Jason Turner
Jason Turner, is a natural tutor. I was impressed with his delivery, ability to make the less confident riders feel able, and seek prior learning from the experienced riders. Jason was clear at all times and you can tell he is passionate about the skills and riding the bike. I felt that albeit he has probabaly been doing this for a while, like I was part of his first group and his attention to detail was brill. Big ups from me!
Jason was super fun and went through at a good speed. The group size of 3 of us was perfect. I was really impressed by the time and interest he took in getting our bikes fit for us at the beginning. He was also very good at visual imagery to explain the benefits of 'the big C' for example. I had a good practice yesterday and felt much more confident riding over new and sometimes surprising terrain. Overall the fact that you guys have researched the physics of the best wat to stand / sit / ride based on empirical evidence is very impressive. Will definitely recommend to others. Thanks for a fun day. Only suggestion is that a coffee half-way through might have been nice!!
Jason was approachable for questions and feedback. He used great analogies to explain content and was clear in his explanations and demonstrations. Lesson was well paced, style of delivery awesome, building blocks of skills well structured. Got a lot out of it and can't wait to do Trailmaster 1 once I've had time to practice these skills. Be really happy to do another course with this instructor (Jason) - he was great (or another as it appears from talking to other people I know who have also done these courses, that the instructors ALL deliver the content particularly well). The training of your staff obviously works. :-). Well done on a worthy course.
I was so impressed with this lesson - It's the first one I've ever done with MTB SKILLS CLINICS but I've played more sports than I have fingers to count and so I know a good course when I experience it! Content was perfectly balanced with time for skills. I really appreciated the fact that it started right from bike set-up and progressed logically, with plenty of time to practice. the skills built upon the preceeding one logically. Enough covered to give a good start/value without overloading and loosing the message. Our coach was fantastic, really approachable, knowledgable and a real talent for teaching. He gave a reason for everything and gave constructive, easy to follow feedback. absolute gold - Thank you!!!
Ben Stephens
I did the Phundamentals Course about a month ago. I would like to say it has improved my mountain biking but I have not had a chance to get out on my bike in the preceeding weeks. However this does not detract from the huge amount of respect I have for Ben our instructor. We had a mixed group of 4 girls and 3 boys all in our mid years, 30s-mid 50s. Being a female I had my doubts about having a male instructor. Ben surpassed all of my expectations, as did the content of the course. It all made so much sense, the physics behind mountain biking and supposedly staying upright. (Yet to master this!!) Ben is obviously an expert rider and an excellent teacher. He would tell us the theory and then easily demonstrate the point. It made perfect sense. Through his kind nature, attension to detail and expert eye he could identify areas of improvement for each individual. He spread his time amongst us all and we had alot of fun. I recommend any course with Ben. I know it will improve my riding and it certainly lifted my confidence. Thanks Ben
Chris Mildon
Chris ran the Trailmaster 1 FLOW course in an excellent manner. It helped that there were just the two of us so talk about one on one attention. The content was great and presented in a orderly fashion, with each piece linking well. Good positive feedback mixed with positive constructive comments/improvements areas.A brilliant course and I won't leave it so long b
before doing another one!!
What can I say about you that hasn't already been said a thousand times before?! Clear, patient, understands the individual needs and limitations, lots of encouraging feedback. Did I mention patient? Content was pitched exactly right and I have yet to master a few of the techniques including jumps and better cornering technique. The latter is mostly about undoing unhelpful habits! I have put off doing the feedback thing while I build up some solid experience with what I learned and here it is:
The main, main thing I was looking for was increased stability and smoothness. I had a hip joint replacement 3 years ago so coming off the bike at speed is to be avoided! Doesn't mean I can't have fun so smooth and stable are a THE high priority. The flat pumping has changed pretty much EVERYTHING! From smoothing the trail to managing loose gravel to more speed without aiming for that.
