Mountain Bike Clinic in Marin

www.mountainbikingmarin.com

"I had a superb private instruction with Celia.  She taught me a variety of key technical skills including tactics for steep descents, tight switchbacks, manuals.  Equally important, she gave me great insights into mental techniques, which are a critical component of mountain biking especially in challenging or new terrain.  Overall, she offers very helpful instruction, and I would encourage riders of all levels to work with Celia."  - Greg

 

Mountain Biking and a Happy Husband

"Thank you so much for teaching me some good bike tricks. My husband (Chris) has been super excited because I gained confidence and I ride better. We have mountain biked in Nevada City, Tahoe, and in Marin for the past two weekends, and he was very impressed.

I think the changes you made to my bike set up helped a lot, and also the tricks we learned, while talking about the center of gravity of the bike.

Thank you so much for helping me be a better mountain biker!!"
- Lorena

www.mountainbikingmarin.com 

Photo by @Sally_K

Mountain Biking and Making Friends in Marin

What is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of our vacation in California… it is the mountain bike trip in Marin County with Celia. Actually we were extremely excited when we planned this even though we did not know what the tour would be like or if we have technical skills to survive.

To make a long story short, the 2 days that we did spent with Celia exceeded our expectations. From the very beginning we were sure that Celia was the right person for us. She is not only a great mountain biker but she also knows this region extremely well and gives you the confidence that you need to jump into a new adventure.

Both days were extremely well planned by Celia. The first day at China Camp State Park was to experience the region and also to go through some technical skill lessons. The second day at Camp Tamarancho was more of a challenge on both, physical and mental strengths. But this is exactly what we like! We were looking for something that goes beyond what we did before to experience something new.

Thank you, Celia… it did work for us and we definitely made some great steps to improve our mountain biking skills. 

Sounds like a tough two days… and yes, it was exhausting but it was also a lot of fun. And the beer after an exhausting mountain bike trip was just what we needed. We are Germans with quite some experience when it comes to taste of beer… and to be honest, the local beer from True North in San Anselmo, Marin County can definitely keep up with German beer! J

We are extremely thankful that we had the chance to meet Celia and Sally and to have two great mountain bike tours in beautiful Marin County.

Kerstin and Birgit   

Mountain Biking in Marin, China Camp

 

Kim and Stuart mountain biking and having fun in China Camp.

www.MountainBikingmarin.com

Photo of China Camp sign from @MarinMommies

A Day of Mountain Biking in the San Francisco Bay Area

Early into 2013, my now fiance and I had been planning to visit San Francisco on our way back from the UK. This gave me the great idea of allowing my fiance a day to herself pampering in San Fran which meant I had to occupy myself and what better way than a day of mountain biking.  I searched the web and found Mountain Biking Marin. From the first email from Celia to the final beer from the local craft Marin Brewery at Larkspur after the riding day, I knew this was the right choice.

Mountain Biking Marin was able to offer me a complete variety of riding in all types of terrain and ability.  Arranged the hire of my bike from Sunshine Bicycles which is where we first met and started our ride. I opted for a one-on-one guided mountain bike tour 25-30kms 3-4hrs+/-.

We headed towards Tamarancho which was a circular loop and some good climbing through switchbacks etc, good way to get the blood pumping and settle into the bike, my first 29er. Along the way we stopped at various points for a clinic now and then which was great, Celia is very knowledgeable and encouraging, not only did I have a great ride but learned a few things too.

After every ascent there is always a great descent and this was no exception through a reasonably fast paced rock garden with great views over the San Fran Bay. From some more climbing and on to a flow track which descended 100mts in elevation, this was AWESOME and a great reward for the previous 20 minuets of uphill switchbacks. Once back to the top of the flow track we cruised at a reasonable pace on some fire roads, single track and back into Fairfax. The ride and guided tour was more than I expected and of great value for the money.

After handing back the bike with huge smiles, I was off to the ferry terminal but not before stopping for a well earned specialty Mt. Tam Pale Ale at Marin Brewing Co. with Celia before catching the ferry back across the bay to reality, well as much reality as you get when you are still on a great holiday!


Thank you Celia, Mountain Biking Marin and Sunshine Bicycles.

