By Dani Huff – Bike Guide Training Program student at Whistler Adventure School
It may or may not come as a surprise to you, but one of the key components in becoming a bike guide is successfully completing the PMBI Level 1 Instructor Course. The two main criteria guiding companies will look for are a Wilderness First Responder Course and PMBI Level 1. Knowing this, WAS incorporated it into our Bike Guide Program course curriculum. I was looking forward to this course so I could put language to what I’m doing on the bike, fine tune my own skills, and coach others appropriately. Doing and teaching are very different skills, and I love walking away from this course with the capacity to now assess clients and coach them through progression on their bikes.
PMBI was a three day course held in the Lost Lake trail network in Whistler, BC. We did a lot of riding, learning, and then practice teaching. I was impressed by the amount of practice teaching we were able to do in the three days. This was not only a great way for our instructor to assess our coaching skills, but practicing all the information obtained through the course and homework expedited our learning process of instructing. For level one, we focused on the six basic skills of mountain biking:
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position and balance
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operation of controls
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terrain awareness
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direction control
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pressure control
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timing and coordination
Taking this course seamlessly transitioned me into my orientation day for guiding with local company, Arbutus Routes. Outside of a few company specific insights, orientation felt like a review session of PMBI, which was exactly how it should have felt. Going over meet and greets, bike safety checks, safety talks, and taking clients on trails suited for their skill set are all aspects derived from the PMBI structure. The ease with which I transitioned into orientation with a reputable bike company was fantastic. I would highly recommend taking the PMBI course if you are looking to become an instructor or a guide, or if you just want to further your biking and have more fun on the trails!