About Chocolate Foot
Chocolate Foot's founding instructors are Fiona Dick and Joe Ward. With three decades of mountain biking under their belts and being PMBIA and AusCycling certified skills coaches, they've been helping people learn to ride and improve their MTB skills since 2005. Along with team member Giovanna (Gio) Grayson-March, and a stellar crew of junior assistant instructors, they are committed to ensuring you have a productive and fun day on the bike, and look forward to helping you ride with more skill and confidence.
About Fi
When I started mountain biking back in 1996 I learnt the hard way – by trial and error … and a lot of persistence. There were no clinics or online resources in those days. I could see how much need there was for learning new skills from a better source than mates or a partner. My coaching experience began in 2002 whilst working at Thredbo alpine resort, coaching and guiding on the legendary Cannonball downhill track.
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My happy place is on two wheels, I love the thrill of speed and getting air but equally love technical climbs - I get the biggest stoke from not getting off and walking when the going gets tricky – both up and down hill. Over the years I've raced downhill, cross-country, enduro, and even took part in a trials competition once! Mountain biking has connected me to an amazing community of people, and there's few things I enjoy more than riding with friends and exploring new trails.
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While I’m passionate about riding my bike in as many places and as much as possible, I’m super passionate about getting more people on bikes and becoming stoked on MTB!
About Joe
While I’ve always ridden a bike I was never one of those naturally talented riders who pulled wheelies for years and had style for miles, so I definitely understand the value of getting coaching as well as the value of persistence and practice to get your skills up to where you want them. Through the course of over 35 years of riding and racing I’ve gained lots of insights from a range of different riders and educators which I really enjoy passing on through our group clinics and one-on-one coaching sessions.
Off the bike, my day job is producing video content for TV and web, featuring (unsurprisingly) lots of cycling, including five editions of the Tour de France for SBS, twelve editions of the National MTB Championships for MTBA and live-streaming National level road cycling events.
About Gio
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You can learn anything at any age. I was in my forties before my 3 kids had all started school and I became curious about the smiling mountain bikers riding past my house on Manly Dam. So I booked myself some mountain bike lessons with a local mountain bike instructor, loved it, got hooked and now enjoy riding as often as I can with like-minded friends.
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Mountain biking means different things to different people. For instance, some folks like long, grinding firetrail adventures and others like downhill flow with berms and jumps along the way. Me, I love janky rock gardens and technical downhill trails that spark my adrenaline.
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As a qualified mountain bike instructor I take great joy and pride in helping others achieve their personal riding goals. Sharing the awesome vibe of mountain biking is one of the most rewarding aspects of working with Chocolate Foot.
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When I’m not working with Chocolate Foot, I hang with my husband and 3 active kids. I’m also a Learn to Swim & Water Safety Instructor at the local swimming pool. My other hobbies include trail running and strength training. I guess you could say that I like to live life to its fullest.
About Rob
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I started mountain biking 14 years ago and bikes were drastically different back then. My first cross country bike, with its old school geometry and super steep head tube angle, taught me a few lessons - quite often the hard way.
In 2014 I completed my Mountain Bike, Trail Leader Award qualification with CTC in the UK, along with First Aid in the Outdoors. This enabled me to spend 6 months riding through Europe, including a full Summer in the French / Swiss Alps where I rode the Haute Route. More recently I completed my Professional Mountain Bike Instructor Association (PMBI) – Level One, along with the relevant First Aid, emergency life support and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Mountain Biking is exploding worldwide. We are lucky to have an amazing network of local trails, attracting some great riders and trail builders. High quality skills coaching enables riders of all abilities to enjoy the trails without having to learn things the hard way.
When I'm not coaching with Chocolate Foot I can be found behind a desk doing Graphic Design for BikesOnline. I feel very fortunate to be able to spend so much time around mountain bikes!