Marty, New Zealand


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Another Succesful Clinic at Northstar, Tahoe, California

Mountain Biking Marin had another successful clinic at Northstar. Here is the testimonial of a very satisfied customer, Kristy DeCoursey:

Over the past 2 years, Northstar has been high in my sites of places I was really really excited and stoked to say the least, to check out! I mean downhill awesomeness without having to pedal to the top to ride it! I'm in! First time I went with friends all of us newbies to "DH" riding so we rode our full suspension cross country bikes. A few runs into the awe inspiring park, one of us crashed pretty bad, resulting in broken glasses and deeply "scraped" arm, hip and leg. Needless to say the "Epic Day" of "Riding Northstar" was over.

Still with the bug in me about a year later I went again for the second time with one of the same newbie buddies. This second time I rented a DH bike at Northstar and they also provided me with a full face helmet, pads and body armour. My buddy had bought a bike, so we were all set this time! Well 1 - 1/2 runs into another "Epic Day" of "Riding Northstar", my buddy crashed (face planted) on Livewire and got a concussion, we were AGAIN done!

So I talked to Celia Graterol of Mountain Biking Marin and she said some things that she does when she rides there that I hadn't even thought of and also she backed me up with some things I had thought of. She said I should go up with her for a day, so 2 weeks later I went to Northstar for the third time, on August 16th 2013 we did it. And I can finally say I had an "EPIC DAY" of "RIDING NORTHSTAR!" I had a full fun fun fun and safe day of riding and now feel much much more confident and better rider as I always do when I ride with Celia, she is not only a great great rider but an excellent teacher. Not all great riders are good teachers, that is for sure! I still have the bug in me and now on a different level, CAN'T WAIT to go back again and again SOON!

Thank you, Thank you Celia I had a great day!

Birthday Bike Ride in Marin

For my 30th birthday present, I was offered a bike clinic to improve my bike skills. At the occasion of a trip in San Francisco in July (I live in France), I chose to do it in California, and I got in touch with Mountain Biking Marin.

It was perfect!

Celia taught me some tips, and I had the bike I wanted.

Since that day, I feel more confident and enjoy more my rides!

Pascal



Visit Mountain Biking Marin to learn more about our mountain bike clinics, tours and corporate events.
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Mountain bike tours and clinics in the improved Northstar

After several weeks hearing stories about the improved Northstar trails, I decided to bring some clients from the Bay Area to show them Tahoe's downhill riding.

The great rumors about Northstar were true! And as they continue to improve the trails, our Northstar will be our own Whistler right here in Tahoe.

New or improved obstacle transitions have been installed along several trails. The transitions have made smoother trails with better flow.

 

Many of the old table top jumps have been re-designed to better respond to the speed you build up by the steepness and length of the trail sections before the jumps.  I am particularly thrilled that many table tops have been flattened in the filled areas between the take off and the landing, eliminating gaps or the double bumps they used to have on the top. This allows for "progressive learning" when trying obstacles that require getting air. This means that if you are a shyer rider wanting to add air little by little, you can start by just rolling the jumps to get a feel of them, then hit the jumps fast enough to lift your front wheel or a bit faster to lift both wheels to land on the top flat area, to finally let the trail dictate the right speed you need to clear the jump and land in the smooth landing section. 
Here is a sample of the new jumps with the flattened top you now find in Northstar.

I am also thrilled with the new features on the Gipsy trail.  The wooden trails are super smooth and their berm design allows you to ride them at the right speed.  It does feel like a fun roller coaster! Below is one of the new features called the "Whale tail".  The feature design allows you to hit it at a slower speed to get the feeling of it or to hit it fast to get bigger air.  In the video below, Kristy was hitting this obstacle for the first time.  It only took her watching me do it after discussing how to ride it. There is even a railing on the right side to protect riders from falling off from the highest spot.  It is just amazingly safe and fun!

Mountain Bike to the Top of Mt. Tam

My wife and I were in Marin County for vacation and wanted to bike to the top of Mt. Tam and then descend. Luckily, we contacted Celia who made a simple adventure a super fun adventure. Had a blast from a ride point of view and a personal point of view.  Don’t spend time in Marin without spending time with Celia!
- Nathan and Ruth, Pioneer Power Solutions

Visit www.MountainBikingMarin.com for more information on mountain bike tours, corporate events and bike clinics in the Bay Area.



Photo credit: Maria Benet, MtTam365

A perfect day riding with Mountain Biking Marin

In September 2012, Fredik got in touch with Mountain Biking Marin. He wanted an all day adventure to ride as many Marin trails as possible.

We helped him out reserving his bike, set the logistics on where to meet and what to bring, and planned a great ride for him. We went for an awesome 4.5 hour ride he would have never done by himself.

