{"id":157754,"date":"2025-09-24T15:47:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T15:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/157754\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T15:47:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T15:47:13","slug":"bernard-kerr-taught-me-how-to-jump-a-mtb-and-it-was-terrifying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/157754\/","title":{"rendered":"Bernard Kerr taught me how to jump a MTB \u2013 and it was terrifying"},"content":{"rendered":"

Getting serious
\n\"MountainBK couldn\u2019t resist sending the rest of the A470 Line, even in the wind. Andy Lloyd \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

Lunch mostly digested, we head back to the top of the hill and the start of the A470 Line, which is filled with jumps from top to bottom.<\/p>\n

While the main line is almost exclusively tabletops, the track starts with a qualifier gap jump, which isn\u2019t massive, but makes me stop and think. To prove how mellow it is, BK again 50-50s it.<\/p>\n

As I line up to have a shot, an uplift van arrives and a load of riders congregate on the start mound.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t really want an audience, but when there\u2019s Bernard Kerr, a videographer and a photographer with you, it\u2019s hard to be inconspicuous.<\/p>\n

Left with little choice, I clip in, pedal a few strokes, mumble \u201cbaddadan\u201d and look at the trees.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, BK\u2019s tips work and I float over the top, barely feel the landing and rattle round the next berm.<\/p>\n

\"MountainEven over the smallest tables, BK has steeze for days. Andy Lloyd \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

Phew! I push back to the top and hit it again, to prove to myself it wasn\u2019t a fluke. Maybe I am ready for the A470 Line\u2026<\/p>\n

Neither BK nor I have ridden the line before, but Max assures us it\u2019s all tables from here on in, so we speed down, looking for the next spot to film.<\/p>\n

What Max hasn\u2019t mentioned is the slightly kicky rollers, which need to be doubled if ridden at speed.<\/p>\n

Somehow, my bike rolls with the punches as I bucking-bronco over them.<\/p>\n

Once it has left the woods, the A470 Line zig-zags down the hillside in a series of straighter runs, each of which has half-a-dozen jumps, growing ever longer, with the lowest jumps really rather big.<\/p>\n

Although we\u2019ve picked a day with good weather, there\u2019s a bit of wind. I ask BK how he deals with crosswinds when hitting the jumps at races.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou kind of have to lean into it, letting the wind push you back on line by the time you land,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"MountainTom was hoping for some words of encouragement here. Andy Lloyd \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

This feels like a little above my pay grade. We decide that the wind is acceptable on the top set of jumps, but maybe the lower ones, where more speed and height are needed, are a little too exposed just now. This suits me down to the ground.<\/p>\n

Bernard gives me a little pep talk, off camera. While we\u2019ve got jobs to do \u2013 a video and feature to create, and a brand to represent \u2013 he\u2019s genuine in his desire to help improve my jumping skills, and I don\u2019t feel patronised at any point in the day, even though I\u2019ve been riding mountain bikes for two-thirds of my life.<\/p>\n

I follow him into the line to gauge the correct speed, and while he pops, I almost flop, messing up the first jump, which is more roller than table.<\/p>\n

Then we repeat, with him behind me. I follow the same process as on Popty Ping, but instead of the trees, I stare at the A470 Line\u2019s windsock \u2013 is it hanging low or gusting as I approach? With the sock remaining still, I\u2019m over the first jump, then the second.<\/p>\n

\"TwoOut of the corner, eyes on the windsock and hold on. Andy Lloyd \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

A quick pedal and I just make the third, while I come up short on the fourth.<\/p>\n

We push carefully up the edge of the track, watching for other riders, and there\u2019s time for another chat at the top while Max and Andy reposition and wait for the wind to calm down.<\/p>\n

Then in we go, through the corner, eyes on the sock and then on the trees. Jump one is good, two feels better, three flows and then four disappears under my wheels.<\/p>\n

I bump onto the top of the fifth and, with (what feels like) some style, hop off into the downslope. I\u2019m buzzing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getting serious BK couldn\u2019t resist sending the rest of the A470 Line, even in the wind. Andy Lloyd…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157755,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-157754","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}