Last weekend’s inaugural EPC MTB Skills Camp w/ Lee McCormack was a huge hit.

The twelve campers and staff had a blast ripping up the high desert trails near Fruita, Colorado on an amazing Spring weekend. With lots of sunshine and temperatures reaching the 80′s we couldn’t have asked for better weather. Arriving mid-day on Friday we hit the trails out at Rabbit Valley to dial in our riding positions and get a taste of the trails that many have not had much opportunity to get on yet this early in the year. The Western Rim Trail was in great condition and the views along the rim were as amazing as ever! Dinner was at Hot Tomato’s in Fruita and campers enjoyed some great salads, pizza, and beer on the patio.

Saturday was skills day. Campers were up early for breakfast at the hotel, then suiting up and heading to the Fruita Bike Park to meet up with Lee McCormack. Lee is the man when it comes to learning how to ‘drive your bike’. Lee spent over 4 hours with the group going through many technical details of the ‘right way’ to position yourself on the bike, how to ‘drive the bike’ as opposed to just simply ‘riding the bike’, how to brake effectively, how to turn a corner while maintaining as much speed as possible, ‘zero calorie’ passing techniques, how to ‘work the trail’ and apply pump to gain ‘free speed’ and much, much more! After a lunch break and coffee at Aspen Street Coffee Co in Fruita, the group was headed back out for an afternoon of riding at the “18 Road Trails”.  Lee took the group up and down many of the trails, stopping to ‘session’ some of the more technical turns, rocks, drops, troughs, and transitions along the route.

Every rider had the opportunity to put their morning skills practice to work on real trail!

Amazingly eye-opening and fun! There is no doubt in saying that every participant came away from the day having learned several new things and can now look at riding in an entirely new light of enjoyment and technical proficiency. Saturday night was spent relaxing around a campfire, enjoying some good ‘cook out’ foods and adult beverages, rehousing the days learnings and experiences at the park and along the trail. The night was concluded with some quality marshmallow roasting and s’mores devouring.

Sunday it was up early again (maybe felt earlier than it was after the long day of riding and long night of fun!) and back out the trails for one last ride at the Loma Exit/Kokopelli Trails before calling it a weekend and heading back to Denver. Everyone was able to put their new skills to work on the rocky, ledgy, flowy trails including Rustlers Loop, Mary’s Loop and the amazing Horsethief Bench. It was an incredible weekend of Blood, Sweat, & Beers (TM James Walsh)! We can’t wait until next year already to get after it again.

Weekends like these shows us that no matter how much we think we already know and how good we may think we are, there is still so much out there to learn and so many ways we can continue to improve.

To be able to do this with such a fun group of people, a great instructor, and in such a beautiful venue, we are lucky people and hope that more of you can join us in 2013 to make the second edition even better than the first!

You can view all of the images from the weekend on the EPC Multisport FaceBook Page     (please ‘LIKE’ us while you are there!)

Quick Update on the 2012 Spring MTB Skills Camp…

We have ONE (1) spot remaining for the EPC Mountain Bike Skills Camp w/ Lee McCormack, to be held March 30-April 1 in Fruita, Colorado!

Three days worth of riding and instruction on some of the best mountain bike trails in the WORLD can be yours. You’ll get a full day of instruction with professional skills coach & writer, Lee McCormack (www.leelikesbikes.com), sandwiched between two days of trail riding to further work on skills and have fun. Also planned are some fun dinners (including a campfire smorgasbord!) and hanging out with fellow dirt lovers throughout the weekend. You have hotel and camping options available amongst the group.

The schedule will look like this:

• Friday afternoon, group trail ride at the Rabbit Valley area. Everything from jeep roads to killer singletrack with incredible views overlooking the river, and riding on the amazing Western Rim Trail.
• Saturday is a double day. Skills instruction at the Fruita Bike Park with Lee McCormack. You’lllearn balance & proper position on the bike, how to lean & carve corners, as well as how to pump, manual, and clear obstacles withease. Learn to make the terrain work for you (rather than work you!). Then after a lunch break in town, we head out to the Road 18 trails(Bookcliffs) and put our new skills to practice on real trails! Lee will be there to guide us through real trail riding and continuing to improve our technical riding skills on trails like Kessel Run, Chutes N Ladders, Zippety Do Da and others. Amazing Day!
• Sunday it’s back out to the trails at the Mack exit for Kokopelli riding including Mary’s Loop, Horse Thief Bench and Steve’s Loop, before packing up and driving back home.

The camp is limited to ONLY 12 participants, and only 1 spot remains!

The cost is $175 per person (for the 6+ hours of instruction from Lee) PLUS your travel & food expenses. Most of us will be coming from the Denver area, so there will be plenty of carpooling options and hotel sharing capabilities to keep those extra costs to a minimum.

To sign up and secure your spot, get us your payment ASAP! Send it c/o EPC Multisport to 1753 S. Holland Street. Lakewood, CO 80232. Make checks payable to EPC or hand Kathy or Cody cash or check next time you see them. Don’t miss out.

This experience is not only going to make you a better, more confident, faster mountain bike rider, but also be a huge ton of fun!

Looking to improve your mountain biking skills before your race season begins? Want to drop tons of time off your bike split?

We’ve got just the thing for you: the first annual EPC Mountain Bike Skills Camp to be held March 30-April 1 in Fruita, Colorado!

We have three days worth of riding and instruction on some of the best mountain bike trails in the WORLD. You’ll get a full day of instruction with professional skills coach & writer, Lee McCormack (www.leelikesbikes.com), sandwiched between two days of trail riding to further work on skills and have fun.

The schedule will look like this:

Friday afternoon, group trail ride at the Rabbit Valley area. Everything from jeep roads to killer singletrack with incredible views overlooking the river, and riding on the amazing Western Rim Trail.

• Saturday is a double day. Skills instruction at the Fruita Bike Park with Lee McCormack. You’ll
• learn balance & proper position on the bike, how to lean & carve corners, as well as how to pump, manual, and clear obstacles with ease. Learn to make the terrain work for you (rather than work you!). Then after a lunch break in town, we head out to the Road 18 trails(Bookcliffs) and put our new skills to practice on real trails! Lee will be there to guide us through real trail riding and continuing to improve our technical riding skills on trails like Kessel Run, Chutes N Ladders, Zippety Do Da and others. Amazing Day!
• Sunday it’s back out to the trails at the Mack exit for Kokopelli riding including Mary’s Loop, Horse Thief Bench and Steve’s Loop, before packing up and driving back home.

The camp is limited to ONLY 12 participants, and since we released the news last week, we only have 6 spots remaining!

The cost is $175 per person (for the 6+ hours of instruction from Lee) PLUS your travel & food expenses. Most of us will be coming from the Denver area, so there will be plenty of carpooling options and hotel sharing capabilities to keep those extra costs to a minimum.

To sign up and secure your spot, get us your payment ASAP! Send it c/o EPC Multisport to 1753 S. Holland Street. Lakewood, CO 80232. Make checks payable to EPC or hand Kathy or Cody cash or check next time you see them. Don’t miss out.

This experience is not only going to make you a better, more confident, faster mountain bike rider, but also be a huge ton of fun!