Frequently Asked Questions

[/raw]We offer a Full Money Back Guarantee if your skills don't drastically improve. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the student reviews on our website. It's cheaper than a lighter wheel-set and will help you much more, for as long as you ride! 5 members of USA Cycling's MTB Team for the World Championships 2011 are BetterRide Students (one is a coach). It’s fun to drop everyone on the downhill and in corners. Skills are sexy!

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]To bring a BetterRide coach to town for a camp we need 8 students to make it worth traveling. Some people have had good luck posting a "lobbying to get a BetterRide camp in (their town)" thread on mtbr and/or local bike or trail club forums. If you can get together 5-6 riders we can often get the rest.

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]We always encourage students to take our curriculum in camp sessions instead of private lessons for a few reasons: 1) Learn more. The group dynamic actually facilitates more learning. 2) Save money. Private lessons get very expensive, our hourly rate adds up to much more than the cost of a camp, and the curriculum doesn't really go by any faster in a private lesson.

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]Because our camps focus on the core skills of mountain biking, they can help anyone from an "advanced beginner" (i.e. someone who has ridden on trails a little) to a world champion (we actually do coach world champions right along side campers of all experience levels)

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]No matter which certified coach is there, be assured that they will be fluent in the BetterRide curriculum, meticulously trained by Gene, and will have demonstrated to Gene that they can conduct a thorough camp properly. You can read about our coaches on our “meet the coaches” page at http://BetterRide.net.

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]A Super-D is a course that goes mostly downhill, but also has some uphill. All-Mountain Riding refers to trails that incorporate all aspects of mountain biking.

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]No, same curriculum, same skills. Because women have a lot more self preservation than men we do cover fear, how to reduce it and work with it and the mental side more in women's camps but will do the same in co-ed as needed.

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Gene[raw]

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Our xc race camp and our regular mtb camp are actually about the same. All our camps follow the BetterRide core skills curriculum, because the core skills are the same in all disciplines. The difference will be that the coach will relate the content to All-Mountain riders and will choose trails to practice the skills accordingly.

Many of the top pros we coach took a regular mtb camp, not a race camp (World Champ Sue Haywood, World Champ Ross Schnell, Amanda Riley Carey and Sarah Kaufman all took "mountain bike camps", not xc race camps). The only real differences are who you will be attending camp with; racers only or riders and racers. Also we talk a little bit more strategy in the race camp (but if you ask questions during a regular camp the same strategies will be covered). Pick the camp that best fits your schedule as you will learn a lot either way.

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]The first 3-4 hours each day consist of learning skills and doing drills (not physically taxing) and then 2 to 2.5 hours of on trail practice (at a moderate, learning pace) with a lot of stopping to review and practice sections of trail. If you can ride at a moderate pace for 10 -15 minutes, stop rest and repeat 5-6 times you should be fine. Again, these are skills camps, not fitness camps. Skills cannot be learned at a fast pace because survival instincts will override the coaching you have received.

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]We recommend being as comfortable and confident on your bike as possible. Knee and elbow guards can often help people forget fear and focus on skills.

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]A functioning bike, an open mind, enough food for the day, sun screen, helmet, gloves, a big smile, a lot of water and clothing for all weather conditions.

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]Good question about pedals. Check out Gene's blog article on that very subject and feel free to let us know if it doesn't answer your question to your satisfaction. http://betterride.net/blog/2010/clipped-in-vs-flat-pedals/

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]Our camps will drastically help your riding regardless of the location! Much of the camp is conducted in a flat area (like a parking lot) covering concepts about body position, vision, cornering and then practicing drills. The trail riding portion of the camp is on relatively easy trails so that riders can focus on the skills they learned and more easily change their riding habits. Bottom line; our camps might not be held on your favorite trail, but they are guaranteed to make you way better at riding your favorite trail!

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]We have a few spots in the area that work great. We finalize and announce the location to registered participants about 2-4 weeks before the camp.

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]BetterRide works hard to scout the best location for each camp. Because things change (weather, trail conditions, event schedules, new trail knowledge) we reserve the right to switch to a different spot, in the general area as needed.

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]Because most BetterRide camps sell out well in advance, if you cancel within 6 weeks of a camp we can not refund your money (or we will lose out on the potential of the spot). BetterRide does offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee but you must take the camp to get this refund. You can insure your registration and trip at www.BikeFlights.com as well as arrange bike shipping and travel. Use coupon code BETTERRIDE for a discount!

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]We try to hold the camp rain or shine. Sometimes this requires switching to a location with cover for the morning drills. It is the coach's discretion to continue camp or not.

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]To keep prices low, we aren't able to offer discounts. Look at the investment in a BetterRide camp as a preventative cost saving measure. Think of all the expensive crashes you won't have because you took the camp and did your drills!

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]We don't offer coupon codes. We haven’t been able to remove that field as an option in the shopping cart.

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Gene[raw]

[/raw]To keep prices as low as possible, the camps don not include housing and meals. Just 3 (or 2 for a mini-camp) full days of coaching by the best in the business using a proven structured skills progression curriculum.

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Gene[raw]