My lad has now progressed at 11 years old to where I'm properly on the edge of what I can give him in terms of knowledge and skills etc. Arguably he's as skilled as me and I'm having to up my game to do scary stuff he's taking on.
We talk about riding but I'm not giving feedback much and can't see what he needs to learn more.
Friday at BPW we tackled plenty of reds which he did without an issue, jumps, drops, rocks, all fine.
For his birthday he has the offer of a training day. So the only 2 we know well are Jedi of course and BPW themselves.
I don't know which he'd get the most out of though. I can see the benefits bit both. He's done a Jedi day and did brilliantly, but would be get more out of the 2 day Advanced course at BPW, which is the environment he likes riding.
Thoughts appreciated.
Where is your local MTB club? Do they have junior section and coaches?
I'm in the south mate, so there isn't really a local club. There's Forest of Dean that's 90 mins away, BPW is only 30 mins more
This looks good
https://www.bikeparkwales.com/intermediate-kids-2-day-course
Katy curd at the Forest of Dean. Best coaching session I have had. Really knows how to explain what’s going on.
I’d consider Katy Curd at FOD too. Plenty of technical rooty / droppy terrain there and some jumps. Also lots of steep tech.
Think it’s about £100 ish for 3 hours 1 to 1 training - so you could get him a few of those sessions. 3 hours 1 to 1 takes quite a lot of concentration so helps to split them up and practice in between rather than 2 days intensive.
BPW coaching is ok - but Katy was a better coach and I haven’t used Jedi but everything I read suggests he’s top drawer too.
I would get him a bmx and get him to the local tracks. The skills he learns there will translate pretty well.
Closest is 27 miles away. Neither of us have an interest in BMX.
What BC cycling region covers you? They will run youth sessions for affiliated clubs.
Tbh eskay I have no idea, but will look into it tomorrow
Both of my sons went through the BC scheme to juniors, great support for parents and riders (if you can get on it) for road, track and mtb.
Where are you located?
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/getinvolved/article/20181005-about-bc-static-Development-Centres-0
Are people seriously suggesting BC clubs? Apart from a very limited number of mtb hotspots (Peebles and a few others) I can't think of any that could provide enduro level skills coaching (but happy / interested to hear of clubs that can offer it).
As a non-Olympic event BC has very little coaching interest. No problem for road and track development. Very little for xc mtb. Even less for other disciplines.
Katy Curd +1 here. We’re at a lower level as a family to you but we spent 3 hours with her and she improved 2 kids, an intermediate mum and a set-in-his-ways dad with no bother. She’s also really cool and my kids responded to her really well.
+1 for Katy Curd in FoD for a coaching session. I’ve had group sessions at a few places including BPW and Jedi and enjoyed them all but Katy clicked best with me and I want to go back for some 1-2-1 this year. (I’d happily join another group session but I’m limited on when I can get to FoD) BUT.......for ongoing improvement I think a solid group of peers who push your limits and including stuff like the pump tracks mentioned above will pay back big time
for ongoing improvement I think a solid group of peers who push your limits and including stuff like the pump tracks mentioned above will pay back big tim
LOL it's certainly worked for me, but it's HIM who's my peer and pushing me. In all seriousness, doing the recent skills stuff and more trips to BPW/FoD/Afan really is working wonders in that context. But finding peers at his level isn't quite that simple as he's only 11, admittedly quite a mature and sensible 11, but finding lads who he can ride with regularly who can push him isn't the easiest thing as he's pretty competent at it.
We have a couple of pump tracks, but they're very small village ones really, 4 turns and 5-6 rollers only. Anything else and we're into driving rather than riding to get to them for sure, so a little less viable.
Living in West Berks we're quite restricted in the way of terrain and difficulty, so it's tough finding stuff to push him on.
I think we'll get something booked up soon though 🙂 so thanks to all.
On a side note, i was looking at the Mojo Duo series that seems to have a date in May, which could be a good weekend out, but looks a little simple maybe (from a techincal aspect, not saying we'd win it) but the FoDders enduro are good for a laugh for him so we'll enter them too.
Look no further my friend, look no further...😉
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/psa-tracks-behind-nationwide-swindon-conditions/
Ours have also benefited from the Gravity and Enduro camps with Ben Cathro over the last few years.
https://www.abernethy.org.uk/about-us/individuals-families/scottish-gravity-camp/
And
We are there again in the autumn and youngest_oab will be on next summer's.
(My ex-employer btw)
Something to consider is the terrain where the training is. If it’s bike park based you may find it’s a lot of flow / jump based coaching.
