Last fall, as top world cup racers and PMBI Level 2 instructors, Chris and I were invited to a weekend of serious geeking out. Our friend and Whistler partner, Paul Howard of ZEP Techniques and creator of the PMBI(Professional Mountain Bike Instructor)certification asked us to be a part of developing the Level 3 Coaching Certification. It was a meeting of the minds and lots of shredding to be had in the Whistler Bike Park. The level 3 is less about learning how to teach technical skills on the bike and more about how to coach, mentor and develop a competitive athlete into becoming as great as they can be. As a self-coached rider/racer, I brought knowledge from years of trial and error and experience hoping to contribute to a program that might help newer racers get to the level I’m at in half the time. Chris also brought a heap of experience and skills from his background and everyone that attended brought invaluable information to the table. We got a lot out of the weekend, always new things to learn and ways to progress. We are proud to be a part of something that will help develop amazing athletes and make mountain biking even more awesome than it is. Ryan Kuhn tells more details about the brainstorm session on Pink Bike:  http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Professional-MTB-Coach-Certification-2012.html

Developing the PMBI Level 3, aka nerdfest in the early morning sun...

A little Crank It Up action...