The next priority was smoother transition through switchbacks - the Scandy Flick entry; the flat pumps in transition and exit; lower, much lower on the bike and stop using that damned front brake! (thanks Chris :) ) All work in progress and wow, what progress!!
In the meantime I'm recommending the classes to EVERYONE that rides a bike.
Brilliant!! - The whole course was a great learning curve from bike setup to riding skills learnt on the day, with Chris as a very easy person to relate to and who could communicate what he wanted to see in very easy to understand manor . Prior to the course I wanted to sell my bike as I felt it wasn't right , after the course I feel a greater appreciation for my bike and feel a lot more confident on it
A friend suggested I join her in doing the Phundamentals course with Chris Mildon a few weeks ago. Chris was just marvellous – effectively gave me a new bike after some important adjustments to my riding position and improving the brakes. Then learning how to ride a mountain bike was a revelation which felt a bit weird at first but made complete sense.
In the weeks since then my experience of riding familiar tracks been has literally transformed. I’ve gone from mad crank, muscle and bash to glide and flow. I’ve been stunned and delighted how I seem to be going slower but corners and other familiar features are arriving MUCH sooner, everything is smoother and steep sections need less heavy braking. It’s as if all the tracks have had a grader along them smoothing everything out and reducing the gradient. In short: I spent $120 on the course – cheapest new bike I’ve ever had!
Dave Harding-Shaw
Dave's style was easy and ran at a good pace. We went over time to get all the content and practice in and it was no question for Dave, we just got on with it, but never felt pushed or rushed. Clearly he has a passion for sharing his skills and riding. Also appreciated the theory/philosophy that was integrated with the practice.I know why I need to do what he taught us. It's the next day and I'm about to hit the trails for practice. See you in a couple of months for Trailmaster, if I can wait that long!
Excellent course and Dave was a fantastic instructor. Will be back but need to practice first. Together with the Phundamental Course, the skills I learnt on Trailmaster have been invaluable in building my confidence and basic skills set on trail.
Dave was the instructor and was fantastic. When we came along to the course we thought we were pretty competent and had just a few skills to brush up on. We soon realized we had a lot of skills that needed improving, so the course was a real eye opener and really valuable. In terms of the content it was exactly what was required at the level. Overall a very good course, I'm super glad I attended, Dave was awesome, my MTB skills are improved and I would recommend it to any mountain biker no matter how good they think they are.
I tell everyone who's remotely interested in mountain biking about these courses. I've been riding a bike for about as long as I could walk, but I'm amazed how much I have learned, and how much there's still to learn.
Glenn Richards
I had a great morning. all that I had previously thought about how to ride a mountain bike was blown out of the window. I have been left really excited about doing more - which up til now has never happened, believe me!
I enjoyed being a mainly female group with a female instructor and would enjoy an all female group as the going gets tougher.
Just wanted to send you an email to let you know how great the skill clinic was. Glenn is awesome, super easy to get on with and has allot of passion about riding- and my kind of riding (gravity assisted). The way he explained things to me made sense to me, which made the whole process so much smoother. I found by the end of the clinic my riding style had changed dramatically and left feeling like I had more confidence and control of my bike, and once again excited about hitting some sweet DH. I will definitely be looking at more clinics and highly recommending MTB Skills clinics to all that will listen. Again Glenn was fantastic, stoked with the level of service he provided.
Clinton Williams
It was just over a year since my last Phundamentals lesson. Unfortunately, I had picked up a couple of bad habits. Clinton picked those up straight away and I was back on the right track, no pun intended. Clinton is always patient especially with slow learners like me and makes it very easy to understand with good demos.
Gabby Molloy
I wanted to thank you for all your help the other day and tell you how awesome it is to fly free!! I am so so stoked.
