Mud, sweat and gears with a go at off-roading in forest
Reporter Louise Hollingsworth enjoyed a mountain bike training course
It’s 2.30 in the afternoon and I’ve just ridden 4.7 miles offroad, over rocks and up hills for the first time. One wrong move, it seems, and
I may well collide with the forest’s sprawling branches, like arms trying to pull me to the ground.
This was part of an Introduction to Mountain Biking course in Dalby Forest, which lasted two and a half hours.
I didn’t know what to expect of the session, and was more than a little nervous.
When I arrived at the cycle hub, I was met by Mark Grange and Rachel Connerney, who were leading the course.
I chose to hire a bike for the session, but you can use your own if you want to.
After being given an appropriate bike and helmet, we made our way to a small concrete area where the instructors could establish how well I could ride a bike.
A couple of laps, and then I was taught how to brake. Sounds easy, right?
Well, it involved standing up, squatting and ensuring your feet were balanced properly on the pedals, meaning they were both at the same level, all whilst watching where you were going and braking at the same time.
This is so when you’re descending you can adjust your body and you won’t hit your feet on the ground because they’ll be level.
After I nailed the appropriate braking for mountain biking, Mark then taught me how to go around corners, with the help of plastic cones.
You need to focus on looking ahead, as well as simultaneously braking enough so you don’t go flying off the track – trust me on this one!
After this, I learnt how to go down a small descent. This part was the first real taste of mountain biking, and for a complete novice, was a little scary. It involved having to cycle to a small hill, change to a lighter gear to help me pedal up the hill easier and using the brake/balance technique to go down the hill.
After a couple of attempts, I managed to do it properly and even managed to keep cycling across the concrete and up the bank on the other side.
Once I’d done this, Mark and Rachel thought it was time I did some descent work on the training trail. This trail is easier and a lot smaller than the others at Dalby Forest.
This wasn’t scary, as the descents were smaller than the others I had done beforehand, but was on trail terrain, which meant stones, soil and tree roots.
Mark followed me around the miniature trail, and after a few goes I was ready for some bigger challenges. I just had to remember to breathe, and to keep looking forward and not at the bike!
The next descents were a short ride away and I was a little apprehensive to try a proper descent.
The first one was fine, and I managed it easily.
The second one, however, was a bit harder and I kept stalling at the top, meaning I’d have to go round again.
The stalling was due to me not lining up properly when I cycled round, and so it looked quite scary from the top.
A few attempts later, I pushed myself to do it and I did! It was great fun going down it and I finally managed to do both of these together.
It was then time for a steep descent. This one was very tricky, and looked really scary from the top so Mark showed me how to do it before I attempted it.
I lined my bike up ready to go, set off, got my balance correct and got to the top of the descent, where I suddenly stopped.
So I gave it another go. I lined my bike up, set off, got my balance correct and it happened again. This repeated about 20 times before we decided I couldn’t do it.
This descent was just a little too steep and I was scared of falling off, so we decided not to push it.
Despite this, we were finally able to go on a trail. We set off towards the start of the blue trail, just next to the Dalby Forest Cycling Hub.
Rachel led the way, and Mark followed me whilst we made our way up a hill.
Already, this was very hard, and my thighs felt like they were on fire.
The trail was rocky, and included lots of corners. However, I only stopped twice to get my breath back – which in my books is a success.
When we got to the top, we made our way back down through the woods, which was part of the end of the red trail.
This was the best part of the day because we got to weave in and out of the thick forest whilst riding quite fast and doing little descents the whole way down. I wasn’t scared at all and felt like I got to let go.
I had a really enjoyable day, and found it thrilling, even though it was a beginners’ course. I was telling everyone about it afterwards and I’ve even been for a bike ride of my own since then, since I enjoyed it so much.
When asked why both instructors enjoy mountain biking so much, Mark said: “I like being surrounded by nature so it doesn’t feel like I’m exercising. There’s so much going on, and it’s not just my legs that are aching. Mountain biking adds that sense of adventure, you can get away from the crowds and explore different areas.
“Riding with friends, having a bit of a laugh and a great day out. I also like a good slice of cake and you can earn yourself some cake.”
Rachel added: “It gives me a sense of freedom. I have quite a busy brain so it allows me to switch off and clear my head a bit. I like the challenge, from a coaching perspective, of helping people get better and making myself better.”
‘I only stopped twice to get my breath back – which in my book is a success’