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Just wondering from people who jave been on a skills day, would you pay the extra for a full day one to one, or does having 2-3 of you make for a more useful day?
Have done both and enjoyed both!
1-1 the first time was great. I was very unfit at the time and found it quite tiring but really enjoyed, I just ran out of steam very quickly as you don't get many breathers!
But told my mates about it and 4 of us went the 2nd time, again was good and a few more laughs...and breathers!
Was with Jedi and can recommend whichever way you chose.
From a coaching perspective more than one helps with demos of technique. Watching another rider can be much more instructive than describing a technique. And of course it's much more sociable.
I did a 1:1 with tony at UK Bike skills and it was great, but you spend a while pushing back up for another run which is effectively dead time (OK, you're thinking about stuff in your head, but you aren't being actively coached)
In this time another rider or two could be coming down and getting coached / reviewing video, etc.
So i don't think you'd lose much by being a pair or a three. Many more and you'll be waiting around too much.
Yes it's worth it with a good coach. There are some shocking coaches out there though. A group has its uses as well but personally, I think a small group of mates is better than a group of strangers. Nothing more frustrating than not getting your fair share of coaching because some Muppet over estimated their skill set on the booking form. At least if it's mates, you don't mind and you know where everyone is at.
Mixed ability group is a bit of a nightmare for 1 coach - everyone loses out. If it's 3 of your mates who are more or less at the same level, though, then that works well.
Me and a pal did a full-day session recently, having the two of us seemed to work better as you can watch the other person - rather than the expert coach.
Also has meant that when we are out we talk about it and when following each other point out good/bad.
And for both of us it has made a serious difference, going down far harder stuff than we did before - with far more confidence.
Ridelines at Glentress.
Watching another rider can be much more instructive than describing a technique
any half-decent coach would be demonstrating technique anyway.
Group good, 1-1 betterer as it's much more intense. However (and mtb is really weird in this respect for not doing this) you really want a series of sessions (1 a week or whatever) over a period to make real gains
I did a half day 1 to 1 with ridelines at glentress , really enjoyed it but I'm not sure at what point I would of stopped taking stuff in on a full day . As it was I had a bit of lunch and went for a ride after to keep practicing what we had done that morning .
I've done two group days with strangers - the first being better than the second one.
If I was going to do another one, I'd probably spend a bit extra and do a one to one day.
for me 1 to 1 one is an absolute no brainer.
yes you may walk up a little bit at Jedis but 90% of the time its full one on one and i personally am glad i did it that way.
for me the results were effective and immediate.
also you have time to discuss things with your coach whereas if the coach is watching someone else on the course he may not have as much time to do so.
I've done 1:1, 2:1, 3:1 and 4:1 sessions.
All worked well, 1:1 was good when I had specific things I wanted to work on. Group sessions were just as good when we all wanted to look at the same skills.
TBH I wouldn't do 1:1 if I could help it now. It really helps to have the mental and physical downtime while the other people are riding.
I've also done both.
A 1:1 in the peaks and a group session (5 of us) with Jedi.
Both were good for different reasons.
The 1:1 I wanted to improve my downhill skills and it worked very well.
With Jedi it was overall riding and the group worked well with other people to watch, especially as it gets tiring sessioning at his place.
Just did one which was 4:1, worked really well. As above, it was helpful having others to watch as inevitably some folk pick stuff up quicker or make the same mistakes you do. Even at 4:1 towards the end of the day we were all getting pretty tired, if it was 1:1 could have been tough.
I think 1:1 would be good if you had something very specific you wanted coaching for, and even then it could be good to have 2 half day sessions to give you time to absorb and practice.