Whistler bike camp...

(geargrrl enters longwinded mode)

Here are my thoughts, based on going to the Devine Ride
www.devineride.com camp run by Cindy Deveine and Kirsty Exner in Rossland, for the last 3 out of 4 years. I think that Spokeswomen uses a lot of the same coaches. If you go with the the attitude of "I'd rather ride than do skills" you are right, you won't have any fun, you most likely won't be open to learning anything, and will feell burned. However, if you go with the attitude of "hey, there is ALWAYS something to learn and ALWAYS something to improve upon, let me be open" you will get a lot out of it.

One thing that is cool about Canadian camps is that they all use "certified" mountain bike coaches. They have system similar to the PSIA ski school system here in the states, where the coaches get certified to teach at certain levels. The benefit to the student is that there is an incredible amount of consistency from coach to coach, and camp to camp. The coaches are trained to truly teach a skill, break it down into it's basic parts, explain why you do it a certain way, demo it, and then have the students practice it. This is much better than "watch me than you do it".

These camps usually break riders into 3-5 groups based on skill levels. So, if you are a pretty good rider, you might end up going out with the 4's or 5's, while your girl might end up going with the 1's and 2's. While the skills may be somewhat the same, the lower level riders will do them at a more basic level than the better riders. An example a beginner might ride a 2x8 on the ground, the higher level riders ride a elevated 2x4; or beginner going of a 12" box for a jump, the advanced riders going off a 4' drop. The usual format is skills in the morning, and a ride appropriate to your level in the afternoon.

If your friend WANTS to go, it may very well be the best thing that has ever happened to her. I know the first year I went, it changed my biking life: my riding improved over 100% and I got true passion. I went from a beginner crasher-thrasher to someone who understood what it takes to become a good technical rider with a whole new set of skills. If she's a new rider she will be pushed to try new things, but at a level that's appropriate for where she is at.

I've seen two situations over the years of people who shouldn't have been there. One was a gal who's bf enrolled her, who was scared sh*tless of even the beginner things, and was throwing up in the bushes. She wouldn't tell the coaches how freaked out she was, and went home early. The other was gal, good rider, she was riding with the 4s and 5s, but she thought she knew it all and also left early because she wasn't getting enough shuttles in. I've heard the coaches say over and over that those who think they know it all are the ones who need it the most.

Here's some pages I made about my camp experience, and what she could expect.

http://www.specialtyoutdoors.com/penny/biking/camp.asp

Last year, I had a really nasty crash off the big skills teeter and got kind of mentally thrashed. I spent my last day riding with the beginner beginners because my confidence was shot. I usally ride with the 3s and 4s. It ended up being a fantastic day: I spent the afternoon with Cindy Devine ( she usually works with the beginner riders) and she made me do everything that the beginners were just trying, but perfectly. I figure I got my money's worth that afternoon, just being coached on the finesse of body position on switchbacks and downhills for a few hours by a World MTB Hall of Famer.

so, there's my dollar's worth today.

geargrrl.

Thanks ladies for the great info! I'm moving out to the coast at the end of the month and I've already considered doing a skills camp because I'm pretty much starting out from scratch, being a complete newcomer to anything other than the XC that I ride here where there can be some technical stuff but nothing like what I'm going to be encountering on a regular basis living and riding out there. I just figure it's a good place to start, seeing as most of my friends that are out there already are pretty accomplished riders and I don't want to subject them to my inability by riding with me...ha ha (even though they've said they don't mind, of course!). The faster I can progress and learn, the sooner I can head out with them and try to keep up! I know the best way to get better is by riding with people that push you, but I don't want to get in over my head right off the start

Here's my question(s) to you (and anyone else that might have some good feedback and suggestions for someone that is going to be totally out of her element), seeing as you've done the camp thing.... I know I'm eventually going to need to upgrade to a dually if I want to do more DH riding, but will my hardtail be ok to start out with at the basic/beginner level? What other equipment am I going to need ie. armour? (Helmet is a given, obviously). Is one camp/group better than another? I just checked the Whistler/Blackcomb ability level guide, and they don't recommend the Spokeswoman for level 3 (which is where I would conservatively put myself, even though I might fit in the 4) - would I be ok at that camp? Thanks in advance. I can't WAIT to get my butt out there! So stoked to finally be moving out that way after having talked about it for years!

whatever camp you go to, you want pads, and flat pedals even if you usually ride with clips.

gg

mtnluvn said:

