Can a lifelong roadie with no mountain biking experience whatsoever tackle a black run at one of the UK's best-known bike parks?
Liam Cahill has ridden innumerable road and gravel bikes and done a fair bit of cyclocross racing in his time. However, when it comes to mountain bikes, he's a complete novice.
We placed him in the capable hands of BikeRadar and MBUK video presenter Tom Marvin and sent him in the direction of BikePark Wales.
Can Tom coach Liam through the green, blue and red trails and imbue him with sufficient skills and confidence to have a crack at the infamous Dai Hard black trail in a single day?
Here are our five essential tips for beginners that helped Liam survive the day. When you're done, watch our video to find out how he got on.
1. Look where you want to go
It’s perhaps the most fundamental off-road skill, but one Tom – not a qualified coach, we should stress – had to remind Liam of, despite his cyclocross racing experience.
Where your eyes point, your bike will follow – especially if you stay loose and allow it to move around under you.
Or, in Tom’s not-to-be-taken-literally words: “Disconnect those hips”.
2. Lean the bike
At the beginning of the day, Liam was trying to use the handlebar to turn the bike, when really, cornering on an MTB is all about leaning and pivoting at the hips.
“Try to engage those shoulder [tyre] treads,” as Tom reminded him.
3. Pump for speed
Liam had some initial confusion about the idea of unweighting and then pushing with your feet.
“Pushing with your feet, in cycling, is called pedalling – mountain bikers want to learn that,” he grumbled from the bike.
However, he started to get to grips with pumping through rollers to maintain control and momentum.
4. Don’t be scared of roots
“Psychologically, I get it – roots look slippy, even if they’re not,” Tom advised.
Eventually, Liam acknowledged the wisdom of taking the wider line over some roots, rather than the much tighter line around them, even if he struggled to put this into practice.
5. There’s no shame in walking
“I’ve learned today that the spirit of [mountain biking] is, ‘Have a go, but if you poo your pants, you can walk a little bit’,” said Liam, about to drop into the Dai Hard black run.
That's a pretty good summation. Of course, he ended up walking much of the way down, but that’s perfectly understandable, given it was his first time on a mountain bike, in less than ideal conditions.
We were just impressed that he tackled the Vicious Valley road gap. Respect!
