I conquered it!! - My fear that is....

[Miranda]

Congrats to you! What a great feeling. All those things just help to build confidence to do some more for sure.

My skills are very humble, but here's one comment about the downhill with the sharp up hill and gearing...

One of my guy friends who is a very good mtb and roadie told me that part of it is planning ahead. Plus, having more momentum on the way down is your friend to take you right back up.

In my humble mtb experience I say in my head on the trail: "what goes down will surely go back up". So, I shift into the lower gear that I think I will need before I get to the top to descend. I'm chicken yet at going really fast down, but when I do (as my guy friend says I should) I only need that gearing for half the way up. Speed took me through the first part.

If I didn't make it, I try to take note of how much more gear I needed to have to do so. Then I do that one next round.

EDIT ADD:

"Trust your bike"...

That is another catch phrase I have heard mtbs say. I never really got that until one day I was on an advanced trail (way over my beginner head) with my experienced guy friend.

It was quite a descent, with an equally steep up. My prior gearing advice should work, right? Well, here was the kicker: big sand wash at the bottom of the descent before the steep up. I could hear my friend ahead yelling back "trust your bike! don't slow down!". Say what???

First time, I choked at the thought of wiping out at the bottom in the sand at a high speed. My head first said "go harder gear and slow through the sand to maintain control... but I absolutely had no gearing time or speed ump to get up! Thus, a dismount *sigh*.

Next time, I took off the brake to let my bike fly with my weight back. I hit the sand and the bike rocked back and forth underneath me like a boat out to sea in a storm. However... I didn't fight her and try to overcompensate the steering... I "trusted my bike", stayed loose, and let her rock right through the sand with momentum. Once out of the sand spot, I had already shifted into the easier gear before I went down, so... I pedaled it out for 3/4 of the climb and speed took the first 1/4... the sand ate up some speed.

"Trusting your bike" I think is something that is really hard to do. From road riding, I don't want everything all loosey-goosey... as a car might run ya over if you get out of your line. My thought anyway. Two different animals.