Mtb Instruction & Skills

[Catrin]

Thanks for starting this thread! I am going to practice my drills on both mtn bike and Gunnar - I won't try to hop with the Gunnar but I certainly can practice my body positioning.

I found some easy dirt as well, and I've found a couple of people willing to ride the trail I was on Sunday with me - it will just be a matter of scheduling.

[kimikaw]

Great idea to start this thread. I really cannot even begin to express what a difference the two real clinics I've done have made on my riding. By real I mean ones who follow a protocol like the IMIC one the Midwest Women's Clinic and the Ray's Women's clinic use. I also did a mini clinic last fall at a local race - was a informal mini clinic. Got me to try riding, but didn't really teach me anything.

I often see guys ( over on mtbr) react to the do a clinic suggestion w/ why spend the money just go ride. Yeah, that's one way...but as you've learned you might never progress. Or as Jonathon ( one of my coach this trip - along w/ TE's own TrekJeni) put it traditionally folks learned by riding with friends, and often getting hurt. Learning the fundamentals the right way ( ESP right off the bat) is HUGE.

And for me, doing so in an all women format even better

Which leads me to drills. I do them every opportunity. This weekend I felt like I had a bit of a breakthrough in my bike/body feel, weight shifting and balance. I think some of that due to practicing ready/neutral/back/forward on my commuter (which is a more MTB geometry hybrid). I have a hilly commute and have been doing major parts standing in MTB stance. On streets.

The other big key for me is really looking forward, not down like road riding. And trusting myself to do it. Plus very deliberately telling myself mentally not to look at the tree, or the rock or the drop off. I have this constant chatter in my head, watch ahead where you're going, where you want to go. Doing that at the clinic in the field on high speed turns had me killing them. Which felt great. I wasn't 't as aggressive yet on the trail, but I'm getting there.

We'll be doing family drills on the skills from this weekend in the yard- even pulling some logs and rocks out of our woods to practice going over. Should be fun!

[indysteel]

Thanks for starting this thread! I am going to practice my drills on both mtn bike and Gunnar - I won't try to hop with the Gunnar but I certainly can practice my body positioning.

I found some easy dirt as well, and I've found a couple of people willing to ride the trail I was on Sunday with me - it will just be a matter of scheduling. Thankfully two of the women are instructors, and the other woman is very experienced.

That's cool, Catrin. I'm sure some time out there with Tania (presumably) will be very helpful. I was eyeing a parking lot here in Franklin to practice some drills.

[Catrin]

That's cool, Catrin. I'm sure some time out there with Tania (presumably) will be very helpful. I was eyeing a parking lot here in Franklin to practice some drills.

I've been pondering parking lot vs dirt for drills, assuming I can find some easy non-technical dirt. Of course, it should probably be both/and rather than either/or. I am thankful my Gunner has, basically, a rigid mountain bike geometry as it will make it easy to practice on it as well.

[Artista]

Just got back from my drills & finished supper. I thought it would be a good idea to share which drills we're doing. Maybe we can get some other ideas, improve our skills, & prevent boredom with our current drills. I'll start

My total drill time is about 45 - 60 minutes. My goal is to do these daily for the next 10 days or so, & then a few times a week after that.

1. The field that I ride in is a 10 minute, gentle climb, from the parking lot. It's a good little warm up. I wouldn't even ride this span clipped in when I first got my SPD's. After a few days, I'm totally confident riding this really easy section while clipped in.
2. Once I reach the field, I spend a few mintues clipping both feet in & out.
3. Next comes practice with leaning my bike from one side to the other while keeping my body perpendicular to the ground. I find it more difficult to lean the bike very far now that I'm clipped in. In addition, leaning the bike to the right feels less natural than the other direction, so I spend more time working on the right side.
4. Then I ride small circles around a large weed in the field. I drew a line in the dirt so that I know whether I'm drifting away from my tight circle. My goal is to do 50 circles in each direction but I sometimes have to stop sooner because my wrists start hurting. Something about riding the circles slowly is really hard on my wrists. I make sure to spend quite a bit of time turning to the right since that's the side I struggle with the most.
5. I intersperse front wheel lifts & more clipping & unclipping amongst the circle riding.
6. I end with riding the gentle downhill back to my car with my weight at the rear of the bike. I'm pretty confident with this skill but riding slowly prolongs the amount of time that I hover over the saddle, which is building more muscle in my legs. Speaking of muscle, riding those circles & practicing wheel lifts is giving my upper body a great workout too.

I hope to add more drills after my next lesson. If so, I'll share them with everyone.

Anyone else care to share what they're doing?

[Becky]

Wheelie night! Every so often, DH and I will spend an hour popping (or attempting to pop) wheelies in the back yard. My goal is to consistently lift the front wheel on demand, no matter which leg is forward. I'm more successful with my dominant leg forward, so the other one is definitely a bit of a challenge.

I keep meaning to buy a 2x6 board and practice riding along its length...just for some balance and steering practice.

[limewave]

I should motivate myself to do some of these drills in our yard after the kids go to bed

I had gift card for Amazon and downloaded Mastering Mountain Biking Skills. I've been riding all wrong!!!! I need to do some relearning.

[Catrin]

I should motivate myself to do some of these drills in our yard after the kids go to bed

I had gift card for Amazon and downloaded Mastering Mountain Biking Skills. I've been riding all wrong!!!! I need to do some relearning.

Would this be a good book for someone at the introductory level? Someone else recommended a book called "Mountain Bike!" which I got from the library, but most of it seems more advanced stuff. Not that I might not get there, but I need to focus on beginning skills. It is my nature to want to jump ahead and I don't want to do that this time

I think the drills that gave me the most trouble Sunday was the sideways movement (fore and aft seemed fine), ratcheting and tight turning. Of course hopping was probably the most challenging of all for me. Obviously you can't master anything in a clinic, but they gave me wonderful tools with which to start working

I wish I had a yard in which I could practice, I need to actually take my bike somewhere...