TROG ladies training review
The TROGettes Graduate!!
For the last 6 months TROG ladies and WAGS have been taking part in some off road MTB training with British Cycling coach and fellow TROG member Graham Elliott (G), and all have now successfully graduated.
From left to right: Karen (blondie), Melissa, Jodie (JGC1984), Jo (JoJo), Isabel (sportsinkfarm), Lizzie (Buff), Debbie. In front: Graham (G). Missing: Beth
In total 8 ladies took part, an ideal sized group for the training, with varied skills and experience from regular racer to those who ride a bike infrequently.
G had in place all the important things in preparation for the training – tea and biscuits – and the sessions covered the following:
- Correct Position on bike, including brake lever positioning for single finger braking
- Braking
- Ready Position
- Weight Shift
- Track Stand
- Effective use of gears
- Puncture repairs
- Drive Train maintenance
- Front Wheel Manual
- Rear wheel manual
- Front wheel powered Lift
- Step Up
- Step down
- Step Over
- Descending (pits and bomb holes)
- Cornering technique
- Ride Safety including use of insect repellent, things to carry with you, things to consider when planning a ride
For the majority of the group the main barrier to better riding was confidence. With the continued training and riding with a like-minded group you could feel the levels of confidence increase each session and the riding improve. A key highlight, which really demonstrated how well the group had progressed, was during a session in Thetford forest where we were hooning around in Howe’s pit, as some guys looked on tentatively from the edge, and also bombing down Double Shocker to the surprise of the guys on The Beast we beat to the bottom – they finished their run with some painful manhood (not sure why they felt the need to broadcast that info) and we finished with some cool skids.
As you can see from the picture, during our last session in Tunny we all surprised G with some custom t-shirts – I think he liked them J
It must have been quite amusing to see all the pink whizzing around the forest, at least we were easy to spot. We did the Mud Sweat & Gears race loop, with a few additions – it was very wet and muddy – lots of fun and we all made it up token hill (in the wet)!!!
So what now for the ladies…
We are now having regular ladies rides, allowing us to ride at the pace we are all comfortable, whilst still pushing ourselves and learning from each other. We are all much more confident with our riding and enjoying being out on the bike.
Jodie is continuing racing (with some excellent results) and Blondie is putting her toe more into the racing area and will be taking part in the Thetford Summer Enduro on 9th July – 6 hrs solo may be a bit more that a toe though J
The course has also been incredibly good for Isabel and the coaching she does with the Tri kids, with increased depth of knowledge to draw from and using the Bike/helmet check so they lead it themselves.
We are also thinking about putting in another ladies team for Dusk Till Dawn – hopefully without the rain this year – and organizing some weekends away.
Watch this space – “here come the girls!!”