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I’m going to talk about building confidence on the trail to help you tackle new features. I am also going to talk about riding solo or in a group, and things to consider for each ride.

Building confidence on the trail

Riding a bike can be scary sometimes. Especially when you are considering a feature or maybe just getting your wheels off the ground. I am sure you have seen some videos of pros riding huge features, and making it look easy. My feature video of the week is just that. Just remember, those two were once beginners too, and look at them now.

Have you ever heard the expression, go slow to go fast? The idea is that you go slow enough to ensure you cover every detail, and limit the possibility of a mistake. In the end that will be faster than making a mistake because you were going too fast. The same philosophy can be applied to building skills and confidence on a bike. Start small and take it slow.

When I started riding at downhill parks in my mid 40’s I have a few things working in my favor. At that point I had about 20 years trail riding experience. I had a solid skill base, but little to no jumping experience. Trail systems when I was learning didn’t have skills parks and jump lines. I was also riding with my teenage son. He had spent a fair amount of time on a bike, and he had some trick skills from riding scooters in a skate parks. We each had about the same amount of bike park skills which was basically zero. Even with vastly different amount of time on the bike and overall skills, we both progressed at about the same pace.

Start small and take it slow. I have said this before, and I will say it again. I have hit some really big features, but had I hit them before I was ready I could have really hurt myself. Ideally when you hit something new, you want it to feel like it wasn’t a big deal. In other words, you skill has progressed enough that a feature like the one you just did in now in your wheelhouse.

The very first drop I hit was about 18” high. It felt pretty big to me at the time, but it was small enough that I could make a mistake and still ride away. If I did go down it would have been a pretty minor fall. I was able to experiment with riding off the drop vs. bunny hopping off the end. I discovered that bunny hopping off the end usually ended on a good two wheel landing. Just riding off could have my front wheel coming down way too early if it wasn’t done perfectly. I employ the same approach when I start working on any new feature. I also try to watch other people who are more skilled than I am ride the feature to see how they do it. Repetition is also a key here. You can see what works, and more importantly what doesn’t. You can make mistakes, and still ride away on smaller features. Not so much on bigger stuff. Low consequence mistakes are learning experiences

You can apply this same principal to almost anything when trail riding too. Whether you are trying to clean the rock garden, or get over the big log over, go slow, be deliberate, learn from failures, and keep sessioning it until you get(or at least make progress). A lot of small local advocacy groups and clubs will offer skills days or skills rides. Take advantage of those opportunities. Riding is fun. Being able to ride fast, clean rock gardens, hit jumps, drops etc. is even better.

Bike I’m Eyeing: Haro Greer LTD 2

Riding Solo or with a Group?

Do you ride solo or with a group? Maybe you are new to riding, and you’re not sure exactly what you want to do. Hopefully this section will help you figure it out.

I ride whenever I can. Sometimes I ride with friends, and other times I ride solo. There are merits to both, and enjoy riding both ways. All that said, if given the choice I will always ride with friends.

Riding solo is nice for a few reasons. You don’t need to decide where you are going to ride until you are ready to leave. There are days where I am planning on riding X trail system, and at the last minute I get an urge to ride somewhere else, I can make a last minute change. I can also ride at whatever pace I see fit. If I feel like hammering, I can, or if I am feeling lazy I can have a casual cruise. You can spend some time sessioning a feature without worrying about holding someone else up. I also tend to encounter more wildlife when I am riding by myself.

There are a few disadvantages to riding solo. The first and most important one is safety. If you go down when you are alone, you are solely responsible for getting yourself out of the woods. Riding solo you also need to carry everything you need should you encounter a mechanical. There are times that I have gotten out of the woods because a friend had something I needed. I mentioned above that you can ride your own pace which is nice, but I also find myself not pushing as hard when solo. Pushing on each ride is how you develop a solid fitness base. You have no one to talk to, and no one to see what you did. Maybe you cleaned a technical climb that gives you fits, and there is no one to give you that high five.

Riding with a group is great. A big part of the reason I ride is to clown around with my friends in the woods. I met most of my friends through riding. We all have a single goal of having fun in the woods while getting some exercise. As long as someone you are with knows the trails you can ride someplace new without getting lost. It can also change your perception for a certain trail system. If someone else is leading you can ride a route you don’t normally do, or even just riding a trail in the opposite direction that you normally do can make it feel like a new trail. If people are more skilled than you, you can watch the way they ride to improve your own skills. Should you encounter a mechanical either you or someone you are with will have the tools and skills to keep you rolling.

Riding with a group can have drawbacks too. Having a set time and location can be great if that works with your schedule or where you want to ride. If you are late to the discussion you might not have any input at all. It’s certainly not the end of the world, but you might have wanted to ride trail X and the group wants to ride trail Y. You also need to build in extra time with a group ride. Riding with more than a few people will take longer. People show up late, ride a little slower, take a wrong turn etc. With more people there is a greater opportunity for things to go wrong. Riding with a group you always needs to plan and ride to the lowest common denominator if you want everyone to have fun and not get in over their heads. For the same reason you might end up walking something you normally ride because the person in front of you wasn’t able to ride it. In the end I like riding both ways, but if it’s up to me I will always ride with friends.

Did you miss some of the previous issues? Here are some of the most popular ones:

• The e-bike issue.

• Eye Protection, and replace or upgrade a worn part?

• Helmets and Night Riding

What am I reading?

My favorite stuff:

The recommendations below include affiliate links, if you make a purchase I’ll receive a very small commission.

Video of the week

One Lap with Henri Kiefer folllwing Troy Brosnan

Also, based on some inquiries, I’m now offering Bike Consultations, you can find more information about it here. You can also get a bike consultation by referring friends.