CycleActive – the people behind BikeRadar's Skills Q&A articles – are introducing a new element to their mountain bike training courses for 2011: video coaching.
Riders will still get instant on-the-trail feedback and advice, but coaching clips will also be uploaded to CycleActive's Facebook and YouTube pages. Customers can then watch them at their leisure, ask questions and even post their own clips to get feedback on their progress.
“When you’re pumping to jump for the first time, and something doesn’t feel right, it’s great to have video to help you understand what’s happening," said senior coach Rich Barnard. "The coach still needs to break it down for you, and guide you through the corrective steps, but when you get home you’ll want to refresh your memory. Now we can help people with this when questions come into their head a few days later. It makes a big difference to how people continue learning after the course is over.”
For 2011 – their 10th year of skills instruction – CycleActive will offer 200 courses, covering everything from singletrack riding to jumps and drops, at six venues across the UK: Swinley Forest in Berkshire/Surrey, Glentress and Ae Forest in Scotland, Cannock Chase and Malvern in the Midlands, and Staveley in the Lake District, where they've teamed up with Wheelbase, the UK's biggest cycle shop. Full details of the 2011 courses can be found at www.cycleactive.co.uk/courses/skills.
