Skills courses (and a cheap one)

forgotrafe

Lots of talk on here about training courses which is great - I can't stress how much of a good idea they are.

People splash loads of cash on new bike bits, but a relatively small investment in a bit of training and you can learn skills that'll outperform any hardware modification.

I even hear people blaming their bikes - "if I had a full susser", "need a bit more travel" etc. - when all they really need is some skill.

Also, don't be afraid to start with an "intro" or "novice" course - I see seasoned riders that haven't got the basics right. What's the worse that can happen? You leave the course saying "I knew all that & was doing everything right", which is still worthwhile in my view.

And now for a bit of a plug... I did check on the forum forum to check this was okay, but no response so I'm assuming it is - we're a club, not-for-profit. Apologies if anyone thinks it inappropriate.

If anyone is near Swindon then our MTB club is doing some cheap training courses:

http://www.mbswindon.co.uk/training

We're MIAS 2 trainers, same as most of the commercial companies, with a lot of riding experience. The course content is also similar to what the commercial companies offer and we're fully insured. It's just that we do it voluntarily so we can offer them a lot cheaper.