Riding yesterday and today is the first time I've ever ridden a track the way I've really wanted to ride it - flowing smoothly through the air, as well as along the ground. I've been 'sending' :) all the small jumps and around half the big ones on Huckleberry, and all the jumps on Corners; hitting every available jump into a turn; and doing little mini-hips on two or three of the little humped corners on Corners. And all of this while flying safely and in control. I've also worked up to doing four of those set of six jumps in a row on Huckleberry, and have done one of the bigger jumps with enough height to take me right over into the landing - Sweet !
Actually, I'm amazed how easy and safe jumping is. But I also think that a lot of this has to do with the fact that I've spent so much time building my balance, pumping, manualing and bunny hopping skills. So again - thanks. I think the progression in your clinics and coaching has set me up really well. Now I just need to go to the BMX track and spend time dialing my technique so that I can get more 'air' off the lips of jumps.
We're heading home after having great fun with our new skills. It felt like my cornering has really come together, thanks to your awesome way of explaining things. Today it clicked, I felt a bit like I was on skis. Yay, such fun. A guy followed us down and said he enjoyed following us coz we were doing the corners so well (I was at the back, so perhaps he was talking about me :) Still lots to learn, but loving it.
Thanks so much for the thoroughly enjoyable day at Makara. I was buzzing when I got home... in fact I haven't stopped. Can't wait to put the new found knowledge into practise - a trip to Rotorua is called for.
You are brilliant teacher with a special ability to make everyone in a diverse group feel good about what they are accomplishing with their newly acquired skills. I also liked the balance of group and personal instruction and you do have a gift for explaining the physics of it all in evocative memorable imagery. I look forward to the next clinic.
I just wanted to say that I got heaps out of the phundamentals course on Sunday. Your teaching methods and practical explanations both to the group and one on one made it all make sense to me who is not technically minded.
After we left you, we caught the shuttle up a couple of times and I was whizzing down those tracks even Billy T using the stance you taught us and I surprised myself completely. I rode down 95% and felt heaps more confident. I think the course has turned me into a thrill seeking adrenalist, cos yesterday we did some of the easy tracks and I was a little disappointed there were no steep downhill jumpy bits. I wanted the buzz. I've seriously been timid on downhills in the past preferring to get off and walk but now I'm wanting to the steep bits and are loving them - weee heeee!!!
Lastly but most importantly, the adjustments you made to my bike have been heaven for my back - pain-free - I haven't needed to take anti-inflammatories after a ride which is so much better for my body.
I can see myself and David signing up for your next course in the not too distant future. I'll be recommending your course far and wide. Now I'm off for a ride up Makara Peak to tackle some of the tracks I was too wimpy to do.
Just some feedback for you guys.
I recently "converted" a roadie mate of mine to try out mountain biking. He came out with me 2 or 3 times, loved it and even bought a MTB. I talked to him about taking your Phundamentals course but being a typical bloke was just going to learn as he went. Finally convinced him and he went on a course last weekend up here at Woodhill.
He loved it - couldn't believe how much he learnt and how much its already improved his riding. He's already been on to me about when we can next go out so he can practice his new found skills!!!
Just completed the questionnaire feed back, but thought some additional personal feedback warranted.
I haven't stopped talking about your course at work today. As I said on Sunday your style of presentation, your knowledge and obvious enthusiasm makes the course. I went out on Sunday and nailed three corners that have been giving me grief for ages. I've been clipping out and sliding the back wheel around the corner. Not yesterday, some front brake and used the question mark. Still room for improvement but no clipping out to get round and no sliding.
I did the Phundamentals course a while back, and just wanted to say the improvement to my racing has been undeniable.. The single biggest thing I picked up was to have my weight over the bike more balanced on singletrack and for fast cornering to have a bit more weight over the front wheel. I just completed the MTB Nationals and the confidence I have in the downhills now is so much more a year ago I would have nearly got off and walked some of them.
Thanks for Saturday. Wish I had done it years ago. Loved being on a learning path again and congrats on the course. You guys have a good thing going on. Went for a ride on Sunday around local tracks and found that a real eye opener applying new techniques. I think I have been trying to muscle the bike around for years. Created a real hunger to learn more.
