Shows
DONUTS & BIKES: The Mountain Bike Coaching PodcastHow to corner, find the flow and make it feel rad!Want to get faster in corners? Maybe braking is the key.In this episode, we break down the real role brakes play in cornering and how better braking can actually help you go faster. Paul and Kristian dive deep into the skills, habits, and mindset you need to unlock more control and confidence on the trail.In this episode:Fitness check-in with Paul and KristianCorners, direction changes, forces & tractionGetting grip — how to make your tires track where you wantBraking myths (and why they’re holding you back)The variables: shape, surface, and...2025-06-181h 02DONUTS & BIKES: The Mountain Bike Coaching PodcastNeko Mulally – The Goal is the Same: How to Go Fastest from Start to FinishInterview with Neko Mulally – The Goal is the Same: How to Go Fastest from Start to FinishThis week, Kristian and Paul sit down with the one and only Neko Mulally — professional downhill racer, bike designer, commentator, and Team Owner of Frameworks Racing.Neko is a true powerhouse in the world of downhill mountain biking, and we were thrilled to catch up with him amidst his packed schedule. In this episode, we dive into everything from racing strategy and coaching insights to bike design, technique, and what it really takes to go f...2025-06-041h 17DONUTS & BIKES: The Mountain Bike Coaching PodcastDonut Hole 1: What can Mountain Bike Coaches Learn from Mountaineering Guides?Donut holes are the “missing piece” at the center of the pastry. Our Donut Hole “Mini-sodes” are short, bonus content that focus in on a single idea. This first one asks the question “what can mountain bike coaches learn from Mountaineering Guides?”In this field recording, Kristian sits down with Josh Whitmore, Apprentice Rock and Alpine Guide, and Certified Ice Climbing Guide with the American Mountain Guide Association. Josh also is owner and head Coach at The Mountain Bike Skills Factory and is a Mentor for the Global Syndicate of Mountain Bike Coaches. He also has a great donut...2025-05-2819 minDONUTS & BIKES: The Mountain Bike Coaching PodcastPerformance Factors & The Difference Between Pros vs JoesGetting better at mountain biking is all about performance. Often in mountain bike coaching, we focus on skills as a target to improve performance. While this approach may be effective in some cases, technical skills may not be the factor holding a rider back. We call these factors the performance factors, and they impact riders differently depending on their stage of development. In this episode, we dig into these factors, how they impact ordinary joes differently from pros, and how we as coaches can use these factors to increase performance.In the show, we discuss:Defining...2025-05-161h 28DONUTS & BIKES: The Mountain Bike Coaching PodcastCoaching vs. Instruction: The Next EvolutionAre mountain bike coaching and instructing the same thing? How are they similar? Why are the different? Does it matter? If so what does this mean for the mountain bike industry? In this episode Paul and Kristian take on this questions to discover how the answers impact the impact we have as coaches and instructors. In this show:Paul and Kristian explain the radio silence of the last yearWhat's coming up in season 4!An update on the Global Syndicate of Mountain Bike CoachesA historical perspective on mountain bike instructionHow focusing on p...2025-05-081h 11DONUTS & BIKES: The Mountain Bike Coaching PodcastCornering Part 3: How Rotation Can Help Accelerate PerformanceBerms, turns and cutties... cornering is rad so listen in to part 3 of our series on cornering to help get you 'learning ya turning'! Cornering can quickly become complicated due to the variety of skills, biomechanical movements, terrain configurations, and speeds. This episode aims to simplify the rotational component of cornering that can help intermediate and advanced riders drive the bike through corners. We start this week's episode with a quick chat about being inspired by older shredders from different sports and reviewing 1 year of Donuts & Bikes... and then we get stuck into c...2023-12-191h 04DONUTS & BIKES: The Mountain Bike Coaching PodcastEndos, Stoppies, Nose Manuals, Nose Pivots & Euro Turns: Are They Simple Tricks or Core Skill Builders?If you’ve ever wanted to nail down your endos, stoppies, nose manuals, nose pivots or euro turns, then this episode is for you! In this weeks episode we dig into why everyone should learn these tricks (maneuvers) and just how much they can transform your overall skills and riding, anywhere and everywhere. There's a number of different ways to teach these maneuvers, but listen in as we dig into some examples to help transform your riding or coaching... Friends with the front of the bikeDifference between maneuvers and skillsUsing maneuvers to develop and transform fundamental skills very eff...2023-11-281h 32DONUTS & BIKES: The Mountain Bike Coaching PodcastBecome a Better Rider or Coach by Listening To Your Inner Child & Different MindsetsAre adults just big kids? The answer, as always, is yes and no. Adults present some specific challenges in the way the learn as compared to kids. In this episode your hosts focus on three important ideas to help your understanding of how to coach adult riders: Connectedness, Language, and