Hi Emily! Good to see you back on the bike. I remember you from Trish Albert's email group, don't I?

All good advice from the other women. The only thing I'd add is make sure your tires aren't over-inflated. One of the biggest mistakes that roadies-turned-dirt-divas make is to put too much air in their tires. It's taken me three seasons of mtn biking to finally "get it." Once I started putting less air in my tires, my technical skills went way up. No more bouncing around on the trails. Just for kicks, try a ride with the minimum tire pressure and see how stable you feel. It's a good thing.