I am now a licensed MTBer!

Be afraid. Be very afraid.
This is, of course, not an official "license" that they might take away from you if you make a mistake.

Nay, it's a course that runs at a bunch of bike stores around the country, led by qualified instructors.

We learned about 25 things, amongst them doing a "flip turn" with your bike when you're stuck in a trail*, what to do when braking hard so to make your wheel lock, how to get up&click in on an uphill, how to ride a steep downhill, and most "scarifying" but fun when done, how to get down a set of stairs, which were thankfully very shallow. No, wait, the downhill was the scarificatedest.

*that's standing with one foot clipped in. hahaha if you thought it was something truly fancy :-)

it sounds great! I need to find a course like that around here! there was one in the spring but I missed it- didn't even have a mountain bike at that time.
vickie

where are you?

I'm near st louis. I missed the alpine shop one this year. I put my name on a list for a class at rte 66 cycles in rolla, but haven't heard of any being scheduled yet.
vickie