Coaching
On four days each week you’ll receive five hours of professional coaching from experienced mountain bike instructors. This coaching will concentrate on developing your personal riding on all types of trails and obstacles. Your riding will be transformed and you’ll be confidently ripping some of Fernie’s most challenging terrain. For those wanting to become an instructor we'll also work on your teaching skills enabling you to pass on your passion to others. Our coaching will focus on:
RIDING TECHNIQUES
| Single track | Climbing |
| Overcoming obstacles | Cross country |
| Jumps and drops | All mountain |
| Steep descents | Downhill |
| Technical descents | Freeride |
| Tight turns | Skills park (jumps & berms) |
| High speed turns | Skinnies and log rides |
Cross Country riding - 2 days per week
Lift accessed riding - 2 days per week
Video analysis
Our weekly video sessions will help you critique your own riding in a way no other method can. Video playback will also develop ‘detection and correction’ skills which all mountain bike leaders and instructors need. We own plenty of video cameras and have great facilities at the lodge to playback the footage.
Get coaching tips on the trails & on the lifts
Coaching on the slalom run
Mountain Bike Instructor Course
This optional three day course will be held towards the end of the four week programme and will concentrate on the following skills providing you with the knowledge of how to lead MTB groups:
| Group management skills | Detection & correction skills |
| Communication skills | Technical knowledge |
Weekly Technical sessions
Each week there will be an indoor session covering useful, interesting and industry related topics. These are held at the course accommodation in one of the seminar rooms set up for this type of training. Sessions include:
- Types of Bikes & Frame Design
- Fitness and Flexibility
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Wilderness Safety & Awareness of Bears on Trails
Riding flowing woodland tracks
Practicing your decents
Sessions at the Fernie Dirt Jump Park
The dirt park, just a few minutes ride through town from our lodge, is a great place to learn and practice jumping. Jumping is an important skill that can build confidence on the trails and is heaps of fun as well. It’s also great cardiovascular exercise doing laps of the jump park.
Bike Maintenance clinic
Keeping your ride in great shape doesn’t only mean it’ll last longer but you’ll also ride better and stay safer. During the four week course you’ll take a mountain bike maintenance course that covers the following topics:
- Flat tire repair
- Chain repair
- Shifting set-up and cable replacement
- Set-up of disc brakes and the principles of brake bleeding
- Pedal, crank and bottom bracket removal and replacement
- Tensioning and truing wheels
- Hub and headset adjustment
- Drive-train care and cleaning
- Suspension set-up & maintenance
- Pre and post ride safety check
