Coaching retreat in Bellingham!

With Spring storms in Colorado, looking elsewhere to ride substantial trails found me catching a severely delayed flight to Bellingham WA.  An area known in bike lore for dark forests, amazing dirt and a vibrant mountain bike community, it was the perfect place for a training weekend.  This particular weekend would be focused on coaching certification.  The Global Syndicate of Mountain Bike Coaches (GSMBC) was hosting a Level 1 course and I managed to snag a spot to join the squad for the weekend.

Having an organization develop professional standards and programs is paramount in creating accredited coaches.  There are a couple different organizations within the MTB industry, but what sets GSMBC apart is its student centered approach to safety and compassion.  No rider is identical, and it was an amazing weekend discussing and learning the various ways to help connect students to the skills we hope to show them on their bikes.  

GSMBC Mentor discussing mechanical skills

Often advanced riders can have difficulty explaining the skills and maneuvers that are important to creating a solid foundation for each rider.  This is where professional coach certification helps to break through the weeds to better understand the learning styles of our students.  Set amongst the beautiful dense forest of Galbraith mountain, a legendary riding zone that any mountain biker should visit at some point in their life, we focused on creating lesson plans that resonate with our riders as individuals.

GSMBC mentor discussing student learning applications

After all, it is all the characters in a location that create the community, and Bellingham has no shortage of personality.  It is another one of those towns where you feel the spirits of MTB.  Big groups of friends party lap down blue flow trails, smiling kids on striders wiggle around practice loops, and trail pups find their own unique jump lines behind their partners.  I was lucky enough to wrap up the weekend by reuniting with a friend from the NZ MTB rally as he showed me around some of the amazing trails near Transition Outpost.  Another hub of community activity, the Outpost is both a meetup center and a landmark of MTB history.  

If you can feel it, the common thread I keep retuning to from these different zones around the world is community.  They are all unique in their own ways, but the universal binder is the Ride.  Once you fall in love with riding on trails we all become connected.  

Bellingham has some seriously committing terrain