DO-IT-YOURSELF v PAID ENDURO COACHING Cross Training Enduro

Another gumby enduro vlog from http://www.crosstrainingenduro.com One of the fun aspects of the coaching sessions in Canada was working out various ways to explain the same thing, such as weighting and deweighting the footpegs. Some guys would just look at me blankly until I described it in a different way and you could see that aha moment, and suddenly they got it. Mind you, guys were looking at me blankly most of the time, unable to understand my accent even if I talked slowly. Or maybe wondering why they paid money for coaching from a gumby who could barely ride. Cross Training Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJAvmhgP0h1AEKY8vTEJPJg Cross Training Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/cross.training.enduro.skills/?ref=ts Our enduro vlog series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlur54ugvzNJlUO0y6D10jVOGMLI4Raci Cross Training website: http://www.crosstrainingenduro.com Like to support our vids? http://www.crosstrainingenduro.com/cross-training-support-donations.htm Anyway it got me thinking about how much we can learn by ourselves, compared to paying money for coaching. I am king of the mean miserly penny pinching tight arse scrooges, I use both sides of the toilet paper and won t change tyres until the canvas has worn through. So it took many years of riding before I finally went to a proper coaching session with Chris Birch last year. And wow, what an eye opener. I thought I was pretty good with most of the basic riding techniques. I had watched various training videos, chatted with my riding buddies about our riding style, but there were so many bad habits I had to unlearn after Chris covered all the basics. The problem is we are blind to our own problems, and this even affects top riders. Chris Birch was doing some endurocross training and his coach was saying his body position was all wrong, but Chris kept insisting he was doing it right. It was only when Chris saw video footage of himself he realised the coach was right. I saw this constantly in the coaching sessions, and I m extremely guilty as well... I m always looking at video footage of myself and realise I keep dropping my elbows, instead of keeping them up. If you are teaching yourself, most techniques come down to around five key principles so it can be worth writing these on some tape then stick it to your handlebar pad. It is surprisingly hard to remember five things when learning a new technique so keep a checklist handy. Even better, pair up with a riding buddy who wants to learn the same stuff. Keep watching each other and spot the things you are forgetting. As Chris Birch said, even experienced riders often think they are doing everything right but are blind to their own mistakes. To be really sure, get someone to film you and then spot your mistakes. One of my biggest problems is I don t punch big logs or vertical faces at the critical two thirds mark. I think I am, but I m always aiming too high and not compressing the front suspension properly. A video can show these errors, especially in slow motion. This is the last video from Toronto, a massive thanks to all the Traction eRag guys and girls. It was a pleasure to meet you all and realise there are other crazy people in the world. Can t wait to do it all again next year. Oh and many thanks to Two Wheel Performance Plus at http://www.2wheelperformanceplus.ca for all their help at this training session, you guys rock! Music: https://www.purple-planet.com Music: www.playonloop.com Music: https://soundimage.org Music: https://audionautix.com/ Music by Tobu: https://tobu.io http://youtube.com/tobuofficial Music: https://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music Music: https://soundimage.org Music by Atch: SoundCloud: https://bit.ly/AtchSoundCloud Spotify: https://bit.ly/AtchSpotify Instagram: www.instagram.com/atchmusic