I would imagine that, at some point, I will have enough
mountain biking experience where the first few miles of the first trail ride of
the season don’t leave me twitching with nervousness. That point is getting closer but has not yet
arrived.
Last Sunday, JMac and I packed up the gear and drove down to Mohican for our first mountain bike ride of the season. It was also my first ride of the entire twenty-four mile loop as earlier attempts were cut short by time constraints. The weather could not have cooperated more perfectly. It had been dry for a couple of days and Sunday brought clear, blue skies with temperatures in the 70’s. There were no tough clothing decisions that morning such as hat or no hat, pants or leg warmers or exactly how many layers do I want to wear on top. It was shorts and short-sleeve jerseys the whole way, baby.
But as we started out, turning over the cranks those first few miles, it was back to mountain biking 101. And so I kept replaying all of the lessons I have learned over the last few years in my head.
1. Look twenty feet ahead, not at the ground immediately in front of you. This is probably the most helpful piece of advice I have been given for riding. Being in a position to anticipate the terrain allows you to go faster and avoid nasty surprises.
2. Trust your bike. After being on skinny wheels for so long, I initially feel a little uncertain hitting some loose rock, off camber roots or wet spots. But then I remember, oh yeah, I’m on a mountain bike with big fat tires and full suspension. I can roll over that.
3. Speed is your friend. Oh. I am so bad at this one. Use your momentum to gain traction over obstacles.
4. No overgripping. It’s wasted energy and makes your whole upper body hurt.
5. Don’t be afraid to get dirty. It’s just fun.
6. Concentrate. No multi-tasking. One of the cool things I like about mountain biking is one of my favorite things about climbing—it demands all of my attention. There is no thinking about that problem at work, what we’re having for dinner, a cure for cancer, nothing. Last summer I rode off a bridge wide enough to accommodate a Smart Car into a dry, rock-filled creekbed while contemplating what I needed to accomplish during the upcoming week. Don’t do that. It hurts and passersby look at you like the gumby you are.
7. But relax. You’re riding your bike, for heaven’s sake! Last weekend, after somehow not crashing through a series of sharp, loose, downhill turns, I finally popped off at a rock garden. Before jumping back on my bike, I took an extra second to take just a deep breath and regroup mentally. That’s all I needed to steady my nerves.
8. Yell Woo! Woo! on all of the alley oops. Because alley oops are so much fun. And isn’t fun what this is all about anyways?
Have a very fun week. And don’t forget about that nutrition—eat real food so you can live longer, better and have even more fun.