GET SOME GOALS

Hone your trail-riding technique by getting specific and setting targets

- Andy Barlow

Hopefully, you’ve been out a few times since restrictions lifted and you’re starting to get a feel for riding your bike again. With summer just round the corner and dry trails on the horizon again, make the best possible use of your time by setting some deliberate goals and making good progress. That way you can be back to your best, or perhaps even better, for the remainder of the year.

THE COACH

ANDY BARLOW

Before joining Dirt School Andy liked to win things – races like the Scottish XC Champs and the Scottish Downhill Champs. Since 2009, though, he’s coached some of the world’s best riders with Dirt School and helped bring on the BASE MTB course at Borders College lege in the Tweed Valley.

Taking some time to session a feature or section of track will mean that you can focus on purposeful practice and maximise your time on the bike by making quicker progress

SESSION SOMETHING

One of the best things you can do if you want to improve your technique is to ‘session’ sections of trail. This is when you break down a challenging feature or series of turns into its key elements so you can get a feel for riding it with more control or confidence. Contrary to popular mountain bike culture, you don’t really make that much progress by chasing your pals down trails. This is because you end up just following them into a lot of the same mistakes that they are making. Instead, stop on something that challenges you. Decide what you want to work on, and try the same feature or section a few times before moving on. That way you can get more of a feel for it through repetition and feel better about yourself before you move on. Just because you messed it up first go, doesn’t mean you have to leave it like that.

TAKE ON A BIGGER CHALLENGE