If the intention is to race would it also be worth considering where you can be coached on steeper more technical terrain? Kids love speed and jumping but don’t seem to ride a lot of tech which will often come up in races. I was up at Rogate this weekend and the top (technical) part of the park was pretty empty, all the kids sit at the bottom sessioning the jumps, not an issue, but this can lead to being great in the air but lousy at tech which is going to limit you as a a racer.
Sounds like you're in a pretty good place really if you've already done a session with Jedi. He's only 11, the important thing is that he's enjoying it. It may be more important for you to get some help so you can keep up. Plan a week away to somewhere like the Tweed Valley, do an uplift day or two, ride the enduro trails at the Golfie. I reckon most kids improve by riding with their mates, building jumps in the woods etc
Something to consider is the terrain where the training is. If it’s bike park based you may find it’s a lot of flow / jump based coaching.
If the intention is to race would it also be worth considering where you can be coached on steeper more technical terrain? Kids love speed and jumping but don’t seem to ride a lot of tech which will often come up in races. I was up at Rogate this weekend and the top (technical) part of the park was pretty empty, all the kids sit at the bottom sessioning the jumps, not an issue, but this can lead to being great in the air but lousy at tech which is going to limit you as a a racer.
Its an excellent point and something at the top of my thoughts too, hence considering BPW training as thats where he wants to play/race. FoD can of course also fit within that criteria.
At Afan on Thurs i did notice i was staying with him easily, on Fri even on say Rim Dinger which is rocky it was harder to stay with him, which doesnt quite compute, but clearly he's less skilled on the slow tech stuff so training on that would be useful. But there's the question of what he wants too, which is arguably more tech, more crazy, more jumpy, more fun. Essentially he sees BPW as being where his current goals are rather than say XC racing.
I do wonder at times if he actually cares about training, he just wants to play, but it would be good if we can hide the training within a day so to speak, which will make him better but also potentially safer.
the important thing is that he’s enjoying it. It may be more important for you to get some help so you can keep up. Plan a week away to somewhere like the Tweed Valley, do an uplift day or two, ride the enduro trails at the Golfie. I reckon most kids improve by riding with their mates, building jumps in the woods etc
Oh yes, he seems to be very much enjoying it.. at BPW this weekend he had a couple of school mates out and that really helps as they then spent the next 48 hours constantly babbling about it 🙂
I have no doubt the time will come when i can't match him, i'm not sure any level of training will help me 🙂 The new G-160 certainly helped me, talk about a skills compensator !! Jeez that made terrifying things all seem quite acceptable.
They're doing the small trail build stuff themselves yes 🙂
Send him to Whistler for a month. He'll arrive there like Mr. Bean and come back like Bruce Lee.
Essentially he sees BPW as being where his current goals are rather than say XC racing.
My thoughts were with Enduro / DH In mind. If you are racing (you implied doing some events) you don’t get a choice to ride your favourite tracks hence looking to focus on skills used less which sounds like the more technical stuff.
As a matter of course, If you want to build all round skills I’d also be looking to ride some more natural terrain in between bike parks.
If you want to build all round skills I’d also be looking to ride some more natural terrain in between bike parks.
That's ideal of course but the reality of time, distance, family and life often get in the way of such great ideas, esepcailly location wise being down in the south. We're going to try out Rogate soon, but not got round to it yet. That was part of the reason we did Afan on Thurs rather than going to BPW for the afternoon, so i could expose him to some more natural type riding instead of the groomed stuff.
He liked this bit
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This bit, not so much
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If you want to build all round skills I’d also be looking to ride some more natural terrain in between bike parks.
Very much this.. speed comes with familiarity and being comfortable - and that only comes with practise.
Get out and ride / session stuff that's on the edge of his comfort zone.. e.g. sections of the DH and mini Enduro tracks at FOD etc. Even some of the off-piste stuff at Swinley - the drops / rolls into corkscrew, loose top section of Babymaker, hill next to Babymaker...
Even some of the off-piste stuff at Swinley – the drops / rolls into corkscrew, loose top section of Babymaker, hill next to Babymaker…
LOL they're so not out of his comfort zone... sorry if that sounds flippant, it's not supposed to be. But that stuff is just a stroll in the park to him.
I'm actually finding it tough sometimes to find stuff that makes him think more than "Oh, really...." and then he just does it.
I thought some of the drops on Locomotion at BPW or maybe the drops into top of Rim Dinger may give him pause for thought, but as soon as i said "Yeah that's OK, we'll just do it...." then he did.
