Snowflower
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm very excited, I just signed up for a 3 day women's mtb camp in Fruita in May. Now maybe I'll learn actual technique instead of just "gutting" my way through everything!
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I just signed up for camp!
- Thread starter Snowflower
- Start date
Snowflower
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
It is one of Gene's camps. It's so good to hear from someone who has actually done a camp with him that it was great. Now I'm really excited!
Technically I've done three camps with Gene. I did a DH race clinic with him on my 2nd DH race ever... which was back in 2002, I think. And then I did a race clinic again last year at Sol Vista. This year was the first time I've actually done one of the skills camps, and it was really excellent.
Do read through his pre-clinic emails and bring snack food to eat during the day. You won't really stop for lunch, but will have multiple short breaks instead - which makes sense. A long lunch not only takes time but you tend to be tired after a bigger meal. But do plan ahead and bring something appropriate.
And enjoy yourself! He does a really good job of teaching the skills in an easy environment. Gene definitely knows you're not learning anything if you're scared to death and trying to survive, so I wouldn't worry about anything like that.
I keep meaning to do a write up of everything I learned, but there's so much. Have fun and say "hi" to Gene for me!
geargrrl
Angel Diva
Glad to know I"m not the only camp junkie. I think I'm going up to Devine Ride for the um, 5th time. I got a special invite this year, repeat customer get to do more on the trail/coached shuttle runs this year. Whoo hoo.
I am pretty sure I'll have a free house to stay in, if anyone wants to join me in Rossland BC mem day weekend....
www.devineride.com
edit, I sure do have a whole house in Rossland that weekend....
I did a big write up on my website after my first or second camp.,
https://www.specialtyoutdoors.com/penny/biking/camp.asp
I am pretty sure I'll have a free house to stay in, if anyone wants to join me in Rossland BC mem day weekend....
www.devineride.com
edit, I sure do have a whole house in Rossland that weekend....
I did a big write up on my website after my first or second camp.,
https://www.specialtyoutdoors.com/penny/biking/camp.asp
Snowflower
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm really really happy about signing up for this, I can get down most anything, but I lack finesse. Mostly I just bomb down it on momentum and guts alone. Uphills are a whole different thing. I am one of the worlds SLOWEST riders so the slightest little glitch in an uphill throws me. I'm really looking forward to learning some techinques to get me through the technical uphills. So far it is just me and my friend signed up for this camp, but it's not till the beginning of May, so I'm sure there'll be a few more.
geargrrl
Angel Diva
I've done both women's and coed.
It was funny, I was really stuck on the concept of women's only being a superior environment for years. Then I did a coed with hubby, and the bottom line is that if people want to learn, it doesn't matter which sex they are. They put us (DH and I)in separate groups of course.
It was funny, I was really stuck on the concept of women's only being a superior environment for years. Then I did a coed with hubby, and the bottom line is that if people want to learn, it doesn't matter which sex they are. They put us (DH and I)in separate groups of course.
The race clinics I did were both co-ed, but the DH skills camp that I did 2 weeks ago was women's only. It was great just to have 10 women who race DH all in one place for a long weekend!
And yeah - it probably doesn't make that much difference whether or not it's women's only. But it was interesting. Gene said we asked more questions than any group he's EVER had before. It honestly made it a little hard to stay on track - we all wanted to know why we were supposed to do things and how it was supposed to work and why alternate things we'd been told didn't work... it was a little funny to be honest (and a little frustrating here and there when we needed to move on to the next thing). But on the other hand Gene has said he loves coaching women because despite the million questions, we give what he's telling us to do an honest shot and tend to be very open to coaching, whereas a lot of guys can be fairly stubborn about hanging on to the old bad habits they've been muscling their way through for years. (I think it's like the "Pfft. I can already do that my way" vs. "oooh, so there's an easier way to do that??" attitude towards instruction.)
I really just liked the women's DH clinic just because there aren't that many of us around period. For our local series races, there are often only a couple women racing in all the classes combined, so it's fun just to get that many female downhillers in one spot! However when it comes to XC riding - I think I know just as many women riders as men, so it doesn't seem like such a big deal. As far as the learning environment goes, I don't think I have too much of a preference either way.
Snowflower
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I've done both co-ed and women's only ski camps, although this will be my first mtb camp. I think with the right mix of people either can be great, although I will have to say that I enjoyed the atmosphere of the women only clinics more. I don't have any problem speaking up or going first in co-ed clinics, but often it does feel a lot like elementary school...the boys are louder so they get more attention! Plus I just really enjoy hanging out with a group of women who are interested in the same sports I am. I do a lot of riding and skiing with men and not nearly enough women. As Altagirl said, sometimes it's just nice to be with that many women who are really interested in the same thing!
Consuela
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Good news! There was such a long Waiting List within a few days, they added an additional 1 Day camp in my area.
Got funding approval from DH and am now signed up for my very first MTB Camp! I'm a little nervous because my stamina is quite lacking after a couch potato'd winter.
Consuela
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Camp Report
I attended my first MTB Camp ever two days ago. I did the 1 day camp in Santa Cruz. (The weekend camp sold out in 3 days of registration opening.)
www.dirtseries.com
What a great time! We had 3 skill sessions in the morning and then an afternoon ride to practice what we learned and session parts of the trail.
I am happy to report that I took the Manuals skill session and it finally clicked. Emily, one of the coaches, even pulled 3 of us aside to build up a bigger box to to work on. Now I need to practice the manuals, so I can actually put them to use in real-life scenarios. hehe
If anyone is considering signing up for Dirt Series, I strongly recommend it.
Cheers,
Connie-Consuela
I attended my first MTB Camp ever two days ago. I did the 1 day camp in Santa Cruz. (The weekend camp sold out in 3 days of registration opening.)
www.dirtseries.com
What a great time! We had 3 skill sessions in the morning and then an afternoon ride to practice what we learned and session parts of the trail.
I am happy to report that I took the Manuals skill session and it finally clicked. Emily, one of the coaches, even pulled 3 of us aside to build up a bigger box to to work on. Now I need to practice the manuals, so I can actually put them to use in real-life scenarios. hehe
If anyone is considering signing up for Dirt Series, I strongly recommend it.
Cheers,
Connie-Consuela
Yay - glad to hear it! Emily is great too. I got to be her assistant coach last year for one of the Park City camps.
Anyway, just keep working on it. It takes practice, but it will start to come naturally before you know it!
https://betterride.net/mountainbikecampdates.html
Typically Gene spends the morning doing "parking lot drills" - you work on braking, cornering, vision, etc. - things that you can learn better without the complexities of a trail. Then you get some actual riding in later in the day to practice it.
