If so what do you think Been on a C. active course enjoyed it liked the riding but it was a world away from what I ride at home ie rooty twisty single track not lakes trails with a more open scree type trail feel??
I fancy doing a course need to close the gap on my faster mates!
So do I bump for the jedi training which looks really good and can be tuned to what I need to be faster or have a weekend away learn skill type stuff but not on the same type of trail as I ride? Yes I know that the skill cross over on any terrain but its jumps faster corners etc I'd like to nail really
Any one done both??
DaveGr - MemberAQR - did two days with them, the first was very good and I learnt a lot. The second not so good but partly down to how I was feeling at the time. Good VFM and I recommend going on day 1.
CycleActive - very nice weekend in the Lakes, good riding but the coach had one way of teaching and if that didn't work he had nothing else to offer. Didn't feel I took a lot away from it.
Jedi / Tony - did a 1-2-1 last week and he had me riding better than I've ever done - I think his skill is in assessing how best you learn and then bit by bit increasing what you're doing throughout the day. Expensive but I feel worthwhile.
But above all, you've got to be open to learn and afterwards be prepared to work at embedding new skills which can be the difficult bit.
[url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/skills-courses-give-me-your-opinion#post-1355208 ]http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/skills-courses-give-me-your-opinion#post-1355208[/url]
Maybe I should be on commmission 🙂
As a follow up to my feedback above - it's taken a few rides to get some of the changes bedded in. First ride after I was like a doddery old bloke cycling back from the pub, while the next two rides on terrain more suited to my style some things seemed to click and I was riding much better than before. IMO good coaching should leave you with the skills and mindset to go away and have continuous improvement rather than stopping at the end of the coaching session.
I think I'm in a similar boat to you Wookster. - I started the thread in the link. If it helps you deciding, once I've got the money together, and plucked up the courage to pick up the phone, I'll probably go with Jedi. I'll have to go one to one, mainly as of all my riding friends (3) only 1 is into jumps, drops, and stuff, and he's better than me, so I need to close that gap, but also after doing a couple of mountaineering courses, it's definitely been the one to one bits that teach the most, without a doubt.
Good luck.
not sure about the 1-2-1 thing actually. (i went that route as coordinating a group is a PITA)
but...
maybe...
if you ride togther regularly, then a group session allows each of you to take away particular bits of the training, but still access the rest of it via your mates. Just because one of your mates is 'better' at something it could be an all balls no brains approach that needs correcting before you entice him to push his boundarys beyone his capability.............
just a rambling theory tho.
[i]just a rambling theory tho.[/i]
It's a good one. I guess it was my situation. I tend to have done most things on my own or joined up with groups of people I don't know. Not that I'm some sort of loner, just my mates can be a bit lazy, and I kinda prefer it that way.
There is plenty of rooty twisty singletrack in the Lakes you just need to know where to look. The boys at CA should know where it is too. Have a look around the hills of Keswick and find some of the local stuff. Maybe you just need to ask them to tailor the course for technical, steep and rooty singletrack?
I've done a couple of days with Rich at Cycleactive. General handling skills and jumps and drops. Transformed my riding, I can do stuff I never thought I'd be able to do - been riding for 15 years. Really friendly, patient and wants to see you grow in confidence.
Personally I find Lakes riding technically way higher up the scale than my local Surrey Hills, so learning up there and coming back home makes home seem so much easier...