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I bought a 2009 Norco Atomik, a sturdy dinosaur of a downhill bicycle with a plush 200mm of travel up front. I started doing shuttles at Kinglake and it was all over: I was addicted. Since then I’ve branched out from downhill to XC, gravity enduro, even donning the lycra to try crit racing (spoiler alert: it hurts). I just love riding all the bikes. While I really love the challenge and thrill of racing, what I love most is making riding as playful as possible. This means incorporating skills and stunts whenever I can, and helping others to do the same.
In my most recent incarnation as Bike Shop Guy, I’ve been leading adventure rides for Year 9/10 students on school camp, and running skills sessions for Year 9 students at Silvan and local pump tracks (great spots for learning the fundamentals!).
ABOUT THE LOCAL BIKE COACH
Hi, I’m Andrew. I’m a certified AusCycling Mountain Bike Development Instructor (2022) and bikes are my life. I spent most of my time as a kid and teenager hanging out at the local skatepark on my rusty BMX - which it turns out is a really great foundation for building MTB skills! I used to spend hours trying to nail a particular trick, like the whiplash (footjam tail whip – it still gets me from time to time, that one…).
When I finished high school, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. I tried a few different things - an auto mechanic apprenticeship with a local garage, sound engineer (lots of late nights and black t-shirts) and environmental crew leader. While working weekends as a sound engineer, I had days off during the week and was looking for something to do.
Whether you want to:
- Learn how to jump
- Be more confident descending
- Corner smoother and faster
- Improve your race times
- Ride with less fear
- Pop a mono
…I can help!
I pride myself on tailoring my lessons to best suit the student(s). A big part of this is listening to you about your goals, and how you learn best. That’s why we’ll always start each lesson with a quick chat before we get stuck into the good stuff.
I’m excited to ride bikes with you!
