Mountain Biking: I spent the day flying downhill on a popular off-road training course at Dalby Forest

This was part of an Introduction to Mountain Biking course which lasted two and a half hours.

I arrived at Dalby Forest at about quarter to one, and parked in the Seive Dale Car Park, which is located just past Go Ape.

I then headed off to the visitor centre, past the other day trippers to the forest who were making the most of the hot weather with a picnic.

I didn’t know what to expect of the session, and was a little nervous despite being able to ride a bicycle.

When I arrived at the cycle hub, I was met by Mark Grange and Rachel Connerney, who were leading the course that day.

On the course, I chose to hire a bike for the session, but you can use your own if you want to.

After being given an appropriate bike and helmet, we made our way to a small, rectangle concrete area where the instructors could establish how well I could ride a bike.

A couple of laps around the area, and then I was taught how to brake. Sounds easy right?

Well, it involved standing up, squatting and ensuring your feet were balanced properly on the pedals, meaning they were both at the same level, all whilst watching where you were going and braking at the same time.

This is so when you’re descending (a term I picked up that day), you can adjust your body and you won’t hit your feet on the ground below because they’ll be level.

After nailing the appropriate braking for mountain biking, Mark then taught me how to go around corners using plastic cones.

It’s important to learn how to go around corners properly to ensure that you don’t injure yourself when doing it without an instructor on one of the 6 mountain bike trails.

This part meant using the balancing technique we learnt during the braking stage so we can easily go around the corner.

You need to focus on looking ahead, as well as simultaneously braking enough so you don’t go flying off the track - trust me on this one!

After this, I learnt how to go down a small descent which led onto the concrete area we used to learn to brake on.

Descent training

This part was the first real taste of mountain biking, and for a complete novice, was a little scary. It involved having to cycle to the small hill, change to a lighter gear to help me pedal up the hill easier and using the brake/balance technique to go down the hill.

After a couple of attempts, I managed to do it properly and even managed to keep cycling across the concrete and up the bank on the other side.

Once I’d done this, Mark and Rachel thought it was time I did some descent work on the training trail. This trail is easier and a lot smaller than the others at Dalby Forest.

This wasn’t scary, as the descents were smaller than the others I had done beforehand on the concrete area, but with it being on a miniature trail, I also had to go around a corner and have the trail terrain, which meant stones, soil and tree roots.

Mark followed me around the miniature trail, and after a few goes I was ready for some bigger challenges. I just had to remember to breathe, and to keep looking forward and not at the bike!

The next descents were a short ride away and I was a little apprehensive to try a proper descent, however, the first one was fine, and I managed it easily.

The second one, however, was a bit harder and I kept stalling at the top meaning I’d have to go round again.

The stalling was due to me not lining up properly when I cycled round, and so it looked quite scary from the top.

A few attempts later, I pushed myself to do it and I did! It was great fun going down it and I finally managed to do both of these together so it was then time for a steep descent.

This one was very tricky, and looked really scary from the top so Mark showed me how to do it before I attempted it.

I lined my bike up ready to go, set off, got my balance correct and got to the top of the descent where I suddenly stopped.

So I gave it another go. I lined my bike up, set off, got my balance correct and it happened again.

This repeated about 20 times before we decided I couldn’t do it.

This descent was just a little too steep and I was scared of falling off, so we decided not to push it.

Heading for the big trail!

Despite this, we were finally able to go on a trail. We set off towards the start of the blue trail, which is situated just next to the Dalby Forest Cycling Hub.

The blue trail started off with Rachel leading the way, and Mark following me whilst we made our way up a hill.

Already, this was very hard, and my thighs felt like they were on fire. A rocky start.

The trail was rocky, and included lots of corners. However, I only stopped twice to get my breath back which in my books is a success.

When we got to the top, we made our way back down through the woods, which was part of the end of the red trail.

This was the funnest part of the day because we got to weave in and out of the thick forest whilst riding quite fast and doing little descents the whole way down. I wasn’t scared at all and felt like I got to let go.

I had a really enjoyable day, and found it thrilling to say it was a beginners course. I was telling everyone about it afterwards and I’ve even been for a bike ride of my own since then, since I enjoyed it so much.

I left a bit sweaty, and only had a little bit of mud on myself which I say is a good thing.

When asked why both instructors enjoy mountain biking so much, Mark said: “I like being surrounded by nature so it doesn’t feel like I’m exercising. There’s so much going on, and it’s not just my legs that are aching. Mountain biking adds that sense of adventure, you can get away from the crowds and explore different areas.

“Riding with friends, having a bit of a laugh and a great day out. I also like a good slice of cake and you can earn yourself some cake.”

Rachel added: “It gives me a sense of freedom. I have quite a busy brain so it allows me to switch off and clear my head a bit. I like the challenge, from a coaching perspective, of helping people get better and making myself better.”

More information on the training courses

Training courses are available at Dalby Forest Cycle Hub through to the start of the summer.

There are different types of courses available, based on ages and abilities.

The Learn To Ride Your Bike course for children runs on April 23 and 24, May 8 and 9 and May 21 and 22.

The Mountain Bike Fundamentals course runs on April 30 and May 21.

The Introduction to Mountain Biking course for women only runs on April 24, May 8, May 15 and May 28.

The Young Riders course, for young riders aged 10 to 16, runs on April 30, May 14 and May 21.

The Ride the Red Skills course runs on April 24, May 15 and May 28.

The Drops and Jumps course runs on May 1, May 7 and May 22.

The Back in black Skills course runs on May 1, May 7 and May 22.

The Mini Riders course runs on May 14.

The Women Only Improvers course runs on May 8.

The Guided Rides run on April 23 and May 29.

You can book a place on a training course here.

This is a review of Dalby Forest's mountain biking training courses for The Scarborough News by Louise Hollingsworth.