Mindsets. Here we dig into:Creating connections that foster trust How the coach is a guide through cognitive terrain as much as the physical terrainHow adults sometimes need to re-learn how to learnThe connection between language and performanceRemembering to have funHow to use p...2023-10-311h 14DONUTS & BIKES: The Mountain Bike Coaching PodcastRiding & Coaching into your 30's, 40's, and BeyondHow can we keep coaching and riding into old(er) age? In this episode, your hosts reveal that they are not youngsters, while also divulging a few clues on how they've managed to keep the stoke for riding and coaching over the decades. This discussion builds from the last episode and expands these ideas to adult mountain bikers. Listen in for details on: Adults vs kids – what are some differences in how they learn and how they ride?Riding and getting olderInspiration and ridingWhy learning as an adult is difficult Growth mindset and why this mattersHow how we thin...2023-10-171h 03DONUTS & BIKES: The Mountain Bike Coaching PodcastHow can we use Connectedness to better coach kids?Working with kids on bikes can provide some of the most rewarding moments for coaches. These times can also provide daunting challenges and seemingly endless frustration. In this episode, Paul and Kristian discuss some insights for successful youth coaching learned from over 20 years of practice. Topics this time include:Our backgrounds working with kidsThe power of ConnectionLearning as an act of admitting you don’t know somethingConnection as mechanism of trust and comfortablenessConnection as a function of the group dynamicThe role of the parent in coaching kidsConnection tool: Language, energy and confidenceConnection and goalsLabeling: what it is and ho...2023-10-031h 20
Trail EAffectKristian Jackson – G5 Trail Collective / Pisgah Grandfather District / Donuts & Bikes Podcast: Part Two #135Kristian Jackson – G5 Trail Collective / Pisgah Grandfather District / Donuts & Bikes Podcast: Part Two #135
Senior Lecturer, Recreation Management, Appalachian State University; Senior Course Conductor and Level 4 Coach, Professional Mountain Bike Instructor Association, Trail Boss, Rocky Knob Mountain Bike Park.
Source – Bio from Donuts & Bikes Podcast
Topics:
Kicking off Part Two with the G5 Trail Collective
Old Fort, NC
Heartbreak Ridge
Grant Writing
Star Gap
Heartbreak Ridge Extension
The Donuts & Bikes Podcast
PMBIA Level 4 Coach / Senior Trainer
Co-Host Paul Howard – Technical Director of the PMBIA
Skills should not be looked at as Absolut...2023-07-0455 minTrail EAffectKristian Jackson – G5 Trail Collective / Pisgah Grandfather District / Donuts & Bikes Podcast: Part Two #135Kristian Jackson – G5 Trail Collective / Pisgah Grandfather District / Donuts & Bikes Podcast: Part Two #135
Senior Lecturer, Recreation Management, Appalachian State University; Senior Course Conductor and Level 4 Coach, Professional Mountain Bike Instructor Association, Trail Boss, Rocky Knob Mountain Bike Park.
Source – Bio from Donuts & Bikes Podcast
Topics:
Kicking off Part Two with the G5 Trail Collective
Old Fort, NC
Heartbreak Ridge
Grant Writing
Star Gap
Heartbreak Ridge Extension
The Donuts & Bikes Podcast
PMBIA Level 4 Coach / Senior Trainer
Co-Host Paul Howard – Technical Director of the PMBIA
Skills should not be looked at as Absolut...2023-07-0455 minDONUTS & BIKES: The Mountain Bike Coaching PodcastHow to race and why everyone should give it a go!It's World Cup Season! Racing is back and we wanted to use this opportunity to discuss why lining up at a start gate is about so much more than wanting to stand on a podium. In this episode we explore the myriad of unseen benefits of racings for riders as well as some basic tips for "how to race."The show focuses on:Why people don't race and barriers to racingRacing cultureMotivations for racingThe importance of clarifying goalsFocusing on process over resultsCompetition: Moving from a win/lose mindset to effort/outcomeGetting ready for racing...2023-06-101h 05DONUTS & BIKES: The Mountain Bike Coaching PodcastCornering Part 2: Using Creativity to Build Your SkillsCornering is a perennial hot-topic for coaches, riders, You-Tubers, and even Podcasters. Why is it such a popular subject? Well, simply put, it’s one of the raddest things you can do on a bike. Being good at it involves a refined application of all the mountain biking skills – which is a daunting task for riders and coaches alike. In this episode, we revisit the topic of cornering. This time we take an angle to explore what might be holding us back from getting better at changing directions on our bikes and what we can do to enjoy...2023-05-171h 07DONUTS & BIKES: The Mountain Bike Coaching PodcastConfidence & Fear Part 2: Industry Panel!This week we continue the conversation and dig into this fascinating riding and coaching topic with some of the PMBIA's rad US Instructor Trainers.Shanna Powell, Meredith McFarland, and Harlan Price join us in a 1920's farmhouse on the edge of Dupont State Recreation Forest for our first in-person show. We put the coaches on the mics and ask them to discuss personal perspectives on confidence and fear. The result is an expansive and honest conversation about how our confidence gets challenged and how we work through it.As always, there are donuts. Perhaps many do...2023-05-031h 32