When I'm not travelling the world in my Lear jet to one of my many VIP media junkets or getting paid mega bucks to torture test the latest bike products that I get for free, I'm riding my bike in little ol' NZ and spreading my love of trail riding to whoever I can. Apart from spouting shite about the latest mountainbike or associated product, I'm regularly found yelling at a group of riders about how to ride better.... enjoytheride.co.nz
Chris White showing Russ his Good Times wheelie action.
It's not just me being an ass, even though I have world class skills at this also... I love mountainbiking and I want others to love it too. I'm reasonably good at some of its disciplines (the ones involving shredding, not the ones involving high levels of fitness) and I've spent 32 years obsessing about improving those skills to compensate for that lack of fitness . I went about it the hard way... racing DH and crashing my brains out, getting angry and pushing myself some more. I tried riding with dudes faster than me...that only worked for about 5 seconds and then they were gone. I tried watching videos on my VCR (it's a 90's thing kids) but that didn't help with knowing what I myself was riding like like. I asked my fast mates...but they really had no idea how to put it into words. I even asked some pros... they just told me to piss off.
So I just soldiered on and gradually refined and progressed and along the way did my best to put those skills into words and drills to help the groups of riders I regularly guided on the trails in Morzine and Chamonix back at the beginning of this century.
Good Times Society founding member David Harkness whooping with joy at cleaning a technical rooty drop.
Fast forward to recent times and I now have a real job (i.e. they actually pay me money) with Joyride MTB Skills Courses backed by the world renowned
Professional Mountain Bike Instructors Association imparting those skills to people like you who make the wise decision to join a group to improve their riding.
Kiwis (especially males) seem very reluctant to hand over money to improve themselves. They would rather spend years of frustration, hurting themselves repeatedly in an effort to save a few bucks. Every single rider I have had through one of our courses has been stoked at the immediate improvement to their riding, not to mention the recognition of bad habits and new techniques put into easy-to-understand and practice drills, with plenty of homework to get things progressing at speed.
Richard Capie getting some skills to match his bike. This guy was shredding by lunchtime.
Not only do I help you get rad on your bike but I can also make you look cool while doing it. I'm talking the whole shebang...what to wear ( like how to make that bumbag accentuate your abs), how to position yourself on and off your bike (e.g. stand beside your bike with one foot on back wheel and elbow on knee and fist against jaw- go on, try it..wow don't you look rad!) and how to set your bike up right and talk about spring curve rates without other riders giggling behind your back... I'm so good I can make you look good in socks and sandals, even a bandanna (not included in the set course price).
After the success of the well established womens day and weekend camps "Diamonds in the Rough, Joyride have introduced a mens camp "The Good Times Society" where we get a bunch of top blokes together and spend the day or weekend talking bikes and set-up while riding drills and trail features with good food and craft beer thrown in the mix.
Me and my good buddy Russel Garlick (he's also my boss) have just set up a Good Times Society weekend in Rotorua the weekend of the 24-26th November. We'll be hosting a full weekend of FUN ON A BIKE and there are a few spots left if you care to join us. We will be staying at the infamous Southstar House right next to the Redwoods and eat posh cuisine cooked for us by our own chef while drinking a craft beer or three. We'll ride heaps of trails from the Southstar shuttles bus with Russ and myself making sure you're having fun, learning skills and getting the most from your bike and the trails. By the way, Russ is in no way similar to me...he has infinite patience and a calm manner and specialises in getting back to basics for those who aren't super confident.
We split into two groups so we can best cater for all levels of skill...comfortable for three plus hours on grade 3 trails is all we ask.
Chris White perfecting his body positioning on TTS trail with The Good Times Society.
Not convinced you need to improve your skills?...Interestingly the First Response Unit from the Rotorua MTB club gather data fom their patients and responders and found that people's perception of how best to prevent accidents was to improve their riding skills
So if you want to shred bigger, better, faster and with more style (and you like a bit of posh beer and lovely grub) and you'd like a weekend of adventure riding amazing trails with a group of old and new friends then have a gander at The Good Times Society
Russel Garlick and myself will show you a good time and do all the running around for you so all you have to do is RIDE!
If you girls are already feeling left out, then get into gear and get in Diamonds in the Rough , it's the same thing but with less sausages.
The camps are all about hanging out, learning new stuff and practising it, watching others "get it" and riding great trails with great people. A weekend of fun on a bike. Awesome.
These top blokes soon learnt the importance of The Good Times Society.... Thanks to Yeastie boys Beer.