It's never too late to go back to school

I've been mountain biking on and off (with some big chunks of "off" thrown in) for almost 20 years now.  The one thing that I have learned in that time, is that I still have a lot to learn about how to ride a mountain bike.  I was pretty much self taught on how to ride trails, and in the process picked up some bad habits and left some pretty big holes in my riding skill set.  I recently started working for REI, and when they made a free introduction to mountain biking course available to employees I jumped at the chance to hopefully fix some of those shortcomings.

First, a little introduction- REI offers a number of different classes through their Outdoor School program.  Anything from 2 hour in shop classes to day long, hand-on teaching is available for cycling, paddling, backpacking, outdoor photography, etc.  Our class yesterday was pretty much a full day out at Duthie Hill Park in Issaquah, WA.  REI provided bikes and helmets (if you wanted) and transportation to the park from their store in Issquah.  I have been eyeballing a new mountain bike for a while, so I opted to use one of the loaner bikes.  We were all hoping it would be one of the new bikes from Ghost that REI has just started carrying, but no luck, with most of us ending up on a 29er from REI's house brand Novarra.  I had been hoping to get some time in on a 29er, so this still worked out for me.

The class had 2 instructors, Kevin and Dave, with Kevin doing most of the instruction.  REI is starting to partner with IMBA for some of the MTB classes, and Kevin was certified as a level 2 instructor.

Our instructors- Kevin and Dave. photo by Paula Barrick

Everyone in the class had some previous cycling experience, with most of us having had at least some time riding trails.  With that in mind, Kevin started off by explaining some of the basic terms and concepts that we would use while going through the drills.  We rode through a series of cones, practicing being in "relaxed" or "ready" position, working on shifting our weight around on the bike and bike-body seperation.  Once we were done there, we tried applying what we learned by riding one of the "skinnies".

beginner "skinny" at Duthie Hill

All of the drills that we did led up to us getting to hit the trails for a quick ride before stopping for lunch.  This is where I got to see the payoff for what I had learned that morning.  I have always been a pretty mediocre bike handler, and have stayed a mediocre bike handler because I never bothered to learn how to best control the bike.  Most of the trails that I have ridden here in the Pacific Northwest are pretty twisty, with lots of berm sections to help you keep you speed through corners.  My previous lack of knowledge had me grabbing handfuls of brake as I came in to turns improperly and with poor body positioning (I tended to sit too upright, raising my center of gravity).  Applying some of what I had learned that morning, I found myself starting to sweep through these turns much more smoothly, being able to link the turns much more cleanly, and keeping a lot more speed as I exited the turn.  It was a blast!  I couldn't wait to get back out after lunch to ride some more.

After lunch, Kevin went back through some of what we learned that morning, and then looked to take it up a notch.  As  a way of demonstrating some of the importance of body position, and maintaining weight balance over the bike, they set each of us up with our front wheel placed on a picnic bench, and had us find our balance while standing on the pedals.

Finding the balance point on the bike. photo by Paula Barrick

I still have plenty to improve on, but after taking the class, I really felt like I had already made steps to being a better rider.  No matter your experience, sometimes it doesn't hurt to take a class to refresh the basics or get up to date with some of the latest techniques.

Everything old is new again

It's been foreeeevvvvveeeeerrr since I have posted to this thing.  Well, the times they are a changin'... new year, new city and hopefully a new life for this little corner of the webiverse.

Our move to Washington has been awesome so far and I really want to get some more of the outdoors shared with folks.  Facebook is great for some stuff, but other things I will want to post a little more on. Hopefully this will become the spot where I can share some of my adventures again.

That's it for now.  I've got some adventures in home repair to tend to.  Then, hopefully it's off for my first mtb ride here in the PNW.

(crossing fingers!)