passed by a woman, watch out. BF says that I hate getting chicked more than most guys. :o

I forgot to say that I think that experienced coaches, both male and female, usually do a pretty good job of teaching the basics to beginners. But I'm looking to improve my intermediate skills like jumping my bike. I'll do best with explanations, demonstrations, and critique. I think the explanations are where female coaches typically excel.