Yesterday was spent mountain biking in Kirkhill Forest near Aberdeen. I travelled down with Dan, from Boots n Paddles, who was doing some recce work for a group session he is running in a few weeks. We had a good blast around the, not so well sign-posted, tracks. Dan picked out some spots where he could do some bike skill coaching and selected a few routes he thought would work for the age of the children in the group. He also checked out the area for bush-craft activities which he is going to be doing as part of the session. There were signs up saying that open fires were not permitted. However, after a discussion with a forestry commission worker who was out collecting litter it seemed that it was okay for organised groups on the condition that they followed the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and left no trace.
It was a six-hour round-trip to get there and back so we only got a couple of hours on the bikes. The drive was good opportunity to catch up with Dan who I had worked with a few years ago. He seemed very enthused with his role at Boots n Paddles and is obviously super keen on his outdoor pursuits. Throughout the day Dan helped me out with a few pointers on my, rather rusty, bike skills and admitted that he found it hard not to go into coaching mode, a character flaw that I am sure a lot of teachers can sympathise with!
It was a six-hour round-trip to get there and back so we only got a couple of hours on the bikes. The drive was good opportunity to catch up with Dan who I had worked with a few years ago. He seemed very enthused with his role at Boots n Paddles and is obviously super keen on his outdoor pursuits. Throughout the day Dan helped me out with a few pointers on my, rather rusty, bike skills and admitted that he found it hard not to go into coaching mode, a character flaw that I am sure a lot of teachers can sympathise with!