What did we learn/do at our MTB clinic/camp?

 

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In early January, I found myself watching a lot of mountain bike skill videos on YouTube. As a complete newbie, I want to learn as much as I can so that I can improve my skills while building confidence and safety. Although I still love triathlon training and racing, I really love bike riding. It was only a matter of time until I added a mountain bike to my collection of bikes.

Karel is much more experienced and skilled than me in mountain biking, there are several skills that he is struggling to learn on his own. And after breaking his hand last May, there are certain obstacles that cause him to tense up (ex. bumps, drops and jumps). Karel has been an exceptional teacher as he has taught me how to go up and down certain rock garden features and how to safely navigate over roots. But since neither of us don't know what we don't know, we felt it would be worth our time, money and energy to invest into a mountain bike clinic. 

In late January, Karel came across Lon from Single Tracks Skills. I reached out to Lon regarding a private camp for me and Karel. Karel participated in his first Xterra triathlon at Oak Mountain in Pelham, Alabama which is the location where Lon holds his group and private camps. Karel was really excited to share the trails with me as I only saw the trails from my feet (I participated in the trail run race). 

Because of our busy schedule (and Lon's high demand for group and private camps), we set the dates of March 14th and 15th for our private skills session. 

When Karel and I arrived to Pelham on Sunday afternoon (13th), we headed right to Oak Mountain. The 5 hour drive went by rather quickly. I was really tired and sore from my morning long run (with hill repeaters) but I was really excited to get out on my mountain bike. I was surprised with my skills as I hadn't been on my mountain bike in two weeks (I'm trying to balance Ironman training and riding off-road) and this was a new trail that I had never scene before. With Karel as my guide, we rode for ~90 minutes and loved every minute of being in the company of all the trees. The trails were very well maintained and each trail had its own special features. I could tell Karel was super happy as he loves riding his mountain bike and it only feels like "play time" for him - never training/work. 

We met Lon at 10am at the South trail parking lot in Oak Mountain (FYI - the entry fee is $5 per person per day). Lon was extremely personable and throughout the entire day, we could tell that he was very invested in us and wanted to help us however he could. I really liked how he would show us a skill, break it down for us, tell us why it was important and then have us practice. He also gave each of us different cues and skill progressions based on our abilities. With Karel being much more advanced than me, Lon did a great job working with each of us - paying attention to and recognizing each of our skill sets. Karel enjoyed seeing me progress and I really loved seeing Karel do things that he didn't think that he could do. Karel's objective from this camp was to improve his skills, speed and terrain awareness so that he can ride faster, stronger and better in his races. Although I want all of that too, I'm not there yet. My focus is on riding "fast" and technical sections better (and safer). I really like mountain biking because it's very similar to swimming - fitness can only take you so far. There are so many skills to learn with specific movement patterns and techniques. Although some people have a natural ability to learn skills quickly, many people get on a mountain bike and get lucky with certain skills.....until they don't. It's very important to me that I learn skills correctly so that when I advance my skills and fitness, I can keep myself safe so I don't get seriously injured. 

Because we purchased Lon's online clinic in February, we had watched most of the videos which allowed us to move quickly through the ground control skills. For the first two hours of our camp, we spent time on a grass field practicing "ground control" skills like body positioning, braking, jumping, hops, pedal drops and turning. As much as we wanted to ride the trails and practice skills there, we found great value in practicing skills in the field. Just before lunch we went to the trails to practice some of the skills that we learned. Immediately I felt so much more confident with higher speed off camber cornering and riding over small obstacles. Karel was learning super quickly and he found himself doing skills he could never do before (like jumping over logs). 

After eating lunch by our car (we brought bagel sandwiches that I made in our Airbnb),  it was time to head out into the trails. 

Although we spent all afternoon on the trails (in perfect sunny 60-degree conditions!), we didn't cover a lot of miles. To get the most out of this camp, Lon would stop us at certain sections of the trail to discuss specific features. "Section training" is something that Karel does with me when we ride. Anytime we come up to a specific trail feature that requires a specific series of skills (or something that scares/worries me), we will stop at that feature and discuss it. Sometimes Karel will help me understand the best "line" to take whereas other times Karel will demonstrate how to go over/around the feature a few times before I try. Sometimes I will succeed and sometimes I won't. But I always try a few times before moving on. 

Lon new the trails so well that we covered so many different features. There were so many teachable moments out on the trail and it was extremely beneficial to be able to spend time on each specific feature. Because Lon's skills are exceptional, Karel found it really helpful to ride behind Lon and to learn directly from him. Lon even played a game with Karel where he would call out when to jump or bump over certain features and Karel would do whatever Lon told him to do. It was truly a "game" for Karel and I think that's why he loves "playing" on his mountain bike. 

Around 4:30pm, we made our way up to "blood rock" which is a series of tricky to maneuver, uneven and jagged rocks (this was also part of the Xterra Oak Mountain bike course). This segment was more for Karel but I learned a lot watching Lon (and Karel). Nearing 6pm, we headed down the mountain on the trails and I felt really confident with my skills. I learned so much after one packed day! Karel and I were exhausted and we couldn't wait to do it again the next day. 

Unfortunately, we only had one nice day of weather. We shorted our next day to two hours and focused on pumping and jumps at the BMX track and then went to the "lightening" trail which was a series of steep bumps and berms. Even though it was a little sketchy due to the light rain (and cold), we spent a good amount of time on two specific jumps where we both practiced jumping. I have a long way to go but it was fun to feel my progress and to feel much more confident on this type of terrain. The nice thing about Oak Mountain is that for every advanced feature, there is also a less advanced feature on the side. To be honest, even though the weather wasn't ideal on Tuesday, it provided a great "real life" scenario of how to ride on wet conditions. Karel and I learned so much about how to ride over roots/rocks and selecting the best line when it's wet/rainy. 

Karel and I drove home on Tues afternoon and left with so much excitement and eagerness to continue to work on our skills. Lucky for us, we have an awesome pump track just a few miles down the road in TR where we can practice our skills. I'm really excited about my next MTB event on March 26th. It's been fun to combine Ironman training with mountain biking but I've never considered us to adhere to "conventional" Ironman training methods. 

If you are new to mountain biking or want to improve your skills, we highly recommend Lon from Single Tracks Skills. He's an exceptional teacher and phenomenal rider...and an all around incredible human.