Kwest : Those with the name Kwest have the potential to live a full life ofexcitement and adventure, exploring new horizons and pushing boundaries. By embracing change and pursuing their passion with determination, Kwest can achieve great things and inspire others to follow in their footsteps.
Coaching corner: Is a place to share my ideas and other coaching material. Skills to pay the bills(Fundamentals) with having the right gear and working bike and positive attitude your half way there. I'm working on providing a list of skills progression and hopefully some video's.
How to ride a bicycle: This is easy right just get on and go, well you'll be surprised how many people can't just get on a bike and ride comfortably. If your young or old this can be a challenge. Now it starts with the A>B>C> theory: think about the surrounding environment and how this will effect the learning process. Now we have a safe place to get this rolling we can talk about Attention Balance and control. Attention is your ability to see and hear, Balance is your ability to balance on and off your bike while sitting or standing, and the most important is control without it your going to crash. Attention: learning how to look while riding looking 5 ft ahead then 10ft plus and off the bike trail side or road/gravel terrain reading. What line is safe and fast there maybe more than one. Balance: This is your body position on the bike and there is three points of contact hands feet and butt. learning the position needed for different riding situations. there is four basic positions you should know sitting neutral and ready and standing neutral and ready position. Control: Is made up of all the above and more, Learning how to use your brakes in Different situations . now all of these control your bike as well as your eye's so it's important to learn how each one affects your control in different situations.
Riding in a straight line: Find a safe place to set up cones or a empty parking lot. Set up some cones or use straight lines on the concrete and talk about the importance of the A>B>C theory and how it affects your ability to ride in a straight line. When practicing riding in a straight line start about ten feet from the first cone so your ready and can adjust yourself. focus on looking as far ahead as possible and practice having a soft grip and loose upper body. your pedal stoke or cadence is also important if you push to hard on one side you will move to one side.(Practice this exercise slowly so you get a good understanding of the balance and control. Riding in a group or pack: This skill is such a great skill but for first timers it's a bit scary. Straight line practice is great for this skill but to make it more realistic have a friend or two ride close to each other. this should be done on a grass field or open area with no hazards. ride to one end of the field and back then swap sides. as you get more comfortable you can take one hand and put it on your friends shoulder and try to keep your line. practice until your very comfortable.
Looking while riding: This exercise seems very simple right well it also takes practice especially when riding in a group or racing at full speed. ways to practice your visual awareness is easy and fun. depending on your skill level you may want to do this in a open area away from harms way. start by riding in a straight line and look directly in front of your front tire and see how that feels. now start by looking 2 feet ahead then keep it going until you are looking 20 feet ahead. then practice looking to the right then to the left and try to keep a straight line. for advanced riders you can do this on a trail with other athlete's.
Race Starts: Race starts are maybe not taken as serious as they should. Why do I say that well because it's just the start of the race right well no it's all about the start. It's as important as the middle and the end of the race if you don't master the starts your always going to be behind and trying to catch up this can cost you lots of energy. some of you are scared that your going to blow up and ruin your race and your right. this is only because you didn't practice your starts like all the other skills you need to dial in. I'm not just talking about getting your foot position correct but every detail from the high end power and heart rate to getting into a good position quickly. Like any other skill it starts with the basic's: Foot position hands and brakes gear ratio leg speed and visual direction.
Cornering: Who loves cornering I do but if your not sure about the terrain and your confidence then it's scary. Tires are super important but not as important as technique and understanding the types of corners. on road or off road the technique is the same and once you understand it you'll be able to adjust your riding style. Types of corners off road flat berms, steep berms, switchbacks, flat corners, loose corners, technical corners. road corners Hairpin corners, tight switch backs S bend, increasing radius, off camber, and many more. We need to understand the body position needed starting with the ready position. equal weight over the tire is very important on and off road. off road most of the time cornering you should be standing.