Quote Originally Posted by tzvia View Post
That's good to hear! It's hard to enjoy it if you are tense, nervous. Plus the energy that was wasted combating it can now be put towards riding- as you are doing. So the heart rate is lower and the speeds are up. I learned mountain biking by going on the same trail over and over, each time going farther and clearing more and more of the stuff I was afraid of before. The familiarity created a drop in nerves, so I started riding the rocky parts, the rutted area, the deep sand spot, the stairstepped downhill. A little at a time.

Good job.

The hardest thing for me is not fixating on the front wheel. Lift your head, Tzvia- look down the trail- don't let things surprise you. Look where you are going- not at a patch of dirt 5 feet in front of your tire! Look up...
This is what I've been doing, heading back to a more advanced beginners trail and just riding it again, and again, and... I cannot ride all of it just yet and right now I am only attempting 2/3 of it - and today I rode almost all of it. The 1/3 part I've not been able to ride is more technical (to me) and I've been focusing on riding the REST of the trail before I start tackling the remaining 1/3. I will start THAT next Saturday, weather permitting Today I rode quite a lot that I've only walked in the past

I just try to remember to keep looking ahead, to not try and "steer" the bike, and to keep pedaling! For some reason I seem to think that momentum will carry me over obstacles - sometimes that even works - but pedaling is a GOOD thing..