Welcome to ForTheRiders.com and Dirt Skills Mountain Bike Coaching’s ‘Essential Dirt Skills’.
Your coach for this series is me, Cameron Allonby.
Growing up in Brisbane I raced BMX, XC and 4X before finding my true passion in DH racing. I began racing DH in Brisbane at the age of 13 and racing quickly became the focus of my life. I wanted to be racing the World Cup circuit!
In the early 2000’s, the Sunshine Series was South East Queensland’s premier racing series. Anyone who raced this series wanted to do it wearing a ForTheRiders.com jersey; after all, it wasn’t uncommon for their riders to sweep the podium.
ForTheRiders.com began to support me and my racing when I was 15. They helped me race the Sunshine Series and the Australian National Series but my eyes were always on the world stage.
In 2016 my time came to race against the best, and what better way to kick things off than a World Cup in Queensland? I was going to race in Cairns!
Unfortunately my race in Cairns was a short one; I rode 3.5 practice laps before crashing in one of the fastest sections. I left the track in an ambulance and woke up on what should have been race day with a head injury that I am still recovering from. For me the worst part of that experience was not missing the race, but not knowing what happened, I still don’t know what mistakes I made to have a crash that big.
The head injury gave me plenty of time off the bike and plenty of time to think about my future on two wheels. It was time for me to take a backward step from racing and try to help the younger riders, just like the FTR guys did for me when my racing career began.
Being a big fan of The Mighty Ducks, I had strong memories of Coach Bombay talking about washed up players having more fun coaching. The time had come for my riding career to change direction, it was time to become a riding coach.
And so Dirt Skills was born - Brisbane-based mountain bike coaching for riders of all ages and abilities. I want to share my knowledge and experience with anyone who wants to learn; together we can make your riding faster, safer and even more fun!
Do you ever feel like your progress has slowed to a halt? Sometimes we focus so hard on our fitness that we forget that to be able to ride a bike fast, you have to be able to ride a bike well. Every now and then backing off on the k’s and working on the ‘plays’ will get those skills up, help you learn a few tricks and have you riding faster than ever.
Ride along with us for the next 4 weeks as we cover a few Essential Dirt Skills. I’m going to cover some awesome skills and techniques to really help you learn how to attack the trails with confidence, knowing you are doing it as safely as possible.
Our first installment will discuss body positioning. Knowing how to correctly position yourself on the bike will maximize your efficiency and increase your stability, so tune in next week and let’s get started on our Essential Dirt Skills.
