How do people get so much better than me?

[FBTrek321]

I get on here and see pictures and vids of chilipepper and his son, and his son is doing some of the sickest things, and hes only 11…

then i ride with Goo and he make me looks like an old man…

what am i missing? i havent been riding that long, but do these things just come with time? i wanna hit some gnarly stuff but i dont know how to get to that point…

pointers? or do i just need patience?

[Syd Patricio]

Well as with everything in life it takes two things. Practice and time…

It helps for the crazy things to practice in a safe enviroment like a Ray’s or Joyride 150 indoor park for skills where they are designed to provide a place where high skills can be practiced with low concequence as well as building your riding and cardio on trails.

Cheers

[Steven_Ned]

The worse thing you can do is compare your riding to others. Its not a competition and one of the most rewarding things about riding is the sense of accomplishment as you progress.
Theres a LOT of good info to be learned on this site. Take a few of the concepts and really think about them on your next ride. If you’re wanting to do big drops progress from smaller stuff (yeah, even curbs!) and slowly moving up.

remember though, HAVE FUN!

[Vtolds]

I didn’t read really any of the above so this might be just me repeating what someone already said.

I think riding with someone who is better than you can help you be a better rider. I ride with a friend of mine most of the time. He got me in to riding, and I generally follow him. When we get to a complicated section that looks difficult he always stops and looks back to see if I try it. If I get freaked out or scared he comes back and lets me watch him do it again, and gives me pointers on how I should attack it. Just in my last ride I did several things I would have never tried solo. Had everything to do with me seeing how he attacked the obstacle.

[brianW]

I have been riding for 18yrs now and still have a way to go. I really enjoy doing group rides and learn a lot by just following a more experienced or better skilled rider. Watching how they flow down the trail really helps. Have one follow you and ask them to give tips after. Ask a rider how they tackle a problem on the trail.

Another thing I enjoy doing is picking up a mt bike book and reading about bike handling skills. There are also many places on line that have 2-5 minute videos doing the same. One thing i want to do better is drops (well not chilipepper heights yet) Just heights you might encounter on a trail, maybe up to 2 feet or so.

[sevendaysoff]

Vtolds hit the nail on the head. Ride with people who are better riders and will push you to try things. Practice as much as possible also. I ride with chilipepper and his son and we all push each other. all the big stuff I’ve done has been after watching them try it at least a few times. Just dont get in over your head. Oh and last but not least, can’t be afraid to get a little busted up 😼

[FBTrek321]

as always i get awesome responses from you guys, chili if i make it down to florida this year, which is usually where my parents go for vacation, i’ll have to bring my bike and sneak away to santos or where ever it is you ride to learn a few things from you, our son and 7days!(would that be cool?)

I really want to know how to improve my skill i know practice and time make things better but still isnt there some kind of magic awesome bike rider maker secret out there?

I guess my real point is how do i hone my skills? is there any secret to learning better? and probably the biggest problem i have is how do i get in good enough shape to do gnarly trails? i’ve really only ridden at 2 places and both are pretty easy but this summer i want to go all over the place (only thing that will stop me is money) and ride…

im talking in circles now but what helped you? i would love to do CP size drops, but anything over 4 foot kinda scares me…

[sevendaysoff]

if anything over 4ft. scares you i’d say start doing 3 – 4ft drops as much as possible so when you feel ready to move up to 5′ it wont look so big.

im lucky to have a great trail at my disposal with many features that allow the rider to ‘step up’ as they progress (drops from a couple ft. to 10′)

chili and I are in the central FL area , think cocoa beach/melbourne area. it would be great to ride with you. if you make it down this summer be sure to let us know and we’ll come find a place to ride close to where you’re staying.

[trailrider247]

"FBTrek321" wrote

… and probably the biggest problem i have is how do i get in good enough shape to do gnarly trails?

a good way to get into better shape to ride the gnarlier trails is to work on some strength training, heres a good site to look at for some tips on building up your strength for mtn bike riding http://www.bikejames.com/

"FBTrek321" wrote

im talking in circles now but what helped you? i would love to do CP size drops, but anything over 4 foot kinda scares me…

i hear what your saying about anything over 4′ being kinda scary and thats usually a mind over matter kind of thing or not having trust in your bike or a combination of both, but what usually gets me is not the drop but the landing, some of the landings for some of the 4’+ drops here are kinda sketchy and have little to no space to roll out and what you have for space you need to hit your brakes right away or go off a even higher drop that has no where to land or has a even sketchier landing.

but if you want to get better at riding, you just need to keep riding and try harder things that you havent tried before, also since you ride with Goo i would just keep riding with him and ask him to show you some pointers on how to get thru some of the tough sections and how to carry speed, ive seen a couple of his vids and he looks like a good rider, i also noticed that hes capable of flying down the trail at high speeds and brakes just enough to carry a good amount of speed thru some of the corners, so i would say any advice from him would be good, but like the others posted just ride with people that are better skilled riders and remember that alot of it is just mind over matter.

