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[Closed] Scottish skill day recommendations!

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Im living in forfar at the moment, im happy to travel to either Glentress or Laggan for a day or 2 skills course. I have some issues with scary rocky drops and other areas of my riding needs some serious work ๐Ÿ˜€

Who recommends who??


 
Posted : 20/08/2011 1:39 pm
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I've done 2 with Dirtschool, the trail high school and a solo coaching halfday with Andy.

I'd recommend them, but, I have to say the trail high school didn't quite deliver. "This is a great day out for the experienced mountain biker" and "Held on Red and Black graded trails" but one of the riders was nervous just going on the easier reds. Everyone else ended up getting pulled down to that level, there was a fair bit of "usually we'd do this, but...". The coaching was extremely good- clear, well explained, and good locations chosen for teaching. But, the course I signed up for wasn't quite what we got.

(don't get me wrong, a coach should adjust the course for the class, but when it's someone who's signed up for an obviously inappropriate course, that shouldn't penalise the people who have. Difficult situation for him though)

The halfday I did was far better- Expensive, but I got a lot more out of it, 1-2-1 coaching is always going to be better and we tailored the day around what I wanted. I could see him reassessing what to do and when to do it as he figured out my riding.

So yeah, not a 100% glowing recommendation for the normal course, though it was still decent. But the 1-2-1 was superb. I think I'll be going back at some point to do the jumping school.


 
Posted : 20/08/2011 1:53 pm
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Dirtschool @ GT or Inners = mint.


 
Posted : 20/08/2011 2:52 pm
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Cheers guys for the input, looks like its dirtschool. ๐Ÿ˜€


 
Posted : 20/08/2011 3:14 pm
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Haven't done Dirtschool, but have had a day up at Laggan with Jules. Nothing but good words to say about him. as with all these good quality coaches will tailor the day around your needs and is a top bloke to boot.

Laggan certainly has a few rocky drops to work on!

Plus the included food at the Laggan cafe is great - can TOTALLY recommend the lentil soup and carrot cake.

slainte ๐Ÿ˜€ rob


 
Posted : 20/08/2011 4:08 pm
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Jules Fincham = ace
http://www.cyclewildscotland.co.uk/

Clive Forth = author, racer all round fit guy currently building up a teeny Transition Bandit from his sponsors ๐Ÿ˜†
http://www.mtbskills.co.uk/mtbskills/home.html

Ruth & Sam @ Kirroughtrees Breakpad
http://www.bottlegreenbiking.co.uk/

http://www.mb7.com/


 
Posted : 20/08/2011 4:22 pm
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MTB Ride Guide are based in Fort William, just along the road from Laggan

www.mtbrideguide.com


 
Posted : 20/08/2011 5:13 pm
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Im living in forfar at the moment

I feel for you I really do ๐Ÿ˜€

Another vote for Jules at cyclewild at Laggan.
He brought my wife's riding and confidence on leaps and bounds in a couple of days.
Very good indeed.


 
Posted : 20/08/2011 5:58 pm
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[url= http://www.ridelines.co.uk ]Ridelines come very highly recommended
[/url]


 
Posted : 20/08/2011 7:23 pm
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Jules at Laggan / Aviemore and Andy at Dirt School both very highly recommended.

Jules is a fantastic coach, Andy's a very good coach indeed and probably the best rider I've ever ridden with.


 
Posted : 20/08/2011 8:05 pm
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Another recommendation for Jules at Laggan, after 5+ years riding one day with him had a massively beneficial effect on my riding, from the daily commute to big days out in the hills.

Forfar you say? I'm in Dundee - drop me a line if you fancy exploring the Sidlaws sometime...


 
Posted : 20/08/2011 8:24 pm
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I had a downhilling day at Inners with Dirt school recently.

Had a great day with Andy; and Ruaridh Cunningham was on hand to do some demos, which was awesome.


 
Posted : 20/08/2011 10:47 pm
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Done dirt school - didn't get much out of it tbh, but could well be down to the student rather than the teacher. I didn't put much effort into building on what was taught, so it hasn't helped my riding (unsurprisingly).

I did think Andy was excellent when he was talking about general trail riding - hitting st at speed and cornering etc. That made a lot of intuitive sense and I did learn from it. Over the jumps though it didn't really work as a teaching method for me - I understood stuff perhaps but didn't leave the day actually doing anything better.

Like I say though - the thick kid at the back is not best placed to assess the teacher.


 
Posted : 20/08/2011 11:12 pm
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Gilesey, will do matey ๐Ÿ˜€ And thanks again for the help all ๐Ÿ˜€


 
Posted : 21/08/2011 12:27 pm