Clinics

2018 CLINIC DATES/INFO

Why Mini Clinics? Mini Clinics are designed to hone a skill, the series of clinics is progressive, as they do build on one another. If you are a beginner and want to start at the beginning that is great! If you want to pick and choose which ones that is also an option for you. Mini clinics will allow the rider to work on one skill at a time so that the specific skill is easier to learn. More time is focused on one technique so that the specific technique will be simpler to learn. Mountain biking is so many different skills and techniques and they are all used together, but learning one skill at a time a rider can better grasp the individual skills which will make it easier to combine them in the end. Most women’s mountain bike clinics are a couple days of ALL the skills in the mini clinics. This can be overwhelming to a new rider and it is hard to process so much information so quickly. By concentrating on one skill at a time at the clinic a student can learn quicker and easier. The retention of the skill is also increased as there is more time to focus on one specific skill.

Mini Clinics – These will be to work on ONE skill with a bike ride. Expect these to be about 1.5-2 hours, the beginning 30 minutes will be discussing the skill/technique and the ride will be at a location just that helps build that skill. The mini clinics will start in the end of March and go through September on Thursday evenings. The clinics will be all over the Wasatch front and PC area. A total of 11 are listed below – 1 to 2 a month from Spring to Fall.

Vision (Mar 22th) – Vision is the most important skill on a mountain bike. This clinic will cover how to read the trail and improve overall preparation for riding. The clinic will also cover vision planning on the trail – allows you to physically prepare for the next maneuver, also to correct the bad habit of staring at the front wheel. Part of this clinic will also cover visualization of mountain biking. What you believe you can do will happen! Vision is the key! (East Canyon Wilderness Park) (Beginner level)

Body Position (April 5th) – This clinic will cover proper body position. Understanding how to distribute weight on the bike for descending and ascending is very important. We will also cover weighting the pedals and getting comfortable moving the bike around on the trail beneath you. Proper body position is not intuitive and this clinic will cover everything you need to know to help you improve your bike handling skills using body position. (Beginner level) (East Canyon Wilderness Park)

Braking (April 26th) – Learning how to use your brakes correctly is super important, this will help you not only control your ride, but also make you faster. Your front brake is your friend, it has 70% of the stopping power and the control when decelerating. Know how to use your brakes correctly will make Mountain Biking a much better experience and help you increase your speed and get over obstacles. (Beginner to intermediate) (Ogden area)

Pumping (May 17th) – Riding a pump track really hones the body position skill! Learning to pump takes a lot of practice so it is a perfect mini clinic. Pumping the bike teaches the rider how to move the bike with the terrain and begins the “bike dance”. This is not necessarily an easy one to learn, but it is a key skill on the bike. The clinic will be at a pump track so the rider can really learn how to accelerate your bike without EVER pedaling. It is a lot of fun and a great workout! Trailside Bike Park (Beginner to Intermediate)

Manuals (May 31st) – A manual clinic is all about getting the front wheel up using the “Manual” technique. This skill is important when you are going fast descending and you are in a pinch and need to lift the front wheel. The manual has helped me many times keep my rubber side down and move onto the next feature on the trail. This is a fun and key skill to learn on the bike! (Odgen Area) (Beginner to Intermediate)

Quarter Punch/Wheelies (June 14th) – The quarter punch is a fun name for what your feet are doing on the pedals to lift the front wheel. The “quarter punch” is the BEST way to start a wheelie! It is also key when climbing up technical terrain. The quarter punch makes it a lot easier to get up the stair steps and big rocks on those techy Moab trails. This clinic will have every gal doing wheelies by the end! Ogden Area (Beginner to Intermediate)

Cornering (June 28th) – Cornering is by far the hardest skill on a mountain bike. It is also one of the funnest to do. The cornering clinic will cover all the ins and outs of how to corner. We will break down how to corner from the simplest body position and build on it. It all starts with a straight line drill, some more drills and soon you will have that bike leaned over like a Pro! – Trailside Park (Beginner to Intermediate)

Switchbacks (July 19th) – Switchbacks can be frustrating, learning how to do them correctly makes life so much easier! Switchbacks are not the same technique as cornering so dedicating an entire clinic to it felt like the right thing to do. Those pesky tight switch backs will soon be a thing of the past. (Ogden area) (Beginner to Intermediate)

Steep Descents (August 2nd ) Sometimes it’s really hard to get your brain to push that Override button and go for it on what seems to be too steep to conquer. Because this is one so many people struggle with, I decided to dedicate an entire Mini Clinic to it. Body position, vision, and braking skills are all key to successful steep descents. I love the steeps and hope anyone who attends the clinic will too afterwards! Canyons – pedal up (Intermediate to Advanced, no beginners)

Jumps – (August 23rd) One of my absolute favorite things to do on my bike is play in the air. Jumping is a blast and best learned on tabletops with no risk! Learning to get comfortable in the air along with specific body position skills makes jumping a lot of fun. Always keep it safe and start small and work your way up. Trailside (really good beginner jumps to advanced) (Participants can keep their wheels on the ground if they want to)

Drops – (September 13th) Dropping on a bike is probably the easiest maneuver to master, but seems to have lots of intimidation factor. Learn how to conquer these so you can be hopping off drops in no time with a big smile on your face and get past the intimidation of them. Trailside (Intermediate to Advanced) (NO beginners on this one, it requires air time)

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