Meet the Team — Andy Barlow
We’ve had a few changes to our team over the last six months so since it’s a new year, we thought we’d ask our coaches a few questions to find out a bit more about them.
First up, it’s boss man Andy Barlow, who most of you will already know:
What do you do for Dirt School?
I’m the full-time coach for Dirt School. I run the Borders College BASE technical sessions, I write most of the MBR magazine contributions, and I continue to work on and improve our syllabus. I also handle a lot of the boring behind the scenes stuff.
Tell us a bit about your background:
I rode bikes all my life, and I raced XC, BMX and Downhill in my teens. I used to work in bike shops — mostly in repairs, but I also taught evening classes in bike maintenance. By the time I started coaching for Dirt School I’d been teaching evening classes and running workshops for about ten years.
What do you like about coaching?
Seeing people improve! It’s so good to be able to share good technique with people and see how much they get back out of it. The first time someone absolutely sends a jump, or when they say “I should have done this years ago…” you know you’ve done a good job.
What do you do with your free time?
I ride motorbikes, road bikes and run. I occasionally do yoga and climb. The road bike has been the main focus in the last couple of years though. Just training for epic days or stupid challenges. My wife rides as well, and it’s great to ride down from Edinburgh for a coffee at No1 in Innerleithen or over to Steampunk in North Berwick with her. She’s fitter than me! And can definitely drink more coffee.
What kind of riding do you like? Any particular trails to mention?
I love dry, steep, technical trails — and there are loads of them in the Tweed Valley. Forbidden Fruit, Repeat Offender, The Boundary Trail. Even Berm Baby Berm is good when you take on all the challenges and try and test yourself.
What would the other coaches say about you?
That my jokes are terrible. Whenever I try and tell one in front of a group, they all just laugh at me. boom boom.
It’s true — his jokes really are awful ;-)
Do you have any goals for the year?
Yeah, I’ve got a few actually. At the start of the year it’s to ride big days on my road bike in Gran Canaria. I want to be back on a motorbike later this year as well. And you never know, I might even make a return to racing enduro!
What are you currently working on in your own riding?
Stable body position, keeping my upper body low and forwards through getting stronger, and balancing/changing direction with my hips and knees. I learned how to ride in the 90’s so I have a lot of bad habits that I have to sort out.
How many times do you think you have ridden the Glentress freeride park jumps?
I’ve learned how to table pretty good the wrong way (on my bad side) because of the first hip up there that turns to the left. That’s how many times I’ve ridden it! Haha.
