So this is my first real post, and I was hoping to get some input from other female mountain bikers out there.

A little background: I started mountain biking over two years ago shortly after meeting my mountain-bike-addict boyfriend. He was really cool about introducing me to it, and has never pushed me to ride. We started out on fire roads, and after he built me a new bike (Giant XTC hardtail), started doing easier mountain biking trails. The roads, with no obstacles, wide areas, and no rocks were fine. It was after that when we both realized I am a complete mountain biking wimp.

We ride about once a week when the weather is good. I do enjoy getting outside, going up to the mountains in the cooler air, and spending time with my boyfriend. For the last year or so we've been sticking to the same 2-3 (relatively easy) trails because he is reluctant to take me to anything else. Early on, he attempted to take me to some of his favorite trails and things didn't go well. I think he thought I would get the hang of mountain biking relatively quickly. He has been very patient and instructive and tries to explain to me how to get over obstacles (rocks, logs, waterbars), crank uphill, and go down steep sections. But still, I end up walking quite a bit. I get to a section of rocks, even little ones, and if I can't go around them on the trail, I get off the bike and walk it over. If the trail is steep, I panic and get off and walk down, even when it is smooth. Forget about going down a steep section and over rocks at the same time - makes me anxious just thinking about it.

The few trails we ride repeatedly now have a few of these elements - one more than the other. After numerous times on the same trails, I have not been able to make any progress on riding the difficult parts. I always end up getting off the bike. My boyfriend does not harrass me about this at all, but I am really frustrated that I am not able to actually ride the trail after two years of riding, and feel like my slow pace is annoying to him.

I really do want to be able to do these things, but I think I just genuinely suck at mountain biking. I am out of shape so have difficulty even going uphill without A LOT of breaks. I can't go over rocks or other obstacles on the way up or down. I can't turn switchbacks at all. I can't go down steep sections at all. This really limits what we can ride here. We also don't do group rides because I know my BF knows everyone else would just be annoyed with me going so slow. I have crashed a few times, mostly from not paying attention (and then there was the clipless pedal experiment). I flipped over my bars on a not-so-steep smooth downhill section because I reached up with my right hand to scratch my face and pulled the front brake too hard with my left hand - endo. Pretty stupid. We tried clipless pedals once - I would stop and fall over on my side every time. I could not get out of the dang things, even though they were well worn cleats and pedals from my BF.

I just wanted to get some input on what to do or try. I have completely plateued and am not getting any better. I really want to ride some of the other trails here, and not have my boyfriend worry that I will be a major obstacle to other riders on crowded trails. Is it possible that some people are just not cut out for this sport, no matter how long you try? It seems from reading these posts and others that most people get the hang of these things relatively quickly.

Thanks in advance for anything you all could help me with!