BetterRide Mountain Bike School, Mountain Bike Coaching and Women’s Mountain Bike Camps

Share a great riding and learning experience with other woman riders. BetterRide women’s only camps cover the same core skills as my co-ed camps in a supportive, non-judgmental atmosphere of an all-women’s course. This can be very beneficial as it invites students to push their limits without feeling intimidated. For a more detailed outline of a 3 day camp please click here. For BetterRide Camp dates and locations click here.

April 2010 Fruita Women's Mountain Bike Camp

Emails from women riders after their BetterRide Mountain Bike Coaching Session/s and Women’s Mountain Bike Camps.

I really enjoyed the camp. I learned so much — and now I have the tools to continue teaching myself, which is brilliant (insert scheming hand gesture).

I also wanted to tell you that I think you’re an excellent teacher. You handled the group dynamic very well, doling out praise, constructive criticism, and support to everyone in a diplomatic, matter of fact way. This is truly an art. And I really admired your constant search for the best explanation, regardless of its origin. It seems like your thirst for knowledge and passion for the subject have helped you supersede any preconceived notions of where that explanatory wisdom comes from, be it a snowboarder, pro downhill racer, equestrian, or motorcyclist. And your distillation of all these perspectives is really useful, especially considering — as you mentioned — how many different learning styles there are.

More importantly, my cruiser wheelie is kicking ass, totally usurping my pedal wheelie’s former glory. I made it down a hill that has always intimidated me, a surly group of runners looked on like they thought I was gonna bite it. Suckers.

– Noelle Nicholson May 2008

Thanks for this Gene!

You really are an incredible coach and patient teacher/guide.  I am so blown away by the work you have put in to breaking down all of the necessary skills into digestible components that CAN be learned by anyone…. even me!  A thick-headed, over-thinking determined woman!  I am re-energized and excited about what I CAN do, not at all thinking about “CAN’T”… I don’t know that word anymore… I have replaced it with “Not yet”…*LOL*

Thanks again for all you have committed to doing in your camps…. I will attend again for sure… and WILL be a better rider!!

Sincerely,  Kim, the day after her co-ed camp, May 2010

Hi Gene!! Well I finally did it! I got my first podium win in the Ontario Cup Series for XC! This year as my 2nd year racing Sport class, my goal was to move up from the bottom of the pack (I never finished last!) to mid-pack. I placed 3rd !! out of 9. It was still an accomplishment! I am not sure if some of the faster girls didn’t make it out to the first race, but it sure got me going. All that hard work last season, racing and practicing and training and winter training paid off. I’m disappointed I couldn’t make it out to one of your courses but I had a lot of time off between my job contracts so the money wasn’t there this year. Hopefully next time!!!!!!! That downhill course still benefits me to this day and I’m finally just starting to “get it”. I’m sure the lightbulbs will keep going on as time progresses! I want to keep getting better! Hope you’re doing fantastic,

All the best,
Laura  April, 2010

Thanks for the homework! I think I’ll take you up on a couple of these books.

I thought your “camp” was awesome. I don’t know when I’ve experienced so many emotions and thoughts all in three days! The camp was like a microcosm of Life itself. Fun, challenging, fustrating … overwhelming, exhilirating…you name it.

I went out the Wednesday following the camp, did the drills then rode the Sport loop out at McDowell three times. Do you remember that darned hill at the end? I had NO PROBLEM making it up the hill every time. Funny because I watched a couple guys struggle and pop off as they practiced for the race! HA! They got to watch me use technique and easily make it up the hill.

On Saturday, I met Celia and we practiced the drills…then rode the Pemberton trail. It was great. We used each other to remind ourselves of the skills you taught us!

On Sunday…..I rode with a couple of my friends who have been riding awhile. They took me to a new park called F.I.N.S. (Fantasy Island North Singletrack). It is located at the base of the Estrella mountains. Let me tell you…it was challenging.

Lots of exposure, switchbacks and climbing. While some of the switchbacks took me out…I climbed every hill great! I even made it up what they call Grunt Hill and shocked my friends. They couldn’t make it up the hill. What an awesome day.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. My riding has improved 100%. I am grateful for your patience with us…and me. I look forward to taking another women’s mountain bike camp from you as I’m sure it will truly “sink in” the concepts and techniques.

Keep sharing your knowledge, it truly is a gift!

