FAQ

To bring BetterRide to town for a course, I need 8 students to make it worth traveling. Some people have had good luck posting a “lobbying to get a BetterRide course in my town” thread on MTBR or local bike or trail club forums. If you can get together 5-6 riders I can often get the rest.

I always encourage students to take the curriculum in course 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, the hourly rate adds up to much more than the cost of a course, and the curriculum doesn’t really go by any faster in a private lesson.

Because the courses 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 (I actually do coach world champions right along side campers of all experience levels)

Campers younger than 12 must be accompanied by an adult taking the same course. If they are older than 12, a parent must be within a 15 min radius in case of an emergency.

All courses will be personally coached by BetterRide owner and founder, Gene Hamilton. 

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No, same curriculum, same skills. Because women have a lot more self-preservation than men, I do cover fear, how to reduce it and work with it and the mental side more in women’s courses. I will do the same in co-ed courses as needed.

E-bikes are not always allowed on the trails we use, but you are welcome to bring your e-bike to courses in the following cities:

Fairfax, VA
Golden, CO
San Mateo/San Jose, CA
Austin, TX
Fruita, CO
Scottsdale, AZ
Boulder City, NV

My XC race course and our regular MTB course are actually about the same. All my courses follow the BetterRide core skills curriculum because the core skills are the same in all disciplines. The difference will be that I will relate the content to All-Mountain riders and will choose trails to practice the skills accordingly.

Many of the top pros I 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.

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 off 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 courses, not fitness courses. Skills cannot be learned at a fast pace because survival instincts will override the coaching you have received.

I 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.

A functioning bike, an open mind, enough food for the day, sunscreen, helmet, gloves, a big smile, a lot of water, and clothing for all weather conditions. A detailed list will be provided with sign-up.

Good question about pedals. Check out my blog article on that very subject and feel free to let us know if it doesn’t answer your question to your satisfaction. Clipped In vs. Flat Pedals

My courses 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 course is on relatively easy trails so that riders can focus on the skills they learned and more easily change their riding habits. Bottom line; the course might not be held on your favorite trail, but they are guaranteed to make you way better at riding your favorite trail!

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

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.

I try to hold the camp rain or shine. Sometimes this requires switching to a location with cover for the morning drills. I’ll use my discretion to continue camp or not.

To keep prices as low as possible, the camps do not include housing and meals. Just 3 full days of coaching by the best in the business using a proven structured skills progression curriculum.