NEXT DATE FOR THIS COURSE IS SATURDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER – FROM 18 BIKES IN HOPE

I went down to Hope in the Peak District to run a skills day on natural trails on Saturday. The day was the idea of the guys from 18 Bikes in Hope, a great bike shop in the centre of some fantastic riding. Using the loose format of the Stop Crashing courses, that run on the man made trails of Gisburn Forest and Lee Quarry, the Peak day was all about looking at the fundamental skills of mountain biking. However there was a twist! I decided to run the course on one of the most technical descents in the Peak. It’s not called ‘The Beast’ for nothing, but by breaking it down into sections, walking through some lines, practicing first on easier sections and building flow and control rather than just trying to go fast, the group made some really good progression.

The riding experience of people in the group ranged from 3 months to many years. We looked at climbing skills, spent plenty of time on body position and looking well ahead and brought all the skills together as we practiced by sessioning the Beast.

After lunch at The Woodbine Cafe in Hope, and a visit to 18 Bikes for some TLC to a couple of the bikes, we went to Pindale Quarry, where we practiced more skills and laid down some MASSIVE SKIDS.

This special course will be happening again soon. Keep an eye on the site for details.

Thanks to Rich Sulley for the photos.