After a few days he sent us an email saying "Thanks a lot for the awesome day on excellent trails around Marin. It was just fantastic and I will never forget". Fredik also said: "Its cool to spend a day with people you don't know from before when we have a lot of common interests. Enjoyed the after bike beer we had too."

Read about what Fredik has to say about the mountain bike tour in his blog post which also includes pictures and a movie http://fredrik76.wordpress.com/2012/09/21/a-perfect-day/

Riding in China Camp with Celia

Last November, Chris and Andreas contacted Mountain Biking Marin to set up a tour. We took care of all the logistics: transportation, bikes, route selection, guiding services. And they took care of the filming during the tour. Here is what they put together: https://vimeo.com/36227269

China Camp from Andreas Gnutzmann on Vimeo.

Another Successful Clinic!

Last Sunday August 17, Mountain Biking Marin had another successful downhill clinic focused on "air" techniques. Click on this link to read what one of the participants, Andy, posted on his blog about our fun day. Below is an email from another participant, Jason:

"Celia put on a jump clinic for me and my friend Andy, and invited Micheal Brill to help out to help out with the teaching. I'm useless at jumping so they really had their work cut out for them, but they stuck at it and by the end of the day I was far more confidant with getting both wheels off of the ground. My friend Andy (who was a little more advanced with the jumping to start with) came away hitting gaped doubles with style! It's two weeks later, I'm in Whistler, and the proof of their teaching is in the pudding of my riding, as they sit like spectral avatars on my shoulders guiding my technique. On my first day, and I write this testimonial to tell you that I've nailed more than a few 8-10 ft table tops with confidence and in comfort.. .but most of all with a massive grin on my face! Thank you Celia for putting on the clinic, and thanks to Mike for expert guidance through the air.. .you guys gave me the skills to make a great week into an awesome one!" 

~ Jason Spencer-Galsworthy

Intermediate and Advance Downhill Clinic

On Saturday December 11th, a group of 4 great riders (Andy, Meredith, David and Chris) signed up for our last downhill clinic of the year.  It was a great way to close Mountain Biking Marin's 2010 season year.  Brian and Celia were teaching the clinic supported by Michael from Reel Motion Sports who took great videos of the participants to create movies. Click here to watch the super fun group movie that Michael produced! Andy Proctor, one of the participants sent us an email saying: "Hey Celia: Thanks for putting on a great clinic last weekend. Such good fun. I can't wait for the next clinic! I've noticed a big difference in my riding since the clinic.  If things get steep and sketchy, where before I'd loose confidence and go over the bars, now I just relax and settle into it and cope".  Andy also documented the clinic in his personal blog so click here to see cool pictures and read a thorough description of what we did that day including riding gnarly and steep technical DH trails and getting air hitting drops and dirt jumps.  And here is the testimonial of David Hamasaki, another clinic participant: "Hi Celia and gang, just wanted to let you know I rode Solstice last night and those last "little" rock drops at the end [which] are usually a little sketchy for me... not this time! Got balanced, got my weight back, and rode right over them, was so surprised, had to go back and try again, yep, nailed it!".
(The picture in this blog was taken by Andy Proctor)

Increasing Safety in Your Rides

Here is a testimonial from John Monroe, who has taken several of Mountain Biking Marin private and group clinics.  John likes to take risks and do difficult moves during his rides and our clinics helped him become a safer biker even when riding technical trails.

"I often use the things that Celia, Jackie, and Brian talked about in our classes. And you know what, my medical bills have dropped considerably!"

John Monroe

Mountain Bike Downhill Private Clinic in Marin

"In continuation of my back to basics bike skills discipline, I started to look around at clinics. Google graciously pointed me to Celia Graterol's website.  After reading one glowing testimonial after another I decided to sign up. I wanted to join those beaming people who's MTB lives had been improved at the hands of this Marin legend. So, after an introductory chat over the phone we arranged to meet at China Camp for some drills and practice. This was to be a precursor to a more downhill intensive session at Pacifica.

Having recently done the Bikeskills downhill clinic at Northstar, I knew the leaps and bounds possible from spending time with the pro's. But having focused, one on one attention makes a big difference. Celia quickly assessed my ability and we rode appropriate trails. Taking me to the edge of my comfort zone to make progress, but never out of my league. So the whole experience was extremely satisfying and rewarding. I learned a lot. I'm already looking forward to the Pacifica session. In fact I bought a new full face helmet and body armor in anticipation!"

