Please reach us at scott@mtbtrailflow.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Pretty much everyone! We all have skills that we can improve to make our riding safer, more fun, and more efficient.
MTB Trail Flow is specifically focused on beginning to intermediate-level riders.
If you have recently started riding mountain bikes, now is the perfect time to learn fundamental skills and maneuvers so you start with a strong foundation. Your riding will improve much more quickly and safely if you are well-versed in the key principles and techniques that are unique to mountain biking.
If you've already been riding for a number of years, you likely still have some areas where you want to be more confident, faster, smoother, etc., and lessons will help you achieve those objectives much better and with less frustration than continuing with trial and error.
Yes, there are a lot of great riders active on Social Media, and many of them do a very good job of demonstrating and explaining how they do it. I watch those videos too, and they are helpful for seeing what great riding looks like as well as providing inspiration for your next ride.
However, in-person coaching has the benefit of being personalized based on YOUR skills and objectives, and then providing real-time feedback that helps you make sure you are adapting your riding to correctly implement what you've learned.
Plus, one of the most enjoyable parts of riding bikes in the woods or mountains is the personal interaction with other people who share your passion and enthusiasm, and we all learn better when we're having fun!
Common focus areas for beginner and intermediate riders are:
Other fundamental maneuvers that we can learn that will help on the trail are Front and Rear Wheel Lifts, Level Lifts (both wheels simultaneously, not a bunny hop), the Pedaling Wheel Lift, and Roll Downs.
More time translates into more topics and more actual trail practice and feedback. We'll always customize the lesson to your needs and the amount of time you have available. But for example, a two-hour session might cover two major topics with drills and demonstrations (Descending and Braking, for example) but then focus more heavily on just one of those for on-trail riding and feedback, still touching on the other. We can also mix in a fundamental maneuver or two (wheel lifts, etc.).
A three-hour lesson can either stick with a limited number of topics but with much more time for actual riding and feedback, or we can add more fundamental maneuvers and take those on the trail as well.
Skills clinics run by MTB Trail Flow will have a maximum of 6 participants, so there's more interaction and a chance to observe other riders practicing the skills. They are typically a bit more social and lots of fun! The agenda will be more structured, though we'll always adjust the pace based on the experience level of the participants and the pace at which they absorb the concepts. For instance, if we are in a Cornering clinic, we'll focus on a very specific set of drills and exercises before we move on to the next designated topic, but we can move faster or slower through those drills depending on the needs of the overall group.
Individual lessons are focused solely on YOUR goals, and we move at your pace, with a lot more individual coaching and feedback than you'll get in a typical skills clinic.
Before your session, we'll have a brief phone conversation so I can get more familiar with your riding experience and your objectives for the lesson (for instance, "I want to climb steep sections with lots of roots more smoothly"), and then we'll determine what maneuvers and skills to work on to achieve those objectives.
Riding with friends is a great way to pick up tips and tricks and improve your riding.
However, the mountain bike instructor organizations like PMBIA (Professional Mountain Bike Instructors Association) and GSMBC (Global Syndicate of Mountain Bike Coaches) have spent several decades refining both WHAT to teach, and also HOW to teach mountain bike skills. Certified mountain bike instructors can apply both of those dimensions to help you learn more effectively.
Head Coach Scott Weeks is a Level 1 certified instructor through both PMBIA and GSMBC.
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Tune up your mountain bike skills for Fall riding! Use code FALLSKILLS20 at checkout for 20% off all 2- and 3-hour lessons booked between now and October 31, 2025.