“I TELL riders ON MY JUMP COURSES THAT THEY’RE GOING TO DO 100 JUMPS TODAY,”
Olly warns me. To an airtime-averse rider like myself, that sounds like a lot – especially when you consider he’s not talking about riding lines of jumps, but the same one or two tabletops over and over again. That’s what it takes to nail the basic technique, get your body used to making the right movements and start to make some progress towards your goal. Whether that’s getting more air, landing more safely or – in my case – just getting my wheels consistently off the ground. Some people will pick up these skills more quickly than others, and I have a feeling Olly may have his work cut out with me today, but he seems confident he can get just about anybody airborne.
AIR FOR THE SCARED
“What do you want to achieve today?” Olly asks. I reply: “I don’t care about ‘sending it’ or learning tricks or any of that. I just want to come across jumps on the trail and be able to ride them confidently.” It’s a response he’s heard hundreds of times before. After all, jump courses are the most popular skills sessions Olly offers, and it’s the same for the other MTB coaches operating here