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Trail centres and bike parks are good for developing skills, especially with coaching sessions; It's a controlled environment. But he needs to get more riding time on less swoopy bermy stuff and woodwork to adapt those skills to less sculpted terrain, so get out and have more adventures together along the M4, up the M5 and further beyond.
Also, some trials biking lessons (or some pallets in the garden and watching how to's on YouTube) would also be a huge advantage in the long term for enduro riding. It's not just about hucking off things, you often need to get up and over them too!
so get out and have more adventures together along the M4, up the M5 and further beyond.
Trying to, honestly.... but you know how it is with family, life etc.... But i do comepltely get your (and others above) point.
But finding peers at his level isn’t quite that simple as he’s only 11
Offered a few times ....
Mostly we go with one of his mates families but as we adults can't keep up anymore we usually follow them down. I know they are a bit younger but they can't be that much slower than your lad down a 5 min DH and they usually just take turns going in front anyway then wait for the adults.
We are out most weekends on varied stuff from XC routes to steep tech to pure DH (pretty much anywhere isn't BPW and we even do BPW 1-2 a year).
October 1/2 term we did Dyfi, Antur and Revs ... most weekends were are at Okeford Hill (some insane steep tech and a few jumps and drops), FoD (you know), 417 for progression, Windill both tech and jumps... Rogate (he does tend to bias towards jump lines but we also ride the top - it's just a quick 1/2d for us usually as its so close), BMCC (has tech and jumps), Afan and Cwmcarn (coming back up) and exploring Puddletown is on the cards. We usually end up deciding last minute in Winter based on weather if it's dry then Tidworth and Aston Hill are both on the books but we rarely bother with them in the wet. BMCC and Okeford are open uplifts and not viable as ride-up so can be miserable if it's chucking it down so we might just do a XC loop somewhere when weather is rubbish.
Ollie can be a lazy sod but he's fairly proficient on steep tech ... his Insta doesn't show it because most of the really steep stuff you can't actually stand up to take a photo anyway and jump pics just look better but we actually spend a lot longer on steep and techy than jumping!
To get to this drop (Devils Dyke) the tech above is STEEP and GNARLY... the drop is just a bit at the end where I can actually stand up without me and the bike sliding down the slope. As I remember I had an OTB just following him on that same run on the gnarly section above 5 mins earlier.
Something to consider is the terrain where the training is. If it’s bike park based you may find it’s a lot of flow / jump based coaching.
If the intention is to race would it also be worth considering where you can be coached on steeper more technical terrain? Kids love speed and jumping but don’t seem to ride a lot of tech which will often come up in races. I was up at Rogate this weekend and the top (technical) part of the park was pretty empty, all the kids sit at the bottom sessioning the jumps, not an issue, but this can lead to being great in the air but lousy at tech which is going to limit you as a a racer.
My 10yr old just did the advanced B1ke course at Rogate (only his 3rd ever coaching day as he just makes it up as he goes along but he hugely enjoyed it and I'm sure learned more than he let on) and only £25.
They barely touched the jump lines (as far as I know just the last run down at the end) and it's the same when they coach at Windhill.
@weeksy Absolutely! We're all in the same boat. Being where you are, you're lucky having all those places less than 1 1/2 hours drive away already. You can easily switch between Rogate, Swinley, Windhill, Surrey hills and have quite a varied riding experience without going AWOL for the weekend.
Offered a few times ….
Mostly we go with one of his mates families but as we adults can’t keep up anymore we usually follow them down. I know they are a bit younger but they can’t be that much slower than your lad down a 5 min DH and they usually just take turns going in front anyway then wait for the adults
I dont think your boy would be slower than mine matey. Your lad seems epic 🙂
He's away this weekend off to see Stereophonics, but if you fancy somewhere the weekend of the 7th, then me and my lad will be more than up for a play 🙂 As to location, you know this sort of terrain better than me so i'll leave you to decide where to play 🙂
Ping me a Whatsapp etc if you still have number .
I dont think your boy would be slower than mine matey. Your lad seems epic
He has his day's but he's a lazy sod mate.... some days's he is freakishly fast and other's he can't be bothered (except to be faster than the adults just to prove a point)... same with his mate and both decided not to race this season.... We just treat it as a bit of fun but they improve all the same.
Both the kids are pretty sensible though and not given to stupid risks ...they have different strengths and help each other like doing a line or trail one of them doesn't like slowly to help the other rather than peer pressure each other.
