I’m at Cwmcarn mountain biking centre in South Wales not to learn how to ride a bike – I did that 36 years ago, and I’ve ridden one round the world since – but to learn how to ride one better and faster.

My instructor is Rowan Sorrell, 27, a professional downhill racer. “When you first go skiing, you go to ski school,” he says, “but few people think they need mountain biking lessons. Our aim is to improve confidence and control by teaching the basics – bike set-up, body position, choosing lines and braking.”

Sorrell casts an eye over my bike: “Tyre pressure OK, suspension OK – 80 per cent of people don’t know how to set up suspension correctly – saddle height, we’ll lower it, and brakes, hmmm...” He explains how resetting the disc brake levers on the handlebar will give me more control.

As we head off on the Twrch cross-country trail, I receive tips on climbing – looking ahead, choosing the right gear and attacking steep sections. Above the forest, Sorrell spells out the cardinal rules of tearing downhill through trees on single-track: elbows and knees bent, standing tall over the centre of the bike, shifting the weight bias through the hips to corner, looking ahead and “feathering” the brakes into corners.

“We want clients to understand the techniques, not just apply them,” Sorrell says. Then we’re off, hammering down the mountain, trying to put it all into practice, without troubling the NHS.

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The details
For more information, visit www.dirtschool.co.uk, e-mail chris@dirtschool.co.uk or call 07736 321795