Review: Dirt Divas ‘Back to Basics’ Course – 18 August 2013

Details – 9.30am – 4.30pm, Crowthorne Woods

Cost - £99 (incl. goody bag)

www.dirtdivas.co.uk

 

So it was with a lot of excitement and a few nerves that I set off for my ‘Back to Basics’ course in my Citroën C1, complete with mountain bike well and truly wedged in (my husband had to show me four times how to remove the front wheel!).  I have been riding my mountain bike on and off for 3 years but only recently discovered a real passion for it.  We are really lucky where we live that we have some good riding spots so I have been able to develop some basic skills but it wasn’t until a short break to Coed y Brenin that I decided this was something I would actually like to take up as a serious hobby.

Like a lot of women, my husband is also really in to his riding but doesn’t have that annoying female trait of valuing his life, therefore although we enjoy riding together I was always feeling like I was scrambling to keep up and was overcome with a sense of relief when I made it down a trail in one piece.

After a recent trip to France where I had spent nearly every ride praying for survival I decided enough was enough and started researching mountain bike courses.  I came across the ‘Dirt Divas’ website after trawling the internet for women only courses.  The important thing for me was that I didn’t want to spend the day feeling like I was holding everyone up and I wanted an approach to the instruction that appreciated the fact that some of us are actually scared of falling off and hurting ourselves. 

As soon as I found the Dirt Divas website I knew it would be the course for me. They offer a range of different courses for all abilities from ‘Back to Basics’ suitable for pretty much any ability who want to refine and improve their skills (and confidence), through to ‘Single Track skills’ and ‘Drops and Jumps’ for the slightly more experienced rider.  The most important thing is that the courses are women only, so no worries about feeling intimidated by the men who are faster and more fearless. 

The courses are taught in groups of no more than six riders so you are guaranteed a really personal approach to the coaching.  From the moment I arrived I felt immediately more relaxed as the other women on the course revealed their own fears about going downhill fast, falling off and injuring themselves.  The 5 of us all had varying experience on our mountain bikes but we were all united by a feeling that we just wanted to understand better what we were actually doing.  Our course leader Jacqueline immediately put us at ease and the day was started (after a very important cup of tea and chat) with some basic ‘get to know your bike’ info.  This was a really useful part of the day for me as usually my bike is something that is plonked in front of me, all polished and ready to go but by starting to understand how things worked and even a few names of things I suddenly felt I had more ownership of my bike.

We then moved to a quiet spot in the woods and spent the rest of the morning practicing skills and techniques that would be key to us developing our trail riding later in the day.  Exercises ranged from simple tight turns to riding over narrow planks of wood and of course perfecting the ‘attack’ position ready for those oh so scary drops offs and steep bits (not so scary when you actually understand what you are doing).

The afternoon session moved in to some short trails and drop offs where we were able to practice all the techniques we had learnt.  The good thing about a small group is that not only were we all incredibly supportive of each other but Jacqueline was able to rotate around and give individual feedback on everyone’s riding, there was no getting away with sitting down in your seat if you weren’t supposed to!!

At the end of the day we gathered together to share any thoughts and feelings on the day and receive our goody bag.  The atmosphere at the end of the day was much less tense than the morning and everyone was clearly excited about the prospect of going out for a ride that week and putting what they had learnt in to practice.

Verdict: I can’t recommend the course highly enough.  It is as much about changing your mind set as it is about developing core skills.  It acknowledges that when it comes to more ‘risky’ sports women learn differently to men and it is hard not to get caught up in Jacqueline’s enthusiasm and passion for riding.  I thought the course was excellent value for money and there are no hidden extras.  Parking was free and there is even someone taking photographs throughout the day that you can download from the website at no extra cost.

If you are thinking about getting in to mountain biking or just feel you want a chance to meet other like-minded women then these courses are definitely for you.

I’ll be updating my blog with how I am getting on and may even try to film some of my riding!!