Thanks ladies for the great info! I'm moving out to the coast at the end of the month and I've already considered doing a skills camp because I'm pretty much starting out from scratch, being a complete newcomer to anything other than the XC that I ride here where there can be some technical stuff but nothing like what I'm going to be encountering on a regular basis living and riding out there. I just figure it's a good place to start, seeing as most of my friends that are out there already are pretty accomplished riders and I don't want to subject them to my inability by riding with me...ha ha (even though they've said they don't mind, of course!). The faster I can progress and learn, the sooner I can head out with them and try to keep up! I know the best way to get better is by riding with people that push you, but I don't want to get in over my head right off the start

Here's my question(s) to you (and anyone else that might have some good feedback and suggestions for someone that is going to be totally out of her element), seeing as you've done the camp thing.... I know I'm eventually going to need to upgrade to a dually if I want to do more DH riding, but will my hardtail be ok to start out with at the basic/beginner level? What other equipment am I going to need ie. armour? (Helmet is a given, obviously). Is one camp/group better than another? I just checked the Whistler/Blackcomb ability level guide, and they don't recommend the Spokeswoman for level 3 (which is where I would conservatively put myself, even though I might fit in the 4) - would I be ok at that camp? Thanks in advance. I can't WAIT to get my butt out there! So stoked to finally be moving out that way after having talked about it for years!

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You are so lucky to be moving to Squamish, that place is so beautiful and tons of stuff and riding to do there plus so close to Whistler. I moved from Salt Lake City, Utah to Seattle and what I discovered was that my mtn biking skills were easily overwhelmed by the technical challenges of the Northwest. All that rain and greenery makes for some awesomely hard trails. You might want to upgrade to a dually if you're doing long rides, esp downhill on hard rough trails, but for regular XC a hardtail is just fine. In fact I ride a dirtjump hardtail that I love. This was after I had my Norco DH bike and Specialized FSR stolen. I was going back to the lo-tech side of things and am learning alot about picking lines. Some things I'm not without anymore are flat pedals and armor, arm and leg especially as I'm always working on logs and skinnies. But lots of folks have clipless and do well.

Look for any kinds of clinic or classes you can take, it'll help. Maybe there's a local bike club that has stuff like that. Also took the West Coast School of Mountain Biking clinic up at Whistler and it was most helpful. First day was with our XC bikes working on pedal strokes and logs and all that. Second day was at the resort with rental DH bikes learning drops, jumps, skinnies in the park's skills' area and on the trails. It was the best class! Now I still do local clinics with my bike club and that's continued to help.

Yeah, it's pretty much the perfect location for me... close to Van for when I need my "city" fix, close to Whistler for epic winter and summer riding, and just as good riding and climbing right on my own doorstep. Plus, it's a little more low key than Whistler which I like. I can get into the chaos there if I want, but I have my own quiet place to come home to
I'm expecting to be a little bit overwhelmed by the terrain too. It's just going to be different which is good, and a lot more difficult which is also good! I'm for sure going to upgrade to a dually when it's in the budget, and I already ride flats so I think I'm on the right track (never been a fan of clipless). I've also heard before that it's better to learn the technical skills on a hardtail first, then move to a dual because the hardtails are less forgiving. I think you alluded to this and it makes sense to me so hardtail it is! Not that I have much choice As for the amour I'm gonna have to do some research on that because I have NO idea what I need. Never needed anything like that where I ride here in Alberta. I think the other thing that's going to help me progress is just riding with the guys that are better than me. At least that's what worked for my snowboarding... you either learn real fast to keep up or you ride by yourself
Thanks so much for the advice, I can't wait to get out there. I heard back from the ladies at Spokeswomen and they still have lots of space in their camps so I'm good to go!

GrapeApe79 said:

Hey RedFoxx--I too grew up in SLC and moved to the NW when I was 13. At first I hated Washington b/c of the rain, but once I got into mountain biking I realized how much I love it here. I'm excited to go back to SLC to visit family and ride though. It will be a different experience. What bike club do you belong to?

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Hi Grape,
I might know you if you've been involved with the club! I belong to BBTC (Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club).

Even though I didn't grow up in Utah I spent many years there and still love going back for some desert slickrock riding.

I wish I knew how to do drops then and be as comfortable getting air as I'm learning to do now....

I highly recommend the dirt series camps (www.dirtseries.com). i've gone for several years and still always find something to learn especially at the whistler camps. the day schedule is similar for all the camps. i went to the spokes women camp quite a few years ago then went to a dirt series camp. the spokeswoman camp was great but i found the dirt series camp participants to be more layed back and the camp just has a different feel if that makes sense. its a fantastic weekend. if you are considering a dirt series camp sign up as soon as possible because they often have a waiting list.