Skills With - Neil Donoghue Coaching by Sally Bigham

The trail centre at Llandegla is a brilliant location for coaching. The trails are really good fun with a great mix of terrain, there's also a pump track, a skills area, and, importantly, a well stocked café which has great coffee and cake :) 

We had every intention of arriving early because we wanted to grab said coffee and cake before beginning the days coaching; however despite managing to navigate the majority of the 2 hour drive without any drama, I managed to fail at the last hurdle and we spent our coffee time driving along narrow country lanes (in the wrong direction). Fortunately Neil was really laid back and didn't mind that we were 20 minutes late, which doubled by the time we'd managed to extract our dismantled bikes from a very full, small car, and build them.

One of the first things that Neil did was check our bike set-up, which, reassuringly, he was happy with. We then spent some time practicing essential trail skills and techniques, such as pumping, manuals, bunny hops (without cheating), and drops. These are skills that I use during most off-road rides, however I've never actually spent time practising and perfecting the correct technique, which, once mastered, require less energy and allows you to carry more speed on the trail. Neil demonstrated the correct method and then videoed us while we practised. He was quick to recognise and explain any errors, and he could easily describe step-by-step what we needed to do - he was also very good at executing slow speed bunny hops, which we asked him to do over-and-over again because they were pretty impressive! Once we'd replaced any of our bad habits with the correct technique, we headed off to the pump track. 

Pump tracks are so much fun and they're a great place to practice manuals and pumping because you can't cheat; if you don't use the correct technique then it's not possible to get around without pedalling. Once I started I really didn't want to stop. After multiple "last laps" I was finally lured away by the thought of lunch at the café. After a jacket potato with chicken curry  we watched the video clips and Neil talked us through what we did well and what we could improve on. It was helpful to watch what we were doing in slow motion because it was easier to pinpoint and understand our errors, and it was also really nice to see when we got it right. 

We spent the second half of the day working on cornering, berms, and rock gardens. Although these are skills that I feel fairly confident with, it was interesting to break them down into smaller sequences. What was particularly interesting was to think about body position and where to weight the bike, because getting it right means that it's possible to carry more speed. Neil was really attentive and interested in us and what we do; this meant that he tailored the session to suit our needs. Although Neil rides downhill and often lowers his saddle, he showed us the techniques that we need with our saddles raised. As the sun started to set we reluctantly had to call it a day, but at least we finished it off with cappuccinos and cake.     

It was really helpful to spend time thinking about and practising these skills and I've now found that I'm more thoughtful about my technique and more playful on my bike; I'm always looking for obstacles on the trails which I otherwise might not have seen. Neil offers courses targeting a variety of skills for riders of all abilities. He's a talented and experienced rider, and he's great at imparting his knowledge in a relaxed, no pressure environment. It was a really fun day and we've seen improvements in our riding - we can't wait to go back!

For more info check out www.neildonoghuecoaching.co.uk

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