Have you ever taken a bike clinic or are your skills self taught?

Discussion in 'Racing and Training' started by krishno22, Jan 19, 2011.

  1. M.C. Gong

    M.C. Gong I am the motor

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    Yeah, I'm all over the place.
     
  2. jae2460

    jae2460 Active Member

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    I e-mailed Joe Friday night but haven't heard back from him. I'm not worried about my deposit (I think they charged my cc for a deposit...), but I'm wondering whether it's going to happen or not this saturday. I should hear something this week--I'll let you know if/when I do.

    If it's not going to happen, I may opt instead for a long ride in Santa Ana Canyon like Blackstar/Motorway--only did it once, it was a long time ago and very hot and I was fatter and had less ability so I'm thinking I'm ready for another go at it. Although, it would be good to meet you guys and we could just do the ride we did in the class last time around, but meet at Milf--up Cholla, down Rock-It and back via Coyote with a lot of extra credit throughout. I can clean Cholla now, but I'm not that close to cleaning the Rock-It descent; I've gotten close a couple of times but seem to take a couple steps back each time I get close. The only thing is that Aliso is CROWDED on the weekends. I ride there a lot during the week on my lunch hour or in the morning b4 work but I remember how crowded it was when we did the class. By noon, it was like Disneyland with mountain bikes / hikers...
     
  3. M.C. Gong

    M.C. Gong I am the motor

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    Thanks John for the update. I'll send Joe and email too. He might be busy with his racing schedule.
     
  4. Dakit

    Dakit Member

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    I spoke with Joe briefly a couple of weeks ago in Fontana. He didn't say anything about not being able to teach on the 19th.
     
  5. blindman_22

    blindman_22 HAB Crew President

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    will the clinic still happen if it rains?
     
  6. jae2460

    jae2460 Active Member

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    I can't believe there's more rain coming. I know it's March, but Bummer! I'm done with rain this year!

    I suppose it depends, but if it's really raining then I would imagine the class is off. I won't go if it rains, as I wouldn't learn as much as I would in normal conditions.

    I started riding in Aliso one day at lunch when it was borderline weather. We thought we could sneak one in before the rain started, but were proved wrong. The rain wasn't supposed to start until the afternoon, but it started raining steadily on us as we started up Cholla. It was pretty ridiculous by halfway up Cholla, wasn't too bad along westridge (relatively flat) but was ridiculous again when we tried descending Mathis--we wound up walking down a good part of Mathis with mud-clogged tires (and I mean clogged) as we had no traction, stopping ability and it was even hard to steer. Not a fun ride. We coasted out of the park once we got to the lower part of Mathis and back onto Wood Canyon. Had I known how bad it was going to get, we would've turned back 1/2 way up Cholla and exited out at Milf park.
     
  7. melster

    melster Member

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    More rain? :-(
     
  8. M.C. Gong

    M.C. Gong I am the motor

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    I'm good with it raining as long as it is cold enough to snow too :)

    But if it rains, the class is will probably be canceled as Aliso will most likely be closed.
     
  9. Dakit

    Dakit Member

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    I can see that you start to like riding on snow. :lol: Let's do Maple Springs again before the snow melted, but I hate black ice!

    All kidding aside, I wonder when Joe can confirm about Sat.
     
  10. M.C. Gong

    M.C. Gong I am the motor

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    Looks like Joe has a new site. Might be why Bike skills has issues. This site looks up-to-date. I'll email Joe here also to see whats up. Maybe he hasn't been getting our emails.

    http://www.joelawwill.com/
     
  11. blindman_22

    blindman_22 HAB Crew President

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    thanks mike. now i need to have my brake issue resolved before then.
     
  12. Dakit

    Dakit Member

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    The joelawwill.com site is not new actually. I find that he is slow in responding to emails through the joelawwill site in the past, but worth a shot. Thanks Mike!
     
  13. M.C. Gong

    M.C. Gong I am the motor

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    If I don't hear from him this afternoon, I'll try to call him later tonight. Hope the phone number listed on the site is current.
     
  14. Dakit

    Dakit Member

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    For those who signed up for Joe Lawwill's clinic on the 19th

    Just got off the phone with Joe. He just came back from Florida, and will email everyone regarding the clinic on Sat. He is also concerned abt the weather on Sat...might have to re-schedule it if it rains. He will also give everyone a call on Friday to confirm everything.

    Sorry OP for hi-jacking this thread!
     
  15. M.C. Gong

    M.C. Gong I am the motor

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    I've heard many good things about Joe, but whats up with his communication skills. 2 Days before the class and no correspondence! Couple emails sent to him earlier this week and no reply. BOOO on him.

    Doesn't look like its going to rain Saturday. I assume we meet at the Aliso Ranger Station Parking Lot at 8AM?
     