– Lynne Hulvey, Jan. 23, 2008, a week after attending a BetterRide Camp in Phoenix, AZ

I wish I could tell you I was sent to test your teaching skills by “acting” difficult but then I wouldn’t be telling the truth. I have always been a difficult person to teach because, not only am I impatient, but I expect to be an expert immediately. I also am horribly competitive, so if I have a “team” of people, I want to kick their asses and be the best. (Believe me; you do not want to play Charades with me…ever). However, I was really impressed with your coaching skills and your ability to put humor into my attitude. You have a unique ability to explain technique to a diverse group of people and keep it interesting and clear. As you said, every group is different, but it is easy to tell that you have no problem meshing random people together to make them feel like a real “team”. I also thought your use of stories and personal experiences were good tools that you utilized when everyone started thinking too hard about the task at hand. I really feel that the core of your program lies in all the drills you taught. Already I feel more confident on my bike and understand some ridiculous mistakes I had been making in the past. I think that everyone who even considers MTB should really take your mountain bike clinic, and I can also see how there is great potential for repeat customers and further training. You have a lot to offer riders and your energy and enthusiasm creates a wicked inspirational atmosphere that makes me personally want to challenge myself and realize my potential.

I wish you all the best and hope I do get the chance to study under you again.
Truly, Carien Hughes

This thank-you is long overdue. Please accept my apologies. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I am riding 5-6 times per week and am enjoying mountain biking more than ever thanks to your camp. Your instruction was the best I have received in any sport. It is obvious you have spent a lot of time observing and dissecting the art of mountain biking as you have superior knowledge of how to mountain bike. In addition, you are excellent at explaining everything to your campers. In fact, it wasn’t until I went to a local’s day clinic a few weeks ago that I realized how great you instruction really was. Your explanations for some of the same moves were so much better and effective. Thanks Gene.

I also found your mind- and body-wellness talks very informative. I liked hearing about the latest flexibility and strength training philosophies and I liked the mind tricks you showed us. Thanks to your teaching, I now better understand the impact the mind has on the body. I practice visioning on the trail and it really helps!

As I said in my first email, I really want to race, but would only do so after going to your camp. Well, now that I have, I feel I am ready to give racing a shot. Thank you for the help you have given me. I am very grateful for the opportunity I have had to learn from you. I hope to hear more about your accomplishments in the future. Keep riding hard.

Sincerely,

– Laura Patten (who less than a year after taking a camp with me is winning sport races!)

Gene,

Thanks so much for helping me learn the proper way to mountain bike. Since camp I have been out riding some of my favorite trails, and it has been incredible. I have one trail I ride that has several switchbacks and turns. Before your camp I would always go off the trail a minimum of two times. Since your camp I cleared every corner and switchback without going off the trail once. I also have greater confidence since camp. I tried a new trail that has a bunch of jumps on it. The trail is set up to go around the jumps or on them. Before your camp I never would have been brave enough to try them, and would have rode around all of them. Since your camp I tried some of the jumps and can’t wait to go back and do more. I now go on new trails and I am able to find the best line to ride and I am clearing obstacles I would have never even tried. Thanks again, my riding has gone to a whole new level.

– Kendra April 2008

“I’ve worked on and off with Gene my entire career. In fact, it was partly on his urging, ten years ago, that I commit to racing pro full-time and quit my silly “real job” thing. After Gene started coaching, he helped me at some of the Nationals. Together we worked on going over lines, race strategy, and especially my mental game. Gene’s got unbelievable energy and enthusiasm for the sport of mountain biking, unmatched by anyone I know. As a pro rider himself he understands racing and training in this sport, which is very rare. Many riders don’t understand the importance of having a coach like Gene. But when they do, they will finally be able to reach their potential. This is the edge to get them out of their plateau and go much faster…”

–Marla Streb, Mom, Luna Chix, Multi-time National Champion, World Champion

Gene thank you so much for taking the time and energy to put together these women’s mountain bike clinics. It’s amazing how much there is to learn. You are a very talented teacher. After 10 years of trying, I can finally do things like a track stand and a wheelie. You are the first person who can explain the little details in such a way that ANYONE can understand and then accomplish the goal of that particular task. The camp was challenging and also very supportive, with encouragement from you and the campers and this environment will only lead to success. I wish I had a similar opportunity to learn these skills 10 years ago! All the new riders to the sport are fortunate to have the opportunity to learn the basic techniques correctly early on, which will hopefully make their riding that much more enjoyable and “effortless”.

