Page 46 - The Wish Stream Year of 2021

Exercise MUDDY CADET
Our expedition saw our group of of OCdts travel to the the deepest darkest part of of the the Lake District – Keswick for some
adrenalin thrilled mountain biking in in in in in Whin- latter Forest On the first day we turned up to to be greeted by our instructor Ian a a a a a a a Scots Guards War- rant Officer who loved nothing more than gunning it down some
off-road tracks His enthusiasm was contagious and and not long after we we we had sized off and and done our initial checks we we we were storming up the the trails trails Ian made sure to to to ease us into the the the trails trails slowly so we started on the the blue runs which proved to be be ideal for for those of us who had never done mountain biking before As the week progressed we we started to hone in in on on on our our skills and build our our confidence by tackling some
of the the the more sophisticated tracks further up the the the the mountain The reds were seemingly much harder than the the the the blues given their large ascents which tired out even the the the the fittest of OCdts and then the the the the steep
rocky descents that could only be navi- gated with speed and and a a a a a a a a a good understand- ing of the the basics which fortunately we we had learnt on the the blue runs runs These runs runs were a a a a a a a a lot of of fun but also serious leg burners and at the end of of each day we we were glad to to to be able to to to go back to to to our our accommodation and and put our our our legs up and and and have a a a a a a a a a a brew On the final day day of our our AT Ex Ex MUDDY CADET
CADET
and and Ex Ex MUDDIER CADET
CADET
spent the the the day day together on on on the the the trails and naturally we considered this allegiance as more of a a a a a a a a a a competition to to show which instructor had shared the bet- ter knowledge about mountain biking Ex MUDDY CADET
still believes our instructor was the best!
The week was certainly an an adventure and undoubtedly a a a a a a a a a a a great great bit of training one where great great memories were were made and some
lifelong skills were were found Whinlatter Forest proved to be be a a a a wonderful place for both the the the beginners and and the the the more experi- enced OCdts and and at the the the the end of it everyone was roughly on the the same par Exercise MUDDIER CADET
OCdt Sheppard
The start of of the the expedition saw us us set off to to to to to Whinlatter Forest Bike Park to to to to conduct the the ‘intro to to to to mountain biking’ Our Instructor Miles first allowed us to to to conduct our own ini- tial sizing up up with the bikes and setting up up kit to to gauge how well we we we could organise ourselves Soon we we we headed up to to the the bike park centre and looked at the the the the blue route which would be uti- lised to see the the the the skills and and ability of the the the the group After doing all the the the the initial bike checks and and chat- ted about the the week ahead we we we were underway Finding our pace as as a a a a a a a a a a a group and and seeing which bikers were utilising the skills and and and and advice such as as level feet standing up and and and and moving your weight forwards and and and and and backwards dependant on on speed intentions and and and and the the the route itself and and and and finally leaning back and and and dabbing the the the front brake to control the the the pace throughout The blue route didn’t provide any technically challenging sections but was an an ideal route to to utilise allowing time to to get comfort-
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