[Greg Heil ✓ supporter]

"trailrider247" wrote

but if you want to get better at riding, you just need to keep riding and try harder things that you havent tried before, also since you ride with Goo i would just keep riding with him and ask him to show you some pointers on how to get thru some of the tough sections and how to carry speed, ive seen a couple of his vids and he looks like a good rider, i also noticed that hes capable of flying down the trail at high speeds and brakes just enough to carry a good amount of speed thru some of the corners, so i would say any advice from him would be good, but like the others posted just ride with people that are better skilled riders and remember that alot of it is just mind over matter.

Haha, I think I’m going to blush or something right now!
I’m always more than happy to share a tip or two as we go along.

I know I’m a bit late to this thread, but I’ve read all of the responses above…

And FBtrek, I’m thinking two things:

1) Just keep riding on a regular basis.This will help build your strength.
1a) Be sure to do some cross-training excercises, especially your core.
2) To get better at riding hard, steep trails one of the best things you can do is ride hard, steep trails a lot. For instance, I’d focus less on riding GSC and more at riding Chicopee, especially some of the harder trails there.

In the grand scope of things, Chicopee really isn’t that hard either. But if you want to ride some STEEP, technical trails with rocks and roots, some (small) drops, and several air opportunities, they’re only 30-45 min away in dahlonega. And ellijay and blue ridge aren’t too far beyond that, and hold great trails as well! I live up this way, so I’m more than happy to ride! 😄

IMO, one of the keys to becoming a great trail rider is travel. So it may be counterintuitive, but having a car to travel to places will help you be a better mountain biker. It’s a weird thought, but one I had in high school with skiing. I wanted to ski, needed a car to get there so i could ski more often, therefore i bought a car.

Hope this helps! (As well as the other info that people gave for freeriding and etc., that was good stuff too.)

[joetutt]

I just started really riding this past November and I found like several of the other posts said ride as much as you can with better riders. Makes a HUGE difference. It forces you to keep up, meaning you’re going to ride faster whether you like it or not. You’ll build you wind for sure and as you begin to ride faster, you’ll learn hitting almost anything faster makes it easier and more fun. You’ll also learn new and better lines on the trail, making it more fun and interesting. I really started to progress fast when I got the guts to ride with other riders who were really good.

Also, don’t be scared! You gotta learn to just do it. Like Chili said getting past yourself is the hardest part. No body want to get hurt, but if you ain’t fallin’, you ain’t tryin’. I finally bought me some knee pads. But once you finally nail that drop that you’ve been riding around and eyeing for the past two months, you’ll say to yourself "That was easy and SOOOOO AWESOME!"

Good luck brother, I’m still learning everyday and lovin’ it!

[Dustin Gaddis]

The day you quit learning new stuff is the day it gets boring. There’s always ways to improve, to be faster, fitter, better skills, etc.

And remember, being fast isn’t all that matters – it’s all about enjoying the ride. I know plenty of people that love mtn biking as much as anyone, and they’re slow. And they’re okay with that. They just enjoy being out in the woods on their bike.

[GreenGiant]

Drink PBR! J/K I find the only way to get better and maybe this has been already said but just keep riding and trying new things.

For example, I started racing last year but only had time for two races.

This year I have done three races but the first two I barely trained for and went into them with the intention I am here to have a good time and not push myself. Came in last both times, had fun, but didn’t push myself.

Last week, I trained for the race this weekend. Got to the course early and took pre-lap. Did the race and pushed myself. It was even more fun this way and I actually bested a few guys, came in 7 out of 10.

Now I can’t get enough. Next race I can do is in a month so may daily training will back down to 1 to 2x a week but knowing what I can do now will only help me to get better.

[Greg Heil ✓ supporter]

"GreenGiant" wrote

Drink PBR! J/K I find the only way to get better and maybe this has been already said but just keep riding and trying new things.

For example, I started racing last year but only had time for two races.

This year I have done three races but the first two I barely trained for and went into them with the intention I am here to have a good time and not push myself. Came in last both times, had fun, but didn’t push myself.

Last week, I trained for the race this weekend. Got to the course early and took pre-lap. Did the race and pushed myself. It was even more fun this way and I actually bested a few guys, came in 7 out of 10.

Now I can’t get enough. Next race I can do is in a month so may daily training will back down to 1 to 2x a week but knowing what I can do now will only help me to get better.

Hey Mark, didn’t know you were on here! Wow, learn something new every day!

[soezgg]

The snack has been lurking. Must’ve been busy!

Like Green Giant said, races are a fun way to push yourself into fitness. I tried one race last summer and I got my ass whooped by two dozen cyclocross racers, many of whom were in their 50’s. I’m 25 so this was both humbling and inspiring to see so many seasoned, enthusiastic riders dominating the trail (lapping me twice in 40 minutes).

I seem to improve when I step out of my comfort zone. Doing two hours of singletrack a week seems only to maintain my fitness level, instead of getting me into better shape. Gotta kick it up a notch, you know?

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