LEARN TO JUMPIN A DAY

ALWAYS STRUGGLED WITH GETTING YOUR WHEELS OFF THE GROUND? AN INTENSE SIX HOURS OF DRILLS WITH PRO COACH OLLY MORRIS HAS FINALLY GOT EDITOR JCW ON THE RIGHT TRACK AFTER FOUR DECADES OF TRYING AND HIS TIPS CAN HELP YOU, TOO

- James Costley-White & Olly Morris 

Olly warns me. To an airtime-averse rider like myself, that sounds like a lot - especially when you consider he's not talking about riding lines of jumps, but the same one or two tabletops over and over again. That's what it takes to nail the basic technique, get your body used to making the right movements and start to make some progress towards your goal. Whether that's getting more air, landing more safely or - in my case - just getting my wheels consistently off the ground. Some people will pick up these skills more quickly than others, and I have a feeling Olly may have his work cut out with me today, but he seems confident he can get just about anybody airborne.

AIR FOR THE SCARED

"What do you want to achieve today?" Olly asks. I reply: "I don't care about 'sending it' or learning tricks or any of that. I just want to come across jumps on the trail and be able to ride them confidently." It's a response he's heard hundreds of times before. After all, jump courses are the most popular skills sessions Olly offers, and it's the same for the other MTB coaches operating here in Gloucestershire's Forest of Dean and, I'd imagine, the UK as a whole.

Jumping seems to be one of those skills you either 'get' straight away or struggle with. And as time goes on, and bad habits get ingrained, it becomes even harder to master. Fortunately, I'm in good hands. Not only is Olly the owner of coaching business Pro Ride MTB and the ride coach of the MS Mondraker World Cup team, but he's an Elite-level downhill racer himself, so has more than a theoretical knowledge of getting air.