Learn with us - Manawatū Mountain Bike Club

On the bike

From beginner to expert, find the help you need to get on your bike.

Nail those basics at Thursday lessons

If you want to improve your mountain biking skills, you’re in the right place. MMBC has been offering free lessons for years and we’d love for you to come along. The sessions are open to riders from 5-105.

2025 lessons will run for six Thursday evenings from 16 October to 20 November (27 November is a make-up date in case of weather cancellation).

All lessons will be at Hardie Street Reserve (at the town side of the Fitzherbert Bridge).

Lessons are divided by age. On the first night, age group will be further divided by ability.

5–5.45pm for ages 5–12
6–7pm for ages 13-105

Lessons are free for MMBC members and $30 per person for non-members. Club membership is $35/year for an individual and $60/year for a family.

Registration for the 2025 session is open 11 Sep–6 Oct. Sessions will run for six Thursday evenings from 16 October to 20 November.

If you have any questions, email [email protected].

Coaching with Bryn

Bryn Dickerson of Fluid Lines Coaching offers coaching sessions for our members at least once a year. We will announce the dates as soon as we know them.

Sessions may be held at Arapuke MTB Park but location is subject to locations that best suit riders.

Keep an eye on the MMBC newsletter, Facebook and Instagram and check back here for more information.

Enquire now

Coaching with Chris

Chris Mildon of MTB Skills Clinics delivers progressive clinics to our members at least once a year. The dates for 2025 are 17–18 May. Click on the Enquire Now button to register.

All sessions are held at Arapuke MTB Park.

Keep an eye on the MMBC newsletter, Facebook and Instagram and check back here for more information.

Enquire now

funding

Financial support for riders

Are you a rider, coach, manager or official who will compete or participate at national or international events that are sanctioned by Cycling New Zealand and/or UCI or any other event or activity that involves competition at a high level? You can apply for financial support from MMBC.

SHOW ME MORE & APPLY

MMBC Youth Squad

Currently under development, the MMBC Youth Squad will aim to work with a small group of college-aged riders as they develop their skills. Squad members will be required to attend training camps and ride as a team(s). Calls for applicants will go out once a year. MMBC expects this to launch in 2026.

Applicants must be:

a girl or boy in Year 9 to 13 at school (under 18 years old).

looking to improve their riding skills for competition.

already actively competing in their chosen discipline at a regional/national level.

PMBIA Coach training

Sustaining a coaching crew is a fundamental step in MMBC’s commitment to develop beginning riders.

MMBC has teamed up with the Professional Mountain Bike Instructors Association (PMBIA) to provide coach training. Each year, MMBC determines how many new coaches the Club needs to meet our riders’ needs and how many current coaches may want to increase their coach training to the next level. The club provides financial support for coach training.

All of MMBC’s lead coaches have achieved at least Level 1 Instructor – Beginner Novice – certification and two of our coaches have also completed the PMBIA Kids Module. These volunteers –and their assistants – are the ones you’ll see at our evening sessions in October and November and often at Club Fun Days.

Off the bike

When you’re not riding,
there are plenty of bike-related activities to get stuck into.

Nutrition for Mountain Bikers – Fuel Smart, Ride Strong

Watch the replay of Vanessa Young’s engaging and practical nutrition session designed specifically for mountain bikers! Whether you’re new to the sport or a seasoned rider, this session provided the tools to ride stronger, recover faster, and feel better on and off the trails. In the first half, Vanessa covered everyday nutrition—why what you eat matters, understanding macronutrients, what to avoid, simple meal swaps, and easy meal ideas to help you fuel well without the fuss. The second half, she dove into sports nutrition for mountain bikers, including:

How your body uses energy and different energy systems
What to eat the week before a race
Race day nutrition tips
Hydration and gut health
Recovery nutrition
Key vitamins, minerals, and supplements
Fuelling strategies for different ride durations and intensities

Meet Your Nutrition Coach – Vanessa Young

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Vanessa Young is a qualified nutritionist with a Diploma in Nutrition and is currently completing her final year of a nutrition degree. As an enthusiastic mountain biker and runner, she knows what it takes to fuel performance and recovery. Vanessa currently supports clients at 360 Fitness, providing effective and simple nutrition advice to individuals and groups. She’s passionate about helping others make confident, sustainable food choices to support their training and lifestyle.

Nutrition workshop

Watch the workshop replay

Mindfulness for mountain bikers

You might be doing a great job training your body, but what are you doing for the top two inches? Mental strength and a good mindset can improve your riding just as much (or maybe more!) than that new bike you have your eye on. Learn techniques to help you build confidence, overcome fear and keep going even when it hurts. This is a must-do course for anyone who has ever sat on a bike.

Our mindfulness sessions are finished for now. Keep an eye out for the next one.

Yoga for mountain bikers

Would you like to recover more quickly from injuries? Would you like to be less likely to have an injury in the first place? Better flexibility through yoga and targeted stretching will not only help with those goals but will improve your movement on the bike and give you better posture (on and off the bike). This can’t be stressed enough: you don’t know how tight those hamstrings and hips are until you start to stretch them. Leave this workshop with a yoga/stretching routine designed specifically for mountain bikers by a mountain biker.

Our yoga sessions are finished for now. Keep an eye out for the next one.

Strength training for mountain bikers

You may have heard it before: train off the bike to be stronger on the bike. Why is that? Let’s face it, the stronger you are, the faster you can climb, the more quickly you can sprint and the more easily you can maneuver your bike around obstacles. Besides that, most people (cyclists included) are stronger on one side of their body than on the other. To top it off, most cycling moves tend to use just part of each movement range. Strength training can balance out your body while it builds stronger joints and bones. This workshop will focus on strength training for mountain bikers.

Our strength training sessions are finished for now. Keep an eye out for the next one!

Trailside Maintenance

Do you know how to keep your bike in prime condition? Do you know what to include in a pre-ride bike check? What psi works best for you? Do you know how to fix a flat and repair a chain? Do you know how to change a tyre? Do you know what tools to have in your toolkit and do you know how to use them?

If you answered no to any of those questions, be sure to sign up for our free trailside maintenance workshops for MMBC members.

Sam from ‘Sam’s Place’ (previously Crank It Cycles bike technician) will be running bike maintenance workshops to get you ready for spring riding. Keep an eye out here and on socials for dates and registration.

First Aid for mountain bikers

It’s bound to happen that either you or someone you’re riding with will get injured. Will you know what to do? This workshop will be presented by Peak Safety and is designed specifically for the kinds of accidents you’re most likely to come across while mountain biking. Participants will receive a first-aid certificate valid for two years for workplace requirements and NZQA Unit Standards.

PLEASE NOTE: MMBC will pay for the workshop (a $200 value) but attendees must pay the $25 NZQA fee if they want it. All attendees will be required to serve in a First Aid capacity at an MMBC event over the coming 12 months. You must be an MMBC member to attend.

MMBC also offers Pre-Hospital Emergency Care (PHEC) training to select members. Those successfully completing these courses serve in First Aid capacity at MMBC events.

Our first aid sessions are finished for now. Keep an eye out for the next one.

Improve your mountain biking

Have a look at Six Key Elements of MTB Training an on-line workshop delivered to MMBC members in 2022 by Matt Miller, MTB PHD. Matt dove further into how to get the most out of your biking time in 2023 with How to be a Better Mountain Biker.

The workshops were designed for all riders – whether or not you are aiming for an event or race. Be sure to watch the recordings on YouTube.