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Intro to Flow at Sandy Ridge: a Case Study of our June 6th Clinic

June 9, 2017 by Jason Van Horn Leave a Comment

Sandy Ridge is one of our favorite trails to ride, session and teach at. The wide variety of trails and features offer tons of opportunity to dial in and implement new skills and maneuvers.

The flow trails are packed with bermed turns, rollers and other features, and the best part is the lower trails are often empty, meaning we don’t have to pedal far to get practice time in.

Our “Intro to Flow” program focuses on body position and pressure control, which helps riders increase their balance and stability on the trail. Adding pressure and loading our suspension, bike, wheels and tires helps us stay planted and equals maximum traction and fun in the turns!

We start learning new body movements off the bike, shifting to basic drills on pavement to practicing implementing the new skills. Our focus is on creating good habits and teaching our bodies new movements with the goal of getting them into our muscle memory.

Good form on pavement translates to good form on the trail! And you can never get too low.

Line choice plays a big part into how we have to position ourselves in corners. We avoid preaching a “right or wrong” instead focusing on “cause and effect”. And of course, sometimes it’s fun to take the inside line and practice the lines that are “not as ideal”.

The “attack” or “ready” position is the foundation of our course and everything we teach. It doesn’t just apply to rollers and berms either, as we transition from the ready position to a more rearward implementation to lift the front wheel. While there are a number of ways a rider and lift the front wheel over obstacles, since we only have a few hours to work with you, we focus on building the movements that can scale into the next progression.

For example: Front wheel lift > Manual > J-hop (we’ll save this for a post of it’s own!)

While we cover the manual and j-hop, our focus is on negotiating all the rollers and table top features at Sandy. One of our favorite trails to lead riders down is Little Monkey, which for many riders is new to them. (if you haven’t ridden it yet, check it out, it’s a blast!)

The table tops and rollers offer the opportunities to take to the air. This being our Intro to Flow class, airtime isn’t the goal; (and in fact is discouraged during this session – it’s better to learn to run before you learn to fly) control and negotiating these features safely is. Applying the a low center of gravity and the ready position and adding weight shifts give us the ability to stay centered and in control.

 

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Filed Under: Bikeskills Clinics and Events, BLOG, Featured Tagged With: Sandy Ridge

Take Your Riding to the Next Level: 2017 Registration for Bikeskills Clinics now open in Portland

March 13, 2017 by Inga Beck Leave a Comment

Registration is now open for trail riding clinics in Portland, Oregon. Improving your skills is the best upgrade you can make — build confidence and enjoy more of the trail faster and safer with our trail riding clinics.

Sandy Ridge, Oregon

Sandy Ridge is one of the premiere riding destinations in the northwest. Join coaches Jason Van Horn and Inga Beck for our ‘Intro to Flow’ series, where they focus on the skills required to maximize fun on the flowy berms, rollers, rock gardens and jumps at Sandy Ridge.

Click here to see available dates

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Filed Under: Bikeskills Clinics and Events, Featured, News Tagged With: Clinics, events, Portland, Sandy Ridge

Joe Lawwill and Super D Action

February 23, 2011 by robhoward Leave a Comment

Bikeskills instructor and former World Champion, Joe Lawwill is working hard to shape and expand one of the most exciting forms of mountain biking events… maybe ever: Super D.  Stay tuned for more on what Joe is up to. In the mean time, watch this video and pass it on!

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Filed Under: Bikeskills Clinics and Events, Featured, General Action Sports News and Events Tagged With: Fontana, joe lawwill, Super D

Going the Distance: Journeys of Recovery

February 14, 2011 by robhoward Leave a Comment

Going the Distance is a film that chronicles the lives of four Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) survivors. A collaboration between three-time Emmy Award winning filmmaker David L Brown and Epic Way Sports (Bikeskills, Skiskills, Surfskills) Going the Distance’s goal is to raise awareness and critical funding to help those who have survived what is the leading killer and disabling injury affecting those of us 5-45 years of age. You can help by donating and as passing on the URL of the Going the Distance trailer to your friends, family, and colleagues: help us help them.

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Filed Under: BLOG, Featured Tagged With: David L Brown, going the distance, GTD, TBI, traumatic brain injury

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