Hi everyone - this is our last off road session for the whole club until later in September.  If the weather holds up, we'll be on a social ride next week - see this site for details.

For this last full off-road session, could parents and older rider please make sure that their BRAKES WORK!  Have a look at the brake action and adjust to reduce excessive brake block clearance.  

See you all Saturday.

Regards,

Tony Hodgson

Dear all - this week we're nearing the end of the off-road season and the coaching staff will be deciding on when we switch to the road.  See website for details and listen for announcements on this.

This massed start session is off-road and uses skills we've been practising all Winter.  Starting a cyclo-cross or mountain bike race is very much like trying to get sixty people into enough space for four!  Getting a position at the front may be beyond most of us, but coping with the mayhem and riding your race is important to learn. 

This week we have a visit from Simon Watts, Talent Coach from British Cycling.  Simon will be doing a mixture of seeing what we do and adding some coaching input from his off-road experience.  We will have at least 3 groups at various points on the circuit to practise the dark art of going downhill with just about no grip in a load of mud. 

As there may be time for a bit of a competition in each group, helpers would be very useful for control so that everyone gets a go.  

This weeks session is all about climbing - technical climbs that is. These are a common feature of cyclo-cross and mountain bike races. We're going to have a look at the 3 basic types:
- Rhythm
- Power
- Technical

Special bonus points if anyone can descibe the features of each.

Happy New Year to all our readers!  I hope you had a good time, as I certainly did.  I am now so fat that I'm taking this weekend off to go to a heath farm for a weekend of healthy living.......which means when I'm back I expect to see all those shiny new bikes just as shiny as they will be this week!  Make sure that if Dad does this task, you help......

Hi all - this week we're looking to do off-road race-type starts.  From there, we'll look at some riding on camber skills (like a mountain goat on a hillside) and those old get on/get off skills.  If everyone is good enough, we've got a competition to round things off!

See you there - wrap up warm, it's a bit cold out there.

Tony Hodgson

This week, lead coach will be Alex McLean, who will be getting you all nice and round on your pedalling action and using the right gears, not the wrong ones, when off road. See attached session plan.

Weather could be nice, could be four feet of snow - but I think, relatively nice.  Come prepared, or I will have to break out my Johnny the Skeleton poster again!

See you Saturday - Tony Hodgson