Brain-based training with Dr Kath Bicknell for riders who want more flow, sharper focus and faster progress
September offer: book an 80-minute Extended Brain Tune-Up session for the cost of a 50-minute session. Take advantage of more time to fine-tune your mental toolkit before your next ride!
Your mind does so much more thank you think it does on the trails
Most riders notice their mind when overthinking ruins an otherwise excellent ride. But your brain is also supporting you to ride well by actively scanning, predicting, planning, remembering, guiding your movement, choosing lines, and solving problems – at a lightening fast speed, while you’re riding. I teach riders and coaches to tap into this side of mountain biking: to build the mental skills that get the most out of your physical abilities.
My coaching is grounded in 20+ years of national-level racing and riding expertise, alongside original PhD and postdoctoral research on mountain biking and skilled performance processes. I help you overcome overthinking, build more control, find extra speed with less fatigue, and feel genuinely excited about what your mind and body can do.
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Expand what’s possible on the dirt
Mountain biking is where physical movement meets mental precision. I help you develop—and work with—your unique brain on the trails.
That means moving past guesswork, and tuning your attention to the specific cues and thought processes that let you ride with more intention, speed, consistency and enjoyment.
Whether you want to bust past a plateau in your riding or racing, re-find your flow after a break, conquer the overwhelm of early trail experiences, or better support your AuDHD brain, my goal isn’t to help you ‘think less’. It’s to help you use your brain on the trails in ways that are more beneficial.
Together we will build your sense of control, expand your real-time problem-solving, and sharpen your focus – dampening down anxiety and building a more robust mental toolkit you can use on the trails and off them.
Personalised strategies for overcoming mental blocks, decoding your unique processing style, unknotting trail blocks, improving performance and finding more flow. Individual online sessions, available worldwide.
From $130 AUD
A structured, low-fatigue framework to improve your focus, control and mental precision. Increase your efficiency and consistency, regulate overthinking and anxiety, maximise your physical performance and be more intentional in how you guide your movement on the bike.
$269 AUD
Bringing brain-based performance, adaptability under pressure, and cognitive resilience to sports clubs, workplaces and community groups. Learn research-backed strategies for overcoming challenges and reaching group goals with practical strategies you can apply straight away.
Keep expanding your skillset while you give your body a rest
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“One of Australia’s leading thinkers in sport and performance… Kath’s approach connects the mind and body in ways that transform how we ride, think and lead.”
Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland (DMBinS) program, 2025 Women in the Bike Industry Summit
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Anna Beck, editor, Australian Mountain Bike Magazine on the inaugural Sea Otter Australia Summit
“Kath brought electric enthusiasm to the stage while discussing how to harness brain power on the trails.”
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Workshop feedback, Hunter Mountain Bike Club
“Genuinely opens your mind to new strategies and unpacks your unconscious approach to obstacles.”
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Rethink thinking …..and all it enables you to do
Observations from the intersection of Performance Studies, Cognitive Science, and the continual joy of riding a mountain bike.
Join ‘The Cognitive Advantage’ newsletter for research-backed bike wisdom, stories with a point, and five mental strategies you can use next time you’re out enjoying the dirt.
Intelligent Action expands on Kath Bicknell’s research and teaching background in cognitive science, anthropology and performance studies, and her parallel history in sports journalism.
The aim? To encourage people at all levels in mountain biking to feel more proud and empowered by what their minds and bodies can do, and to increase the tools they have at their disposal to achieve that.
Located on Awabakal Country (Newcastle, NSW, Australia), approximately two hours north of Sydney, Kath is available as a live speaker and for tailored workshops.
Designed and led by Dr Kath Bicknell
