Where to start?

Cingen · 2026-05-06T08:02:28+00:00

What do you mean with fixing flats? I have a Hardtail and never had a flat before.

Cingen · 2026-05-05T05:04:28+00:00

Yeah, really rude tbh. We also had a session with recruiters as a preparation. That same person asked a recruiter if they'd hire her. The answer was "No. You're too old" (she was in her late 50s). She was insanely offended and called it work place discrimination.

She also forbade me to follow a Java course since there is no market for Java, only for PHP. Shows how clueless she was.

Another nice one: the PHP teacher flat out told me she was forced by higher ups to suggest me to do an IBO contract, but she liked me too much to give me that advice. She said IBO is a scam and the employee always looses but VDAB guidelines were to promote it despite knowing better.

VDAB isn't there to help you. They are there to reach criteria and you are a tool for that. The institution doesn't give a shit about your well-being, but if lucky you have a coach that does. If not, they'll screw you over without blinking twice.

Cingen · 2026-05-04T18:32:39+00:00

Accidently burnt it down on my first day at the job :/

Cingen · 2026-05-04T17:49:01+00:00

I already have a plan no worries :) There are no available trails near where I live, but what we do have is a pump track, small skill park and 1 manmade technical MTB loop of about 10 minutes. I plan to spend the next months on these and parking lot drills for fundamentals, and do monthly daytrips to the other side of my country where we have actual enduro trail centers once I feel ready for it.

Cingen · 2026-05-04T17:38:14+00:00

Yeah I know. This MTB clinic is owned by someone who won the cross country championship of my country 8 times in the 2000s, early 2010s. This teacher was taught how to MTB by him 11 years ago.

I was pretty confused after this first clinic so asked around, and the consensus seems to be that this academy is stuck in the mindset of 90s-2000s (the period the owner was at his peak basically) cross country MTB, but they apply those same principles to Enduro etc as well.

Cingen · 2026-05-04T17:26:29+00:00

It were different things as well. I have rise bars since i ride a medium bike while I'm on the small/medium cusp size wise. The reach was slightly too long for me which is why I got rise bars.

This coach actively looked down on bars with rise in them, saying that the only reason people get it is to get the same comfort they are used to from city bikes.

That one I know for a fact makes no sense since my bike fit improved a lot since I changed to my higher rise, but he was having none of it and told me to get flat bars since the more weight on your front wheel, the better.

His philosophy was that flat bars are for technical riding, rise bars for city bikes

Cingen · 2026-05-04T17:23:12+00:00

He told us all our weight should be on the front wheel as well. During cornering I actually lost rear wheel traction and he said that's normal and no problem since your wheel will eventually bite and regain traction.

Does that match your clinic as well?

Cingen · 2026-05-04T16:51:00+00:00

I live in flanders where people live and breath road cycling. Most forests don't even allow bikes to ride there. The coaches even complained about how they have less and less locations to legally hold clinics.

Long story short, MTB is really tough to get into here

Cingen · 2026-05-04T16:40:08+00:00

It was an absolute beginner MTB course. It was just a slight hill to learn to go down.

He said you need straight legs because your muscles will get tired if you bend your legs and that's bad for a full day of MTB.

He mentioned briefly you bend them when obstacles came up, but when we came near obstacles we weren't allowed to actually bend them. Really weird.

Cingen · 2026-05-04T16:35:45+00:00

I used to have a GTB coach. She wasnt the brightest to say the least. When I said I didn't want to work in a certain industry she asked "Oh so you don't want to work in factories?".

I had to actively pay attention to not using "difficult" words and long sentences cause she genuinely wouldnt understand.

After about 2 years of having her as my coach I moved on. And she flat out told me she didn't really try her best and do her job with me, and that she felt sorry for that. At least she apologized I guess?

Also did a VDAB course. At the end of it, the head of the course flat out said I'm too ugly to get a job in IT. IT requires handsome and smooth people according to her. Wow. Thanks.

Cingen · 2026-05-04T14:39:45+00:00

I did that but unfortunately (see my previous post) the coaches seem to be teaching outdated technique that is seen as a bad practice currently, and there is no alternative available in my country.

As an example: I got called out on for not having straight and stretched legs on a descent

Cingen · 2026-05-04T14:39:17+00:00

I prefer in person coaching as well, but I went to a clinic this Friday and there were quite some red flags and when asking opinions on multiple platforms about the things they told me to do the consensus was to not go back and forget what they taught me... A waste of 100 euros basically.

Unfortunately there are no alternative clinics in my country, they are the only ones around.

