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Hi All,
I’m a Cub Scout leader, and also newly taken a position helping cub groups across the district (Stirling and Trossachs). Have done some leading of cub and scout rides this last year, but within a very restricted set of rules seeing as other than first aid i, or my co-leaders, have no formal qualifications.
Also, by default i have in the past and no doubt in the future ended up being the default leader on rides with friends etc. Over the years, there have been some major crashes/injuries, incidents, near misses that most would say are the responsibility of the individual rider, but it’s in my character to wonder if I could have done things differently and stepped up to observe, guide & advise more strongly.
The district will fund training for me and another keen biking scout leader, meaning that we can pay it back by opening up mtb experiences to more kids. Awesome!!
However, there are a lot of possible courses out there. I am a member of Cycling UK, but it’s offerings seem a bit naff, whereas MBL level 2 from British cycling looks like it is more ‘proper’.
@iainc doing a search showed that you have done this, would love to hear your experiences and the thoughts of others.
Many thanks, hope you all got to enjoy some nice riding this weekend
It's a while ago, but...
I had the same question and after looking at the course structures had no doubt that Cycling UK was the way to go.
Cycling UK is much more focused on group management, incident management, making sure everyone's having a good day.
B.C. more focused on individual skills progression, racing et c. Much more coaching rather than guiding if you take my point.
APF
Huh, glad i asked! That’s really good to know, thank you.
Hi, I can’t comment on the Cycling UK courses as mine are through BC. I have MBLA level 2 ride leader, which a few of us did as part of our coaching role with Glasgow Riderz. I found it really good, as did my colleagues, though a lot I think depends on the tutor. We had Jules Fincham, of Cyclewild, who is a great and very passionate trainer.
He tweaked it to suit our needs and it was a good learning experience and great fun. It allows up to take groups of our youth Riderz on led rides, whether around Mugdock, GT or other trail centres or on away weekends in Feshiebridge or the like. It sits as a very complementary qualification to the BC Level 2 MTB coaching qualification, which is the way we are set up at Riderz.
If not coming from a coaching background the Cycling UK one may be well worth a detailed look.
B.C. more focused on individual skills progression, racing et c. Much more coaching rather than guiding if you take my point.
Don't follow this at all. Think you might be confused 😕
There is a BC coaching track that probably covers loads of coaching, and I guess BC as an organisation does loads in racing, but their guiding tickets are all about..... well guiding.
I'm kind of in a similar place but I'm thinking the opposite, yes BC seems to be pushing everything for racing, I think the MBL course is what is needed for guiding groups off-road as it covers a fair few things to consider including things like weather, terrain, rider skill levels, first aid and emergency vehicle access which much more rounded and including the things needed to ride with a group.
I'm going to get my level 1 coaching sorted next month then book myself on a MBL course and get that sorted, then once I've started the mbl course I'll arrange level 2 coaching as well. I've volunteered to get involved with my local bike club's junior section so doing the coaching qualifications so I can coach. The MBL qualification is because I'm also wanting to do some.rides with people (including kids) and reckon it would be sensible to have some sort of guiding qualification for that.
I just don't know which course to go for as there seem to be a few people offering dates, glad to see Jules being mentioned as it was his course I was considering.
^^^ where are you based ? The Cyclewild stuff with Jules is great, I have heard good things about Ridelines too.
Stirling...I think Cyclewild is Pitlochry and Ridelines is Glentress so about same distance.
In reply to the generalist, this was at least 10 years ago! Crikey, how the hell did that happen?
APF
Me and Mrs Mick did BC mtb leader course approx 5 years ago (which reminds me my first aid is way out of date....). It had absolutely nothing to do with coaching or racing. Coaching and leader courses are completely separate things. At the time it sounded like the BC course gave a bit more freedom for changes of route etc whilst the C UK approach / planning was much more rigid.
We are members of both CUK and BC so didn't have any particular allegiance.
Did it with Cyclewise in the Lakes but guess that isn't very convenient for the OP.
In reply to the generalist, this was at least 10 years ago! Crikey, how the hell did that happen?
Ah, I was going to ask that. I think BC have since diverged the two tracks.
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Is Ridelines the only Glentress based assessor? I heard two independent people slating their assessment day.
I'd be interested to know what their problem was with Ridelines as I did my MBL with Andy years ago just as he was starting to run the courses. He is an absolutely top bloke, very thorough and knowledgeable and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him. I had known him for years before that and consider him a friend so maybe I'm slightly biased but I wouldn't recommend him if he wasn't any good, friend or not.
When I did my TCL and MBL years ago years ago I did them locally as getting away for a weekend was t really an option with a young family. But I think it's beneficial to do the course in an area that you're unfamiliar with. You'll learn more about how to guide, it's one thing doing it in an area you know really well and another doing it somewhere you've never been before which is really helpful when you're planning a ride somewhere new, be that as a paid guide or when your with friends.
Do the scouts recognise both courses equally when they review your qualifications? Eg, does one allow you to go further afield etc?
I've done BC coaching and BC MBL level2 no coaching in the MBL in fact told pretty much not to coach riders.
I did mine at cyclewise winlatter. Which was great. As I had to think about the different and frankly weird access restrictions south of the border. Also meant using an area I didn't know. Mate did tcl with ridelines and there wasn't part of the assessment route that he didn't know.
As both a scouter with Terrain 2 permit and active BC Level 3 leader (I'm very fortunate to say it's my job), give me a shout if you want a blether.
You don't need an external qualification to be a great MTB leader. No course will teach you great MTB leadership, only experience will do that. Consider getting a scout MTB permit and using that cash to buy in an experienced guide to learn from. BC's leadership awards are industry-standard qualifications, if your MTB leadership isn't going to earn you pennies, I'd be thinking about the need for it.
And, don't worry, big crashes happen to even the most experienced leaders. It's our job to balance risk and reward but, whether we like it or not, stuff happens! If you've been a scout leader for a while, you'll have developed a style of leadership and ability to predict what the kids will do next. You just need to adapt that to a MTB setting.
I did the MBCUK Level 1 - think it’s the same as Level 2 of other courses. It covers trail leadership and coaching.
Does anyone do the MIAS course anymore?
many thanks for the input folks.
It could be a simple as what courses are available. As far as i can tell, Cycling UK has no mountain bike trail leader courses in the calendar at all.
@dustypumpkins - will do, and also to get the background on your name 🙂
The terrain Permit level seems linked to MIAS, BC MBL L2 or the 2 levels of cycling UK MBTL.
at least 1000 people did MIAS last yr i think.
i am runnging a course this coming weekend