  16. blindman_22

    blindman_22 HAB Crew President

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    i'll see you guys there tomorrow. gonna have to leave the house early to make it there on time.
     
  17. jae2460

    jae2460 Active Member

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    Yeah, it's not like him. My previous experience with him was exactly opposite. But I just found this e-mail from last night:

    Hello,
    Sorry for the delay in getting in touch with you all about this weekends clinic but I have been out of town with work and came home to my bikeskills all messed up. I am trying to fix it but its still a few days away from being back.
    Please check this link (hopefully it works) http://www.bikeskills.com/preclinic-03-19-2011.php It contains all the basic info for Saturdays clinic.

    The weather forcast shows rain on Sunday but not on Saturday so we should be good to go. If for some reason the storm comes early and I have to postpone the clinic I will send you all another email to let you know. Please reply to this email to confirm you will be there on Saturday.

    Thanks,

    -Joe

    Clinic Info:
    Hello, if you are receiving this page that means I have you signed up for this weekends clinic at Aliso Woods.

    Please read this carefully!

    Saturday March 19th, 2011 - 8:00 am - 12:30 pm

    Meet at the MAIN ENTRANCE to the Aliso Woods Park which is just off Alicia Pkwy in Aliso Viejo.

    For a map go to: http://www.mapquest.com/maps

    Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park
    28373 Alicia Parkway
    Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 ​


    Enter the parking lot and look for my my silver Dodge Truck with the Bikeskills banner. There is a $3.00 parking fee with a machine that only accepts dollar bills or credit cards. No coins. I will be wearing our red bikeskills shirt.
    Bikeskills Preparation List: ​

    We recommend you have these items with you for any ride you do:
    • Helmet*​
    • Eye protection​
    • Gloves* (recommend long finger)​
    • Cycling Shoes ​
    • Water or energy drink* (Figure under normal riding conditions to use one bottle per hour)​
    • Energy bar ('s) like a Cliff Bar (Figure 1 bar every 1-2 hours.) (Energy gels such as Cliff Shots can be used in place of energy bars)​
    • Sun Block​
    • Wind Breaker (Depending on weather)​
    • Cycling shorts, Lycra or baggy style.​
    • Cycling jersey (Choose appropiate style depending on weather conditions. It's is important not to over heat with too heavy of a jersey just as it is important not to get too cold with too light of a jersey. Arm warmers recommended if you go with a short sleeve jersey and there is a chance you could hit some cooler conditions.)​
    • Spare Tube or patch kit, Tire levers and Tire Pump or co2 cartridge.​
    • Multi tool including at minimum a 3,4,5,6 mm allens, a chain breaker, flat head screw driver and spoke wrench.​
    • Protection: Knee and elbow guards and whatever else you think you may need.​
    • Quick Release seat post clamp​
    • Make sure to eat a sensible breakfast before the clinic too!

    *mandatory
    Also here is a basic rundown of the clinic:
    http://www.bikeskills.com/itinerary.php

    Bike Set Up</STRONG>
    A quick release seat post clamp is HIGHLY recommended.</STRONG> If you can't get one, please bring a tool that will allow you to adjust your seat height.

    Payment</STRONG>
    If you haven't already paid online, please bring cash or check. You can pay the clinic fee here: http://www.bikeskills.com/paypal.php

    Let me know if you have any questions.
    Note: Please call my cell phone number (714) 422-4704 to notify me if you are running late or if anything comes up.​

    Couple notes on bike set -up:
    • Make sure your bike is clean and in good working order. We like to move brake levers approx ½”to ¾” inboard away from the grip. We set the angle so that when you are on the bike you can comfortably reach for your levers. If you can do this before the clinic it will mean more time spent on the trail! We will do a bike check and suspension set-up and discussion during the clinic.

      Lever angle: If levers are too low, it will force you to rotate your hands forward to reach the lever which can lead to having too much weight over the front of the bike and causing the rider to "Go over the bars" on a downhill. If you have your levers too high can run into issues of your elbbows dropping which is a big Bikeskills "No-No". I will go over this in the clinic...
    [​IMG][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2003-2010 Bikeskills All Rights Reserved [/FONT]


    See you tomorrow.
     
  18. aoizip

    aoizip New Member

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    Hi Guys,

    Just got Joe's email for the Sat clinc, so please check your email. The meet time is 8AM at the Ranger's station/Park Entrance( not MILF Park).
    I will see you guys early tomorrow.

    ~Ming
     
  19. blindman_22

    blindman_22 HAB Crew President

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    i got the email last night. the email went out to all 7 of us
     
  20. Dakit

    Dakit Member

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    AM showers tomorrow. DARN!
     

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