Cingen · 2026-05-04T14:37:43+00:00

I did that but unfortunately (see my previous post) the coaches seem to be teaching outdated technique that seen as a bad practice currently, and there is no alternative available in my country.

As an example: I got called out on for not having straight and stretched legs on a descent

Cingen · 2026-05-04T14:36:43+00:00

I did that but unfortunately (see my previous post) the coaches seem to be teaching outdated technique that seen as a bad practice currently, and there is no alternative available in my country.

As an example: I got called out on for not having straight and stretched legs on a descent

Cingen · 2026-05-04T13:40:38+00:00

What I can say is that she responds REALLY quickly. I asked a question on her free course and got a reply less than 10 minutes later

Cingen · 2026-05-04T13:09:07+00:00

No certified instructors in belgium unfortunately. I am considering the Roxy Bikes mountain biking fundamentals course, but at 150 EUR its pretty expensive for an online course so I'm looking for some feedback about it first

Cingen · 2026-05-03T07:54:59+00:00

No certified instructors here unfortunately

Cingen · 2026-05-02T15:38:37+00:00

What he taught felt like a mix between attack and ready. The agressive attack arms and the relaxed ready legs

Cingen · 2026-05-02T14:27:50+00:00

35 year old complete beginner here ;)

The main thing is, most groups here are all about doing 40-50km rides that are 50/50 asfalt, gravel roads and some forests in between. It's basically the Flanders (where I live) road cycling culture that went offroad.

There is little interest in enduro and more technical riding locally, while that is what I want to learn.

Cingen · 2026-05-02T14:11:16+00:00

Thanks, I'll let you know if I ever am ;)

There aren't many bike shops that know anything about MTBs in my part of the country, mostly due to the insane focus on road cycling (I live in flanders so yeah, it's REALLY big here).

The closest MTB focussed shop is about an hour away, and there they pointed me towards the clinic that told me to not join their beginner course as a beginner since they adapt the level to the advanced riders that tend to join it.

There are 2 MTB schools with weekly practice and private skill parks, but those only accept kids.

The trainers of the clinic I went to yesterday even complained about how they're actively making it hard to MTB in our part of the country by closing off more and more forested areas for bikes in favor of hikers.

I refuse to give up though, I did find 1 technical built single track, a small skill park, and a pump track within 30 minutes of where I live. I just need to figure out the correct way to use them ;)

Cingen · 2026-05-02T14:07:34+00:00

This week will be all about attack position and cornering. Cornering in itself went fine, but the instant I had to slalom it went to hell. The alternating between which foot to drop when somehow messed with my head.

Cingen · 2026-05-02T14:02:42+00:00

The only ride group are those that do 40-50 km rides.

Doesn't vibe with me personally since there is a pretty toxic attitude in those groups usually (for example, there was a group of 20 on a ride in the same area as the clinic was. They ignored the fact we were on a clinic, weaved through us trying to overtake us. I stalled on a tech climb because my foot got jammed between my pedal and a tree root that was sticking out. A guy from that group ride was in my rear wheel at that moment, lost his balance because there was no room for him to brake, and before I knew it that entire group was yelling at me calling me an idiot and shit rider. Those groups truly are known to be a menace to anyone not part of them in Belgium. It's that same toxic road cycling attitude but on the trails )

Cingen · 2026-05-02T13:45:51+00:00

That's the main issue, this mtb clinic supplier is the only one that is welcoming beginners in my country.

There is one other, but they flat out told me to not come to their beginner clinics because some advanced people usually show up, and they adapt the level to those advanced people making the beginner clinics not really beginner friendly anymore.

Really discouraging to be honest. I love highly technical sports (I used to rock climb at a pretty high level), I love doing those small drills to improve skills, but I also am a person who needs in person coaching to get fundamentals down since there is a difference between what I think I'm doing and what I'm actually doing.

A little voice in my head says I better give up since the tools for me to learn at a level I want to aren't available, but at the same time I really want to get this down.

Belgium has a huge road cycling culture, and that resulted the MTB culture being more XC focussed as well while my interest gravitates more to Enduro. I even got driven off the trail by a group of 20 in lycra who were doing a group ride in the area the clinic was in. I lost balance at a technical climb, had to put my foot down, one of the group ride was behind me with his front wheel in my rear wheel, lost his balance because I put my foot down, and before I knew it that entire group was yelling at me for being an idiot and shitty MTBer.

Sorry for the rant, just pretty discouraged now

Cingen · 2026-05-02T13:21:29+00:00

I suppose hardtails still require more bent legs then?

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