[Closed] £250 to improve your riding. What would you spend it on?

A day with Jedi one to one.

A day with Jedi one to one.

That

second hand dirt jump bike

Two to one day with Jedi, and a couple of race entries

second hand dirt jump bike

I guess that depends if his work also have BUPA 😉

Jedi day

Defo with UKBIKESKILLS

I would say Katy Curd am sure not only offering a skills day but am sure she would have extensive knowledge on training & nutrition too being a pro racer.

coaching day (one to one) Easy.

Depends what you want to improve most. (and to some extent what level you are at now in that).
Fitness doesn't require any money spending.
neither does gaining skills. (assuming you have a bike)
more time (riding/training) is actually what will improve you overall most.
Guidance may be required and yes that might cost you money.

If Enduro is your main goal skills coaching with a coach who has no experience of enduro isn't really the way to go. I'd also assume if you are a regular mid pack enduro racer you have most of the basic skills so many here have found through Tony.
He is an excellent coach though.

Beer and a ramp

Don't forget to GoPro it

Shockwiz?

Having just spent half a day with Tony @ Evolve MTB a skills session is well worth the outlay.

Geex is right though. Practice and time is going to improve you more than anything.

Do you already go to the gym?

Skills coaching, it's the thing that picks up what you are getting wrong honestly. The you tube video doesn't give feedback, the forum won't sit in the woods and watch you do the same corner 10 times and unless you have some mates who really know their stuff they might not be giving you the best advice.

One to one with the Jedi and change to spare

A fairly united vote for one to one skills coaching then thanks all!

Noted your point @geex about the coach being specific to the goal, I have only heard good things about jedi but I will search around a bit for enduro specific coaching as well.

In answer to some of the other suggestions:

- I don't have a gym membership at the moment but do have some home gym equipment. I don't use it very often though so I was considering a gym or even a home training plan to get me motivated

- I like the shockwiz idea but I don't think this fund will cover it as it is an object. Same goes for the DJ bike but luckily I bought one of those this winter and already learning lots from it!

Go and see Jedi 👍

1 to 1 training is great but I found that it would almost be better 2 to 1, otherwise the coach is waiting for you to get back up the hill all the time. Plenty of time for 2 to 1 and more to discuss etc.

Mostly want to just beat my mates on our group rides though!

Getting fitter will make the biggest difference. A decent fitness tracker and Strava can help with that if it motivates you to improve. A pair of running shoes will make a huge difference too, provided you use them to go running.

You haven't said where you are or which Enduro series you race.
If you're down south and race southern tracks (and a mega once a year) ie. Not super technical riding terrain and are looking for specific skills/confidence or to fix poor technique see Tony. He's the best coach in the country to sort your head out but he's not a racer.
If you're racing more technical Enduro and looking to improve times see someone local to the terrain you race.
If you want taught race craft see a racer who happens to be an excellent coach.
Ie. Cathro (Scotland tho)
Sorry I don't know any Welsh/SW coaches. There will be decent ones though.
For every recommendation here Few would even manage mid pack at Enduro.

4-5 days in bpw. It may not make me faster but it will be epic!

“A day with Jedi one to one.”

This. And then set aside time to practise what you’ve learnt.

7 days and 7 burgers at Revs.

Tell me more about these burgers?
Bacon?
Mayo?
Salad?
Onions?

What do you think are your weaknesses?

I asked about the gym as I joined one this year and I go in my work lunch time.

Wish I'd done it years ago as I can't get motivated to work out at home, but after just a couple of months three times a week I'm feeling stronger and more confident on the bike (even though I'm riding less).

Cathro is a good shout for coaching. Make a holiday of it and get some Scottish riding in.

Id say jedi is a good coach, but from his own admission its not all about speed with him. if you are mid pack, i imagine you can already jump and do drops etc. If you are any where near the south east, Ian from b1ke is superb from what i've heard. Hes coached some friends who were already at an elite level, and they said he helped alot.

That is what i would spend my money on!

+1 for a coaching day but rather than 1-to-1, I'd go for 2-to-1 or a small select group all with pretty similar abilities. It tends to lead to better progression as you can watch each other and also "compete" with each other too. The coach can describe what riders are doing right / wrong as the rest of the group watch (so for example going over a drop one by one) and you just get better engagement with the social aspect of it.

I did a couple of XC racing coached sessions along those lines and it made such a difference to our riding - well worth every penny.

It'd be hilarious if the OP got together with a mate and booked a 2-1 coaching session and his mate ended up kicking his ass on their next group rides.

or is that just me?

Coaching...1-2-1 and group if budget allows.

Skills Tuition. Which would happen to be in the Alps, or somewhere like that 🙂

Tell me more about these burgers?
Bacon?
Mayo?
Salad?
Onions?

You can have the lot, which obviously I do, usually consumed while I try to figure out what part of me I just broke.

My company also offer a similar bonus payment for healthy living purposes, but ours isn’t limited (well, someone once tried to claim for samurai swords but that was rejected)
So I got some new shorts and a jacket from CRC and some XT SPDs and some 5:10 clip shoes. They’ve transformed my riding.
Also, we do have Bupa so I could have got a jump bike if I wanted 😉

Thanks again for all the suggestions, really useful stuff! My favourite idea so far (apart from the burgers which is also very tempting hehe!) is a coaching session with Ben Cathro combined with a bike trip to scotland which I've wanted to do for ages anyway so I'll see if I can persuade some mates!

If not I'll call jedi and see what he can offer.

@geex - I am doing a combination of local series (southern/wges) and nationals when they are close by. The terrain varies from race to race so I think some more general tips would be appreciated.

@cha****ng - I think I have weaknesses in both my fitness and my technical skill. I have no doubt that some strength training would also help me out, I just worry that I don't have time to fit in a full gym program at the moment. I'm going to look into a bike specific home plan which maps out week by week exercises (I've heard MTB Fitness program is a good one) to at least get some strength work going!

Is racing not a mindset rather than a skill?

If you can ride you can ride, if you can't then get training.

Coke and hookers should get your juices flowing.

Speed is not your friend. It's the last piece of sports puzzle. Pacing yourself in all sports is critical. If it was your friend, cars wouldn't need brakes etc. Control is everything

Coaching almost certainly the thing that’ll make most difference but gym can have a big impact. Three times a week is a tough call but I dont think you need to be there that much if it’s targeted - a neighbour is a personal trainer and I see him once a week for 90 minutes of mixed weights/core work. That made a real difference to my strength and build within a few months - both the strength and flexibility help with riding, filling in the gaps you get if all your fitness comes from riding bikes.

Surely one day with a coach (surprised not to see A-Line or Dirt School suggested) followed by a week to put it all into practice - perhaps with another half day toward the end to critique how well you're adopting the advice if you can afford that too.

Tony aka Jedi is your man.

I'd go for two one to one days about a month apart.

PS, my company also offers philanthropic actvities. I wonder how far I can stretch it? I think I'll put it in the suggestion box. You never know

Rent a shockwiz for a week.