MTB skills clinics and the Race School in New Plymouth Winter/Spring 2010

Patterson Training MTB technique and skills sessions begin this month in preparation for the off road Race School training we will be running in Spring.

Participants in the technique training sessions will be able to learn from the vast experience of retired world class MTB XC and Marathon racer Jenn O'Connor with tuition by Andy Patterson cycling coach with over 10 years experience at national, and world class international level coaching.

These sessions are open to both male and female riders of any age group. They will be aimed at those who are frequent off road riders who want to learn more about the skills and techniques used to become a better off road rider or to improve performance during races.

Training will be split into two session a morning session from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon. And an afternoon session from 12:30 to 2:30 pm.

The 10:00 am session is where riders of all ability can brush up on the correct off road techniques.  The 12:30 pm session will be the same skills delivered during the morning session progressed on more technical terrain and at speed using games and race lead coaching.

Sessions will be advanced on the subsequent weeks so a rider attending all the sessions will progress with a full toolbox of off road cycling skills and techniques. The sessions will incorporate a mixture of the following techniques.

Basic techniques in an off road non technical environment, progressed to technical environment

• mounting
• dismounting
• pedalling
• balance and coordination
• braking

Intermediate techniques in an off road non technical environment, progressed to technical environment

• gear selection
• cornering
• climbing
• descending
• group riding and mass starts

Advanced techniques in an off road non technical progressed to technical environment

• mounting on the move
• dismounting on the move
• bunny hop
• drop off
• pumping and flow
• jumps

Dates for the first batch of sessions are as follows. We will add or remove sessions depending upon the interest in order to make the sessions as enjoyable and as beneficial as possible. We are also trying not to have any clashes with local and national events, so riders are not torn between racing or skills training on the same day.

1. Saturday 17th July.  Mangamahoe Forest.     Braking, Cornering (flat and off camber), berms
2. Saturday 31st July.  Mangamahoe Forest.     Climbing and Descending inc: step ups and drop offs
3. Sunday 15th August.  Mangamahoe Forest.  Wheelies and hops riding technical terrain

Price for attending the sessions is as follows

Morning only technique session        $20. New Plymouth Mountain bikers member $10

Afternoon only skills session            $20. New Plymouth Mountain bikers member $10

All day, both sessions                       $40. New Plymouth Mountain bikers member $20

To register your interest please send us a quick message through our contact us page (here) stating which day you are interested in attending. Which session you wish to attend, am, pm or both. Your age and past riding experience and we will get back to you as soon as we can. A quick note that the contact us page may be playing up so CC your email enquiry to andrew@pattersontraining.com until we get this looked at.

Its going to be Fun, see you there.

Skills Session No2 done and dusted

During the drop off practice the group progressed from a small section of wooden Vancouver style boardwalk step up and drop off I made, to a 2 foot dirt drop off I built into the trail, to correctly dropping off a 2 foot wooden drop built in the trail directly into a steep 5-6 feet down hill landing, with their front wheel level with the real wheel when it leaves the lip. They also practiced pitching the bike in the air for flat and down hill landings.

Jenn worked hard evaluating climbing styles and techniques, running through the pros and cons of each method and on different terrain. There were questions about bike set up and bike types and how this effects chosen climbing and descending styles all great valid questions which we shed some light upon. For myself it was a great coaching day, all the group learned a significant technique that they either thought they were doing correctly and were not or learned and completed a technique that they previously thought was way out of their comfort zone. The challenge now for me as a coach is to find more interesting methods of delivery to keep both the novice and the expert riders motivated to learn and progress.

A couple of video clips here of the drop off that the group progressed to and the step up/drop off I built. Sorry I didn't get chance to film those who participated out on the trail this was a session where video analysis is very usefull. We will be using a better HD camera for future clinics with instant rider feedback.

Skills session No1 done and dusted

I would like to thank all those who attended for being great participants and working hard in tough slippery wet condition. We had a few offs, but hey thats the nature of MTB training. Knee and elbow pads go a long way to give that exra confidence which allows riders to work a technique little bit more aggressively than they normally would, so bring em if you've got em.

We had a little time trial through 3 sweeping flat corners along the Kiwi trail as a bit of fun and to evaluate the before trainng and after training speed. My trackside maths is pants so I went through the times in detail after a shower and a brew and the results are as follows.

Graeme due to a technical hitch had to borrow a bike (Cheers Matt) so increased his time from 35 seconds to 36 seconds, but his position ans cornering skills were good. I'll put the extra second down to unfamiliar hardwear.

Kathy managed to take a second off completing the trial in 43 seconds with good form with which to gradually add speed.

Wayne was our biggest improver clipping 7 seconds off his time to complete the final run in 34 seconds, well done Wayne (Think what you could do with riser bars)

Caitie also did very well knocking 4 seconds of her time to 43 seconds, noticing the speed gain when she got a corner right

Carol matched Kathy in taking a second off but with a slightly faster second run time of 41 seconds, more practice will mean more confidence and more speed.

Jolene and Alun did not stay for the second session Alun crashed on a drop in which left him battered and bruised and unable to complete the second half of the day. Both riders showed good learning and enthusiasm with Jolene showing a very quick grasp of body position and ballance.

A short video of the slalom session is on the trackside blog here