Mountain biking is one of the UK’s fastest growing sports and with good reason too. It is sociable, exhilarating, and addictive and keeps you fit and healthy.
At Ascent Sports all instructors are experienced riders and are qualified through the Scottish mountain bike leaders association (SMBLA). We have a vast knowledge of the trails in the mountainous areas of the UK and can take you on one to multi day trips, which will keep you grinning for weeks.
The ‘TCL’ is the core qualification for anyone wishing to lead groups of mountain bikers, especially youth groups, and to coach their development.
It covers a whole range of topics from the legal aspect of the award, personnel and group kit choice, group management, bike navigation, trailside repairs and basic skills coaching. There are restrictions to where you can lead with this qualification (altitude / distance from habitation / level of terrain) but for most outdoor centres and private leaders it is the benchmark qualification that makes biking safer and more enjoyable for all future clients.
After the training course has been completed and after short a consolidation period,
putting into practice what you have learnt and building up a logbook, you are eligible
to attend the one day assessment. As a nationally (and internationally) recognised
qualification, it is important that you have a reasonable level of fitness, personnel
bike skills and a bike in good working order. Registration with both SMBLA and British
Cycling are a pre-
The area we use for ‘TCL’ courses and beginner courses is in the Shropshire Hills, The Long Mynd (Welsh for Long Mountain) is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is a series of hills with steep gullies locally known as Batches. In fact Minton Batch is regularly featured in MBR and What Mountain Bike magazine as one of the best single track descents in the UK.
Pole Bank, the highest point of Long Mynd is 516 metres above sea level and on a good day Snowdon, Cadair Idris and the Brecon Beacons can easily be seen as can the Malvern hills to the south. There are however, many more equally excellent trails to explore and there are trails to suit everyone and every ability.
Cost of the TCL is £130pp and this includes two nights self catered accommodation in a Bunkhouse with full facilities.
Beginner Course
For the two day MTB beginner courses, forest tracks and easy graded singletrack are
areas we use for training purposes. Surrounded by stunning scenery and less technically
challenging routes, (although this doesn’t mean it will be any less fun) your qualified
coach will find areas to demonstrate and teach specific skills. Building confidence
on the bike and helping you to develop your skills we will cover such topics as balance,
ascending, descending, braking and cornering at speed as well as kit choice, bike
set-
Ideally, you should have a bike in good working order, although we have hire bikes available should this not be possible.
After a day on the bike, its back to the centre where we will watch video analysis of the day’s activity, this has proved to be a powerful coaching and learning tool. Group size is 1:6
Guided Weekend
Join us on one of these weekends and we will show you some of the best natural trails in the country. We use the Lake District and the Shropshire Hills( Long Mynd), as they offer superb trails and stunning views but contact us and we can design a bespoke trip for you. Cost is £130pp inc two nights accommodation,based on a minimum of four people.
January
21-
February
11-
25-
March
17-
April
14-
May
19-
June
9-
23-
July
21-
August
11-
25-
September
22-
October
20-
November
17-
Assessment Days
February
18th
April
22nd
May
27th
June
17th
August
26th
October
28th
November
25th
