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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

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

May 31, 2016 by jasonvh Leave a Comment

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

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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 require 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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Bikeskills coach Jason Van Horn looking through a loose turn on the Rock Drop Trail at Sandy Ridge.

Tamarancho – Fairfax, California

Join Bikeskills coach Mike Haderer at Camp Tamarancho as our popular Norcal Trail Riding Series resumes. After working on and mastering uphill and downhill switchbacks, rooty sections and body position, you’ll be sure to enjoy this Norcal gem even more.

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Bikeskills coach Mike Haderer demonstrates downhill switch back technique.

Mastering the fundamentals of body positioning makes lines that once seemed difficult a whole lot of fun! We hope to see you at a clinic soon.

Click here to see available dates

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Comfortable, confident and ready for anything — Bikeskills coach Jason Van Horn descends a rocky section of trail with a smile.
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Filed Under: Bikeskills Clinics and Events Tagged With: Clinics, events, Fairfax, Portland, Sandy Ridge

May 31st, 2015 Trail Riding Clinic at Tamarancho

June 15, 2015 by Inga Beck Leave a Comment

Our May 31st skills clinic at Tamarancho was a blast.

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Filed Under: Bikeskills Clinics and Events Tagged With: Tamarancho

March 1st, 2015 Trail Riding Clinic at Tamarancho

March 23, 2015 by jasonvh Leave a Comment

We had a small class this month but that also meant we got to sample a bit more trail!

[Read more…]

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Filed Under: Bikeskills Clinics and Events Tagged With: clinic, gallery, Tamarancho

UPDATE: Another NorCal Clinic Date Added to Calendar

March 3, 2015 by Inga Beck Leave a Comment

At the moment two of our NorCal team are unavailable, but due to demand we’ve added another date to the calendar. (Ian is recovering from surgery and Inga is in Spain visiting family and exploring the trails on her Bronson.)

Jason is offering a trail riding clinic on March 29th at Tamarancho, with spaces limited. We recommend signing up quickly before it sells out.

 

 

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Filed Under: Bikeskills Clinics and Events Tagged With: Clinics

October 19th, 2014 Bikeskills Trail Riding Clinic at Tamarancho

October 20, 2014 by Inga Beck Leave a Comment

Enjoy this gallery of photos from our October 19th skills clinic at Tamarancho.

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August 24th, 2014 Bikeskills Trail Riding Clinic at Tamarancho

August 24, 2014 by Inga Beck Leave a Comment

Enjoy this gallery of photos from our August 24th skills clinic at Tamarancho.

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Filed Under: Bikeskills Clinics and Events Tagged With: clinic, Tamarancho

February, 2014 Bikeskills Skills Clinic at Rockville

February 25, 2014 by jasonvh Leave a Comment

Kevin
Kevin makes his way through a rock garden at Rockville. He made amazing progress in the last year.

We’re posting a lot more photos than usual this month, mainly because we love how pretty it is at Rockville Park! What it lacks in overall mileage, it more than makes up for with its landscape and diversity of terrain.  Rockville Park serves up some of the most technical and advanced singletrack in the area, perfect for learning, practicing and applying new skills.

Rockville is a horrible place to ride. (not really!)
Rockville is a horrible place to ride. (not really!)
Kevin
Rockville is a horrible place to ride. (not really!)
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Filed Under: Bikeskills Clinics and Events, BLOG Tagged With: gallery, photos, Rockville Park

August 25th, 2013 Mountain Bike Skills Clinic Gallery

September 19, 2013 by jasonvh Leave a Comment

Enjoy this gallery of photos from our August 25th skills clinic at Tamarancho. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Bikeskills Clinics and Events Tagged With: gallery, Tamarancho Skills Clinic

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