Enjoying the tacky dirt on Corral trail. Photo: Jeff Glass
It may officially be ski season here (7 or so Tahoe resorts are open as of Thanksgiving Day), but mountain biking conditions are currently awesome. As a result, I’ve spent more time on dirt than snow this holiday weekend. This is a big deal, because those that know me know that I live for skiing. So this admission is borderline heretical.
Good trail conditions, just like good snow conditions, encourage me to push myself. I’ve found myself pushing more on the bike this autumn, thanks to intermittent storms that kept the trails tacky. Yet I don’t actively seek to improve my skills. I don’t go to workshops, or focus on re-riding a particular ‘problem’ until I master it, as other friends do. So this video, which I came across today, was inspiring on many levels. It made me think that maybe, just maybe, a clinic (or many) might help me get to the point where jumps and drops are tricks that become part of my repertoire, as opposed to just scaring the crap out of me as they do now.
If she can do it, I can too. Or so I hope.
musings from the mountains 