Thanks!

– Melanie Swartz, March 10, 2008 (the day after her women’s mountain bike camp in Atlanta)

Gene,
Incredible! It’s like night and day. I took my first ride after your clinic, it’s like taking your favorite challenging singletrack and it becomes a four lane highway; you see your favorite trail in a whole new light. Gene, I’m totally serious. I went out this morning, my purpose being to work on …. (one of the key things I teach). I was amazed at how it helped me in my climbing. I make it up stuff that I know I would of walked up before talking the clinic.
-Heather Anderson, happy bike rider

Hey! I got 2nd place in the women’s open last weekend in the Show Low Bluff Mtn Bike Tour The girl that beat me was 23 yrs old…I have kids that age, so I felt great about 2nd place. I excelled in the technical parts thanks to your teaching-elbows out and chest lower. Also…I got a new bike. After we got back I sold my Julianna and got a Gary Fisher Hi-Fi woman’s bike and I love it! I am planning to ride at McDowell Mtn Regional Park this weekend, so if they have done any more trail maintenance I’ll let you know. Thanks for your great instruction-It really works!!!
– Barb

Hi Gene~
I wanted to send you a quick note and let you know how I did at my first ever Iceman Cometh Challenge this year. I finished in second place for my group and age class (beginner women, 35-44) , just 38 seconds ahead of third place – yahhhh! I know I wouldn’t have done as well as I did without the skills I learned in your October women’s mountain bike clinic – they made the difference between a second and third place finish! I was confidently flying down hills and looking to victory with every hill and switchback I climbed.

Thanks so much for you help and support, I could hear your voice in my head at each downhill, “chest down, chin up, elbows wide and a big smile on your face!”

Thanks again and take care~
– Cynthia

I was at your woman’s mountain bike camp in Atlanta in March. I did my first mountain bike races this summer. I entered two races, sport division, and won both! It was very exciting. It felt good to put myself out of my comfort zone and race a bike. I’ve done tons of triathlons, but never a bike only race. I have to say it was a lot of fun. There aren’t a lot of women who race here, so it was a small number of us out on the course with the men, but it was fun! I’ve also done several xterra’s, and my bike splits have improved from last year. I still have many mantras that I repeat to myself from your camp. I’m hoping I can come to another next year.

Have a great day!
– Cheryl Stine November 2008

Good – getting to spend 3 days working on mountain bike skills with a great coach and new friends
Better – seeing real progress and surprising myself!
Best – the look on my husband’s face when I went right up to a curb and coaster-wheelie’d over it (but I was not looking at him, I promise!)

Thanks!
– Lee (Farabaugh) just 3 days after her women’s camp in Atlanta, March 2009

Hi Gene,

Just wanted to show you what your lessons made me do this past weekend! If you click on the photo or link to the photo album look through the album and on the 2nd page, bottom row, there’s a great shot of me doing what you taught me to do with my elbows-totally Brian Lopes style I was impressed to see myself doing that-a big change in my riding style and I know it’ll make me faster in the long run.

So thanks and I may have some time coming up where I can make it to one of your camps-I’ll let you know.

I hope all is well with you.
-Amanda Riley, Kenda, Titus, Hayes Team, winners of 2008 24 hours of Old Pubelo

Hey Gene and Andy, I can’t say enough great things about my experience this weekend! Your camp has “empowered me” !! I now have the basic foundamentals that I had been lacking and never understood the physics of how and why my riding wasn’t progresssing! I have only been riding for three years and all that I have learned has been from the advice of rider friends, that said, you know that I had developed bad habits. I am so psyched to build on these foundamental concepts. I’m going out tomorrow and Wedn to practice.

Philadelphia riders are in need of your expertice, between me, Candy and Irv you WILL fill a camp, think about it! We’ll keep in touch about that!

