Mastering Red Trails - Trail Centre Skills
Learn how to attack difficult technical trails with confidence, commitment & skill
Have you reached a plateau in your mountain biking and can't seem to ride faster on technical terrain without fear of falling off? Maybe you've tried a few
red graded backcountry
or trail centre trails, but lacked the confidence to hit technical sections as hard as you would like?
Our Mastering Red Trails course will build upon your Fundamentals to give you a toolbox of mountain bike skills that you can apply to any terrain, in any location, and any in conditions; be it a gnarly back country trail in The Lakes or classic red route at a Welsh trail centre?
Following training you will see an immediate improvement in your riding and a boost in your confidence on technical trails. You will be able to tackle rougher terrain and trickier corners with greater control and negotiate bigger trail obstacles and moderate drops with confidence and commitment.
Neil (the coach) very quickly identified and unravelled bad habits and described correct technique in a way that had instant results on the bike
Francis - South-East London
Course outline
The skills taught and practiced on a Mastering Red Trails course include:
- Bike Set-up
Pre-ride checks
Choosing the right tyre pressures
Dropper posts usage and set-up
Setting up your forks
- Mind Skills
Relaxing on the bike and staying loose
Riding within yourself to stay in control
Positive thinking and visualisation
Dismissing distractions to maintain concentration and commitment
Developing confidence through fundamentals instead of luck
- Body Position & Movement
Weighting & unweighting the bike
- Speed Control
Speed management on steep terrain
Carrying speed on the trail
Maintaining speed over rocks and roots
- Cornering
Leaning the bike for grip on loose surfaces
Weighting the bike (bars and pedals) for additional grip
Riding off camber sections
- Trail Obstacles
Using Manual Front Wheel Lifts to negotiate obstacles
Manual dropping roots and steps
- Trail Flow
Reading and breaking down the trail into sections
Is this course right for me?
Please read the following description. If this sounds like you, then you're perfect for this course:
- You're fairly new to mountain biking or have not been riding off-road regularily for more than a year or so
- You have may have tried green, blue or even red graded singletrack trails before at a trail centre or similar venue
- You can already ride a bike and are familiar with the usage of your gears and brakes
- You can already ride comfortably on smooth trails such as tow paths, forest roads and easy bridleways
- You participate in formal exercise at least once per week, though not necessarily on a bike
- You can ride on flat or moderately steep terrain at a steady pace
- You can ride for at least two hours comfortably
- You are aged 18 and over unless accompanied by an adult also participating on the course
If this sounds beyond your current skill and fitness level, please choose our Singletrack Foundations day course instead. If a little basic, please choose our Singletrack Improver course instead or have a look at our choosing the right course FAQ page.
Typical programme
Morning or afternoon sessions are available usually keeping to the following programmes:
Morning programme
- 09:15-09:30 Arrival at course venue
- 09:30-09:45 Course commences, introductions and equipment check
- 09:45-13:00 Singletrack skills coaching and practice
- 13:00 Course ends
Afternoon programme
- 13:45-14:00 Arrival at course venue
- 14:00-14:15 Course commences, introductions and equipment check
- 14:15-17:30 Singletrack skills coaching and practice
- 17:30 Course ends