Just wanted to say thanks so much for an excellent clinic Sunday, worth every penny and more. Can’t wait to do the next level. Really pleased with the instructions – time spent talking about pros and cons of technique and then the practise. At the end I went back up the Codgers trails and tried what I had learnt and the really cool thing I found was that my confidence level has lifted a lot because I now know how to balance myself, descend and corner with confidence. Will definitely pass the word on – that’s how I found out.
Thanks for an excellent Phundamentals on Saturday. I thought the substance and structure of the course was excellent. It is easy to pass on tips. But proper teaching demands much more than tips. It requires each item to be explained in context, as part of an overall package. If students understand how each bit works in with the other bits, they're much more likely to understand them and be able to implement them properly. And that is what Phundamentals did for me. I came away with an understanding not only of what to do, but why it is important to do it. And that has made going out and doing it much easier.
After 14 weeks off the bike and carrying about 6kg in ‘travel weight’ I decided that the rec grade of PNP would be a good test of my current state of fitness, and an opportunity to test the new skills. Not wishing to be labelled a burglar I went on my SS (Giant XTC NRS – so I still had full suspension) to even things up a bit. Needless to say with my lack of saddle time, a hot sunny day, and a low ratio – I really suffered on the uphills. And my goal for the downs was to put my skills into practice. Biggest indication of success came on a particularly fast open down hill, straight down a moderately sloping ridge into a grassed area left hander than got more off camber the further round you went till it disappeared into single track. Two riders in front of me that started braking as they entered the corner, I decided to try out my new skills, and stayed off the brakes. Taking the outside line around them meant I would be even more off camber, but my tyres were good and the grass was grippy, so I decided to push my luck. Concentrating on my position and braking all my old rules, I dropped the ankles, got my weight centred, and just looked at the gap in the trees. . . . . . The bike felt stable, yet I’m sure there was understeer? Perhaps there was a bit of 2 wheel drift happening, I’m not sure, and as the bike felt so planted I just corrected for the understeer and stayed off the brakes. I flew past the other 2 riders remarkably quickly, though I was probably more surprised than they were. Nailed the gap into the trees dead centre and carried that speed right through the next section of single track. The old me would have braked, got the weight back, and carried far less speed as a result. Even though I walked most uphills on the second lap (and some on the first) I still came away with second place thanks to my new found skills. Can’t wait to try them out in Masters grade once I get my fitness back. I’ll never be a real racer, but I can now ride with more confidence, which makes it more fun.
I just wanted to let you know that you have made mountain biking so much for more enjoyable for me since attending 3 of your clinics! My new riding position(s) have meant that I have so much more traction and control, even in the wet. This might sound a bit strange, but I now love corners! Corners are fun! Yesterday, I jumped off my first proper drop, which was too big to nose off. I felt safe and in control, right through the whole manouvre. A little later I came across a gnarly, rooty, steep section (the sort that I always got off and pushed down). Well, I was able to drop into "devensive" position, and very safely negotiate my way down. Not a moment of sketchiness. Oh, and on long, juttery down-hill sections, no more arm-pump or sore hands! So its just wins all around! :-)
For the first time I feel like I deserve to be riding my nice bike!
Helena Parsons
I was in the class on Sunday with Helena, and I just want to let you know how fabulous it was! It was a great day - and Helena's teaching approach was spot on for the 3 of us there. I really appreciated her low key but intelligent approach, which made everything make sense for me!
I would also like to say - as someone who has had to give tutorials and classes myself in the past - that I was particularly impressed with the organisation of information. The way points were introduced, discussed and reinforced and finally refined down to key essences by the end, was very effective. This is a good format, with a great curriculum, and well taught but a teacher who is a natural! (Although I teach drama not sports - I may just "nick" some of Helena's techniques!) - Thanks again!
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