Looking forward to my homework, but for now I will be out practicing perfect
My best regards and appreciation,
– Lisa Longo June 2009

Hi Gene,
Thanks for the newsletter. Always good to hear from you. I’ve been riding lots and practicing my skills and it is paying off. First I got a “real” MTB in May. Ibis Mojo SL; 5 1/2″ travel front and rear and boy is it great. I am so much more comfortable on it than my xc bike. I did the Wilderness 101 yesterday and took 7th for women. I never expected to take top 10 so this was a total thrill for me. It was a killer course full of rock gardens and tight, steep downhill. Thanks to your help I cleaned sections that a year ago I would have never even attempted. It was sweet, scary at times, but I did it and I had full confidence that I could. For the long, long climbs, I came up with my own song “99 miles of trail to ride” Sing it to 99 bottles of beer. “99 miles of trail to ride, 99 miles of trail” “You pedal along, singing a song, 98 miles of trail to ride…”
As always I sing the circus song on the downhills
Hope you are feeling better and back on the MTB soon!

– Karen Moody

Hi Gene,

I’ve been working dutifully on my riding, though have not had a huge opportunity to practice perfectly. The past two rides have really felt strong. I’ve been working hard on my climbing, trying to do it in anything but the granny gear, and that’s coming along really well.

Today, I did a ride that I haven’t done in a while. It’s a loop, and the first time I ever did it (last year), it took me over 2.5 hours, and I was walking nearly as much as I was riding. The climb was brutal, there was a mildly technical section, and the descent freaked me right out. I’ve done it a few times since, but I’m always stopping a few times on the climb, have never attempted the mildly technical section, and rode my brakes until they smoked on the descent.

Today I did it in just over an hour. I didn’t stop once. That mildly technical section that I’ve never ridden? Nailed it. There were perfect ‘eyes to victory’ markers at every stretch of it, and honestly (I’m only slightly embarrassed to say this…) it was easy. EASY! The funniest part was that as I was quietly savoring a private moment of victory, I came around a corner to find three dudes who had walked up it and were cheering me on. Wow. The dessert was the descent, which was still a little sketchy, but I dropped my seat and railed it. After a couple inadvertant reverse wheelies on some rollers, I started concentrating on the coaster wheelies…cool and wow.

Today I feel like I finally had my first real mtn bike ride. It was awesome!

Just wanted to share,

– HJ (Heather Jones) June 2009

Gene,
I am happy to recommend your camps to my friends because the camp I took from you made such a big difference in my riding. I credit it with helping me win the SuperD series in my first season! It was the best money I have ever spent on my riding.

– Jesse Kirkpatrick April 2008

Hi Gene,

I’ve been meaning to write for awhile to give you an update on how things are going. My goal in attending the camp was pretty simple: to be able to hit the trails and wear myself out without all the fear that really has had the best of me for a long time, now. I came back and was able to do that pretty much immediately. My next goal was to be able to ride all the trails in the area near my house (there’s a pretty wide variety of greens, blues, and blacks). A couple of weeks ago I was running out there and running down a black run that has some pretty scary (for me) drops towards the end. I really thought that I was probably 6 months away from being able to navigate those but yesterday for the fun of it, I walked my bike up and just thought I’d try a couple that were more tame. To my amazement, I was able to do them all and went back and did it 3 times just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke! I am totally amazed as how far I’ve come in such a short time.

I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be able to see such an improvement in such a short time. I was thinking yesterday that it was a really good decision to by a $1,000 mountain bike and pay $600 to learn how to ride it rather than spending $1500 on a bike that would sit in my living room making me feel guilty. You’re really good at what you do!

Thanks so much!

– Kris October 2009

P.S. It’s an uphill battle convincing people that coaching will really help them even if they have no intention of competing. I deal with this all the time with nutrition. Nobody seeks out help unless they’ve failed miserably at it even though it would help every athlete immensely. I feel your pain and I’ve been telling everyone who will listen that it’s made a huge difference.

“We all owe a great thanks. Several times during the weekend Chris and Mary mentioned how much the clinic helped them. I personally gained so much from it. It was tough sitting down and visualizing that course twice a day for a week, but it paid off. I really hope that you will become an integral part of CU cycling in the future. You were a key factor to us all wearing a bars and stars jersey this weekend, thanks again!”

— Lisa Myklak, 2006 US Open Champion, 2002 Collegiate National Downhill Champion a week after coaching Lisa and her CU teammates (they won the NCAA champioships)

“Thanks again for the clinic — I had a really great weekend, and I think you really helped me improve. I’m more pysched about riding than I probably ever have been before. Amazing, considering it snowed yesterday and I am still thinking about riding! ”

— Connie Misket, pro downhill racer