Andy Proctor
Proc Mountaing Biking

Mountain Biking in the Winter

I WILL be riding this rainy season! I’m lucky to have some trails in Pebble Beach near my house which stay in pretty good shape and are a nice mix of riding. I am still practicing the skills Celia taught me, and have gotten much better at The Manual; I regularly clear obstacles I couldn’t before. Thanks!

I was talking to my brother the other day about coming up to ride Tamarancho with him as soon as both our schedules calm down a bit. I told him you mentioned the great switchbacks there and there are very few around here on the Monterey Peninsula.

Hope to connect with you again sometime on the trails! Say HI to Jackie for me, too.

Dave Whipple

Mountain Bike Tour with Title Nine

Celia of Mountain Biking Marin organized a ride near Muir Beach for a group of us from Title Nine. We were a diverse set, some of us were road riders and others mountain bikers of fire roads with not much single-track experience. Celia brought us onto some amazing trails, with climbs that snaked back and forth through switchbacks up into the hills along the coast.

We were challenged in ways that we never imagined, and she coached us through. There were many challenges and obstacles that we would have never tried on our own but with Celia we were able to make them. She let us each decide if we wanted to try challenging sections and never made us feel bad if we wanted to walk a section. She was motivating and totally supportive. She is an AMAZINGLY experienced rider and seems to know every trail in Marin that exists (and some that don't).

Overall, it was an awesome afternoon – a complete blast of an adrenaline rush and I now have a ton more confidence in how to handle myself on the bike on all kinds of terrain! - Will K.

The Hot Mama Mountain Bike Clinic was a Success!

Thanks to all the Hot Mamas for the great clinic on Saturday, May 29th!

Below is a picture with almost everyone... we took the picture at the end of the clinic after some of the hot mamas were already gone. :-(

Here are some of the comments and emails we received after the clinic:

"Saturday's clinic was so fun.  Thank you for all you do to empower and strengthen women - in mind, body and spirit.  I will be in touch within the week to schedule another one on one instruction. Have a great day!"

"Christina: I am going to tell my husband to send you flowers 'cause I ended the day a more confident rider"

"Celia, The clinic was awesome.  I feel that I "got my groove back" and that mountain biking will again be a joy for me.  You are a skilled athlete and a talented instructor.  I also enjoyed Jackie and the other women that taught the clinic.  Sincere gratitude."

"Hi Celia, Thank you again for a great clinic.  I have to say your first clinic I took built my confidence up so much, I don't know if you remember I was a brand new to mountain biking and fell on a few switchbacks.  The second clinic has made another big advance in my riding skills. I rode Tamarancho the next day and practiced the moves you taught and felt I rode it the best I ever have...(made every switch back and went through the rock garden without dabbing). You are an amazing instructor.  I am recommending your clinics to all my friends!"

Visit Mountain Biking Marin for information
about upcoming Mountain Bike clinics.

Mark Pester (Texas), Mountain Biking in Marin

While out in Nor Cal I wanted to experience some mountain biking in the famous Marin County, birthplace of the sport. I was ready to ride Tamarancho and kick butt! Boy what a humbling experience when I was faced with the steepest, tightest switchbacks I've ever seen or attempted to ride right from the start. I was lucky to be riding with Celia whose experience and patience helped get me up (and down) the mountain.

Celia was able to teach me so much on our 3 hour tour of Tamarancho that I feel that when I return I can ride this area with much more confidence. Being a roadie who just recently decided to get back into mountain biking the knowledge gained from spending time with Celia will be put to good use as I practice on the limited trails I have back home.

Celia you are so fortunate to have such a beautiful area to ride right out of your back door. Thanks for sharing this with me and I look forward to returning and riding Tamarancho on my next trip out.

Visit Mountain Biking Marin for more information about tours and clinics.

Tricia and Scott mountain biking in Marin

Tricia and I continue riding 20-30 miles per week and are still completely hooked. Our fitness continues to improve and Tricia is really gaining speed. Last Saturday (12/19) we did a 20+  mile ride with our club.  Wednesday we did our weekly night ride on a trial that included many many switchbacks. We rode the trail out and back... so...we had to navigate all the switchbacks both uphill and downhill.  I cleaned everything expect one DH switchback and that was only a dab. 

Thank you again for all of your tips. We both thought you were very patient with us and you did a great job explaining things to us and breaking things into smaller steps.