Dave, what do you want to learn/improve?

Seriously considering getting Jedi’ed now 😀

i was so happy with his teaching abilities i took my step son for a bmx session at Corby. Atkins is equally legendry, the lad just turned 18 still beams when he remembers his day

Awesome! The Atkins is a living legend! Can’t wait to get back to Corby.

With regard to doing two days – Go for one session – I bet wihin 6 months you’ll either have been back or planning another trip to see Tony. But the 4-5 hours you spend with him will leave you loads to do in the weeks after and a second session could be info overload and you may not get more out of it. If you catch my drift.

I’ve done two sessions, about 6 months apart. The second one definitely moved my riding on again so was well worth doing. It wasn’t at all repetitive but progressed from where the first session ended. Thinking of doing a third session 🙂

As per the above I wouldn’t recommend 2 consecutive days.

Tony kinda ‘stripped’ me down then rebuilt me if you see what I mean.

You think about things differently and you need time for the change in approach to sink in and just to practice what you’ve been taught, let the good habits develop…

Its a very intense 4 hours, I’d never spent that time concentrating on my riding like that before.

I was back about 6 months later. Went with a mate so there was a bit of overlap with the first one.

All this reminds me that I seriously need to get back out on the bike. Seeing that I’ve ‘discovered’ I’m only 10 minutes ride away from some reasonable trails once the spring comes I’m planning on stepping it up big style.

Do one session, spend the next few months practicing and honing your new skills whenever you go out riding, then maybe go back for some more.

You’ll learn so much in a day, it will be hard to process it all so quickly. You’ll need time to adapt and adjust everything so that it becomes habit rather than having to think about it, but when it has become habit, that’s when you know you’re ready for some more…

Oh, and my ex spent a day with Tony for her birthday last year, she’d only been on a mountain bike about 5 or 6 times in all prior to this, and though she had some natural ability she was an almost complete novice. By the end of her day, he had her getting both wheels in the air, cornering like a demon and ploughing through rock gardens without a care!

I have never been on a session with Tony but have ridden BMX with him a few times. I have to say i have never met a more passionate rider than Tony. I’m sure you will have a great day and he will make your riding so much better 🙂

Tony doesn’t teach anything particularly clever, he is just a centre of excellence for basic common sense and applied technique. Fundamentally, he knows how to teach effectively, he knows the right stuff to teach, he assess you for what you need to learn at that session and focusses on that, and as said aims to strip you down from bad/wrong habits and build you back up right. Lastly he’s infectiously passionate.

I feel I learned 4 primary things; 1. wrists back, 2. look up to where you are going not where you are and feel the bike. 3. riding offroad is like skiiing, you angle the bike under you and edge the tyres with your weight just like skiing (weird but it works) 4. the little push just before a jump is all thats required.

Lastly, Tony monitors the forums on his smartphone so he knows we are bigging him up!

What’s the website for Jedi’s courses?

What’s the website for Jedi’s courses?

Errrr, look up at the top of this website for the very large promotional advertising?

(and I made the same mistake…)

I have most of the adverts adverts removed on my profile 😀

Dave, what do you want to learn/improve?

Gary, as you’ll probably know, I’m a fairly cautious rider & a little risk averse due to being self employed. The main areas I’d like to improve on are line choice, carrying speed through corners & generally being more fluid. Then moving on to develop some elementary jumping skills & tackling drops without my feet leaving the pedals. I’ve always been able to get over or around most obstacles but I lack technique & confidence. I’ve never shied away from trying new things & think I’d probably benefit from some formal tuition.

D.

Ditto everyone (just about)

I had my first (one to one) course about a month back and loved every second. Specially that stuff about not trying – either doing it or not.

Hit my local trail on Saturday and strung together most of what i learned – cornering, pedal postition, jumps, drops – and felt more like a rider with a plan than I ever have.

Get yourself down there –

lol@sugdenr 🙂 🙂 i dont need to monitor forums. i have been on them all for years.
riding bikes rocks

Dave, I can help you out with a lot of that if you want? (ask Mike/Catrina what they thought)
Tony would certainly do a better job than me (and would be well worth seeing) but he’s a long way away.. he does come up to GT to coach sometimes tho. fire him an Email, he needs to come up here more often (pref over the weekend, Dude!! 😉 )

No need to speak to Mike 😀 He phoned me straight after & they were both well chuffed. He was pretty amazed at what you achived in the time given. I never thought to ask TBH but sincerely appreciate the offer. I’ll drop you a line when I get back 😀

Rgds, Dave.

I will come up for a ride again gw. Its a must!

Tony has been steadily improving my skillls for a couple years now and I can’t believe the difference, defo worth a visit.

@paceman – his site is http://www.ukbikeskills.co.uk

Cool! let us know when (roughly) and I can try and round up more pupils for ya 😉

Thanks srphoto 😀

ive a 1-1 booked with him in Feb, looking forward to the learning “experience” with Jedi.

i seriously need some help with my confidence.

Jedi got me to do this. Worth the cost alone. A real fun day out. And now I ride fast trails shouting ‘looking’ out loud to myself (I really do).

Not me, Lord Vader got me first!

That’s awesome 10pmix 🙂 I had a look at those jumps when I revisited herts shore but decided I don’t have the balls to go for it yet.

but decided I don’t have the balls to go for it yet

Don’t say that to Tony! Rule No.1 I recall was that it’s got nothing to do with balls, just some mental questions to you have to ask yourself (copyright Jedi 2011) 🙂

Don’t say that to Tony! Rule No.1 I recall was that it’s got nothing to do with balls, just some mental questions to you have to ask yourself (copyright Jedi 2011)

high5 10pmix! 🙂

Ah, only just found this. I suppose I’m biased as I ride with Tony regularly and he’s been coaching all of us for years. He’s awesome at what he does. I thought I was a pretty tasty rider before I met Tony (over 4 years ago now)I went out on a xc ride with him and he blew my doors off going downhill on a Ti hardtail, I was riding a santa cruz bullit, I couldn’t keep up…

Flow wins everytime eh Nols?

Don’t say that to Tony! Rule No.1 I recall was that it’s got nothing to do with balls, just some mental questions to you have to ask yourself (copyright Jedi 2011)

Yeah that’s what I mean. Don’t have the confidence for it yet despite having probably jumped bigger things that didn’t have the gap.

_tom_ – Member

Don’t say that to Tony! Rule No.1 I recall was that it’s got nothing to do with balls, just some mental questions to you have to ask yourself (copyright Jedi 2011)

Yeah that’s what I mean. Don’t have the confidence for it yet despite having probably jumped bigger things that didn’t have the gap.

that’s the point, it doenst matter if you have done bigger its about how you feel on the day and your mental questions 🙂

I have. He found it difficult to improve on my mad skills though.

oh i remember you, 2003 at night in the woods 🙂

ah! that’s better. i feel myself again. x

theprawn, i rememebr riding with you when you had that no dad bike of yours. good times 🙂

dreadful BSO

you remember when i was practising doubles at woburn.

20 minutes later i walked past you with a taco’d wheel.

2 weeks later i was out riding my spanking cove stiffee. 🙂

yeah you had just turned up too!! you went from total beginner to radness quickly 🙂

went from total beginner to radness quickly

we all have the power of radness, sometimes it takes someone else to make you realise 😀

you may think that phil, but none were as good as me. NONE.

+1 phil! 🙂

+1 theprawn!

fixed that for you.