Instructional and inspirational video (or DVD) for beginner women mountain bikers
Basic skills instruction provided by Trek/VW pro, Sue Haywood in a clinic
setting (body position, logs, ascending/descending, cornering, slow speed riding)
On-the-trail application, shot documentary style, shows a group of women
applying skills on the trail and sharing humorous, interesting, and
informative stories about how they got started in the sport, why they
started, and how they overcame fears.
Additional segments include bike selection and fit, basic bike care, and
safety and fitness.
Sponsored by Trek Bicycles, SheBeest, Nike Cycling, Psycho Lube, and
Positively Chiropractic
Strengths: a couple of scenes in which the professional rider actually demonstrates the drills
Weaknesses: this dvd includes a bunch of beginners performing drills very poorly- not meeting the standards set by the professional rider as well- thus setting poor examples. also, the amount of time spent with the bike group led by mary is superfluous, as a female rider, i don't need to watch a group of women laughing and talking about their favourite bike memory in order to learn how to hone my technique. again much of the demonstration footage is useless as the riders don't actually accomplish the feat they attempt to demonstrate. finally the self-aggrandizing plug mary c. english manages to very obviously insert in her - four things you need to mountainbike segment- is offensive on several levels. not only does she answer a legitimate question ("i'm sore after riding, why?") incorrectly by omitting such helpful tips as checking your posture, checking height of stem/handlebars etc, but she intimates that all mountainbikers need a chiropracter in order to ride. how she thinks she is doing the sport a favour and attracting women to it i don't know. clearly her own profession (she runs a chiropractic practice) has clouded her, already questionable, judgment.
Bottom Line:
this is a total waste of money as demo's are incorrectly executed 90% of the time, and it provides no specific technical advice or information.
Submitted by
Bruiser
a Cross Country Rider
from Warrenton, VA
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2003
Strengths: Covers I wide range of basic topics that sometimes get overlooked when teaching the new rider.
Bottom Line:
For any man out there who would like his girlfriend / wife / significant other to share the sport he loves with him, this is a great product! It provides instruction FOR women, BY women. Cheaper than sending the woman in your life to a mountain biking clinic, she'll be able to learn from one of the best and watch other "Regular Jane" riders following her lead.
I've been enjoying mtb riding with my man for 15 years. If I had a product like this from which to learn, I would have caught up to him much much sooner!
