?Athletic ability can only take an athlete so far?and if an athlete doesn?t have the basics wired they will stop?progressing well before they reach their potential. I know many?athletes who can ski, snowboard and/or mountain bike and get down the?mountain quickly, but they have bad habits and are surviving on?athletic ability and daring, not skills. To?win at the world cup level, or?even for a recreational rider to improve, the rider must master the?fundamentals of the sport.? Gene Hamilton
Gene Hamilton was a professional snowboard racer turned snowboarding coach. He was no stranger to extreme sports training, but when he started mountain biking he was frustrated by the lack of instruction and information available to help him train. Gene gave up snowboard coaching and set out to learn everything he could about mountain biking technique; he poured over videos of race footage, interviewed top riders, and read books by motocross coaches. His passion for riding and love of teaching manifested into a great learning vacation company called BetterRide, and in the 13 years since he has coached many of the world?s best mountain bike racers, as well as hundreds of recreational riders. ?Learning Experience caught up with Gene for an inspiring Q & A about mountain biking and the rewards of taking a learning vacation.
LE- Do the BetterRide camps cater more to advanced riders and competitors in?training, or beginner/ intermediate recreational riders?
GH- This an interesting question and the short answer is both! A typical?camp of 14 will have nine beginner/ intermediate recreational riders,?three amateur racers and possibly two pro racers all learning the?exact same core skills. How can we coach great racers next to advanced?beginner riders? ?The answer starts with understanding the difference?between experienced and skilled, they are often quite different. Just?because someone has been something along time does not make them?technically good at it. For example, if three friends wanted to become?strong martial art fighters and two of them decided they would just?fight each other five times a week for five years while the other one?went to a Karate instructor five days a week for just one year, who?would be a more skilled martial artist?
In 20 years of coaching I have learned how to get students to?understand important techniques in a fun and structured class. ?We demonstrate the?skill and have the riders practice it, utilizing drills that?they will continue to use long after the camp. Once the riders?understand the skills we then apply them on the trail. Often the less?experienced riders catch on quicker because they are fighting fewer?and less ingrained bad habits.
LE- How have you seen mountain biking change in the last 10 years?
GH- There have been huge changes in equipment and in what kinds of riding?and racing are popular. In the 90?s and early 2000?s most bikes had a?specific purpose, xc racing, downhill racing or free-riding. These?bikes were one dimensional, the xc bikes climbed great and were quite?light but were not exactly confidence inspiring on the downhills (and?the bikes sold to most first time riders and beginners were based off?of these bikes! It was like sending out beginner surfers on 6? boards,?not exactly confidence inspiring) while the downhill and free-ride?bikes were fun going downhill they were/are a nightmare to climb as?they weighed 36-50 pounds! ?As full-suspension mountain bikes have?become lighter there has been a big increase in the 4?-6? travel bikes?that make riding a lot easier and more fun. 29??wheeled bikes have really been exploding too as they also make riding?easier and more fun. ?New technology has lead to more ?all-mountain riding? versus strict?cross country or strict downhill as these bikes bridge the gap between?the two. If a rider can only afford one bike a 5-6? travel??all-mountain bike? allows them to climb almost as well a strict cross?country bike yet descend almost as well as a downhill bike.
On the racing side the two biggest new disciplines (the older being?downhill and cross country) are endurance racing and endurance?downhill/enduro racing.
Endurance races are set by time or distance with 24 hour races and 100?mile off-road races being the two most popular. The attendance at?these races is amazing with many selling out at a capped 600-1000?racer limit. There are also races that cover 2,000-3,000 miles and?last weeks (although they have far less competitors). ?Endurance downhill racing (including races know as Super-D and Enduro)?is also really gaining popularity as you can use your everyday bike?(instead of a special purpose downhill bike) and it is much less?dangerous than downhill racing.
LE- Any thoughts on where it is headed?
GH-Mountain biking is headed for a lot of growth! Bike parks are popping?up in towns across the world and people are starting to realize what a?great life long sport it is. You don?t need a team or big group to do?it, you can do it anywhere, it is a lot of fun and keeps you in shape. ?Bikes really could save the world!
LE- You host camps in locations all over the country. Do you have return guests that plan mountain biking trips to coincide with these?camps, or do you offer them in so many locations to reach local?communities of riders?
GH-We are fortunate to have a lot of return campers and many do take a?camp as part of a longer riding vacation. One of our goals is to bring?the riding and coaching to the people so we travel all over the States?to many towns that aren?t exactly a mountain bike destination but have?a lot of riders. We also have camps in popular riding destinations?like Bend, OR, Moab, UT, Elijay, GA, Asheville, NC, Fruita, CO,?Sedona, AZ, Park City, UT, Lake Tahoe, CA and Hurricane, UT so?students can plan a riding vacation around their camp (and so I and?our coaches get to work in cool places!).
LE- What do you look for in an instructor when you hire them?
GH-Personality! I am only interested in friendly, modest and patient?people to serve as coaches. All of our coaches must first be students?and that is how I have meet all of our coaches. One of our most famous?coaches is World Champion Sue Haywood and she attended a camp, learned?a lot and liked our curriculum so much she asked to attend our coaches?school and become a a coach! Coaching is much more than being good at?something, a good coach must be able to communicate well and teach?their students how to ride well. I have found that the best students?(interested, curious, not afraid to look silly or fail and a desire to?really be the best rider than can be) make the best coaches.
LE- What was the biggest challenge you faced when starting BetterRide?
GH-?It?s like riding a bike!? That saying explains the biggest challenge,?the resistance to coaching from the riding community. It took a long?time for riders to realize that coaching can really help them. It was?amazing (and still is to some degree) the amount of people who thought?that they could improve their skills by simply riding more! Even more?amazing is how personal some people take the IDEA of being coached. I?have no problem with someone disagreeing with being coached, don?t?seek coaching, problem solved. What I didn?t expect was all of the?hate directed at me that I would get (and still sometimes get) from?people who don?t believe in education. Fortunately now that we have?coached some of the best racers in the world (the same techniques that?we teach all our students) and they have publicly stated how much they?have learned the idea of mountain bike coaching being a valuable way?to learn is now much more accepted.
LE- What has been the biggest reward?
GH-Wow, do I have to list one?! Seriously, there have been many. The?thank you emails are definitely what make this worth doing. It makes?my day when a student takes the time to email me and thank me for?helping them improve. Now I get emails thanking me for creating our?curriculum and training such good coaches to teach it! Most recently?helping others (our coaches) grow and make a living doing what they?love!
LE- What do you love about learning vacations?
GH-I?m not the kind to sit on the beach drinking an umbrella drink! It is?great to get away from my everyday life but continue to grow and learn?at the same time!
For more info about BetterRide mountain bike clinics and camps, check out their site at www.BetterRide.net or on Facebook at?http://www.facebook.com/BetterRide
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