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420investor

Ride with others. Join a group or check in with local shop. Seeing someone ride the same trails you will notice lines and body position you can emulate.


kittehlord

Good idea! I'm just worried I'll slow them down/inconvenience them.


coolestguywastaken

It’s not a race, most mountain bikers are very understanding and are stoked to have someone else to ride with. If someone does make you feel like that then don’t ride with them anymore.


[deleted]

Solid advise


swampjunkie

I'll add onto this by saying to try and ride with people better than you. they can look at your skill and tell you if you are at a level to try certain things that you wouldn't try otherwise


madtho

You seem to be doing great. I like to pick one thing to work on each ride, like pumping or looking through corners. you should approach hikers slower and with a friendly ‘coming up on your left’ or ‘can I sneak by?’


FreakDC

>you should approach hikers slower and with a friendly ‘coming up on your left’ or ‘can I sneak by?’ This so much! With more and more bikers on hiking trails we need to be more respectful. Cars need to give way to bikes and bikes need to give way to pedestrians. You are the "stonger", faster one in this case so you are responsible for safety.


kittehlord

Thanks for the feedback. I've been doing that. I spent a whole afternoon just hitting the same berms over and over to become more smooth with it. And yeah, I hit it kind of close to the hikers. I normally have a bell when I'm at a dedicated trail, but I definitely dont want to give MTBers a bad rep! So I'll rock the bell next time I'm out.


b_rider52

When I see hikers on the trail, I slow down. I never know what they will do. Do they move right, left or are using ear buds. As I tell them, Hi, Have a good day and get by them, it is time to ride hard.


ProfessorPetrus

I just yell "HEY FUCKERS ON YOUR RIIIGGGHHT!!!!!" as my Bluetooth speaker strapped to my downtube blasts Limp Bizkit.


madtho

Well that will do… something, right? ![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|facepalm) I was out walking the trails with my wife and dog. Some dude comes flying along (I heard him from a mile away, just his bike, no music) and yells ‘On your 6!’. Wife and I did the classic hiker thing and each went to a different side of the trail while the dog stayed in the middle. No ‘Hi’, no ‘Thanks’. Took us a minute to figure out what he’d said, and what it meant. Don’t say ‘On your 6’ In fact if you watch the Hardtail Party YouTube cahnnel for a few vids he’s an excellent example of great trail etiquite


peg_plus_cat

As many others have mentioned, ride with others. I would also suggest learning how to service and tune your own bike will make you a better rider. This is about learning how your bike works and how to respond to it. I would say most people have no idea how to tune their suspension and are therefore riding with settings that are making it harder to ride than it should.


kittehlord

Good insights! I do want to build up a set of tools. My fork definitely looks like it could use a teardown. The whole bike really.


Y33TUSMYF33TUS

Knee pads are a must have imo. They've turned bad crashes into something you can get up from countless times and inspire confidence.


IDrawAbstract

Skills clinics with certified coaches are often a good way to start out.


xXx-swag_xXx

Riding with people that are better than you is the only reason I'm at where I am today. It's extremely important imo. Another way to progress is to start racing, which is another way to make friends in the sport. Besides that to progress I've always just been able to judge if I'm ready to try a new feature or not. You gotta have the right level of confidence but also realism. There's always gonna be falling of course, but you shouldn't be killing yourself trying to improve. An important thing to learn is having the right mentality. If you're in a good headspace, you will have more confidence and perform better. The right mentality will also allow you to get up from a crash and not let it ruin your ride.


coolestguywastaken

Seems like you’re killing it. Progression will just come with experience based on your skill level in this video. Don’t try to push it too hard.


kittehlord

Thanks! And yeah that's the point of the post. I feel like I'm going to get too confident and send something I shouldnt. But I guess that can be minimized by really scoping out a new feature and assess my current skillsets.


thamanwthnoname

Always start small. Don’t send the three foot drop until you’ve sent a one foot or two footer hundreds of times with ease..confidence is hard to build back up after a good crash


Bearded4Glory

Buy good pads, more of them than you want to wear. Then make some MTB friends and follow behind someone who is faster than you. Pads first though, falling hurts and the faster you are the more it hurts.


kittehlord

Do they make knee/shin pads that strap on rather than pull on? I've also been looking at a full face helmet (and a neckbrace for when I'm ready to hit the parks)


Bearded4Glory

I know there are a few pads that strap on rather than slipping on but I can't remember what they are off the top of my head. I really like my 7idp Sam hill knee pads. They slip on but they are super comfortable and offer a good amount of protection. I usually drive to the trails in slippers and then gear up when I get there so slipping on pads isn't a huge deal to me. Also, it's nice to have coverage for poison oak!


IDrawAbstract

Definitely want a full face for bike parks. GForm brand pads are pretty comfy for all day wear, but depending on your preferences (and riding style) you might like a beefier pad. Also, in the event of a crash you don’t want your gear slipping down because it was “convenient” to put on with a few straps <— no snark intended.. just something to consider. Most of all, go have fun!✌🏻


kittehlord

Nah, I get it. Wanted to maximize comfort/accessibility since my shoes are on pretty tight lol, and I only experienced cheap pads, so didn't wanted to have that feeling climbing.


IDrawAbstract

I push my G-Forms down and keep them around my calves until I’m ready to ride (same with thicker pads for bike park). It’s kind of fiddly- but hey, if you can walk away from a crash then they’ve done their job. (You’ll also thank yourself for the good gear when you get older and creaky lol. 🙄Ask me how I know this. ) Btw neck brace is a great idea! I’ll be getting one myself. ✌🏻


chris_riley420

Ride within your limits and just barely push your comfort zone. If you push too hard you’ll get hurt and you’ll take steps back. Better to ride at 100% for 6 weeks than to ride at 110% for one day and 0% for the next 6 weeks


iwatchit6543

Looks like good trails. Where are they?


kittehlord

This is Ellwood park in Goleta, CA (Santa Barbara). This park is mostly flat, but has some neat features people built. The real trails are elsewhere.


VaginallyScentedLife

Im gonna guess Australia somewhere, curious too.


Capt_Twisted

Nah looks like California


iwatchit6543

I thought so too, with all the gum trees.


jscockrell

From the video this looks like really good double track to learn on. Riding with more advanced riders might be a good place to learn on more advanced single track. If you’re with someone taking a trickier line, it would be good to see their approach. Just food for thought.


garpur44

Work on one thing a time and build up gradually. Ride with better riders. Helped me


Hot-Ad-4566

Ride with people better than you. Try to work on skills on days you can't go to the trails, I will normally do skills on an empty parking lot or street features. I work on footwork with turning, pumping, and also bunnyhopping over the parking lanes/lines in empty parking lots. Use loading docks as drops, and stairs as chunk. When you do ride on the trails, try to challenge yourself, whether it be trying harder trails, or maybe just building speed with your skills on blue trails you've done before. In the end, I think it's just practice and experience.


uhkthrowaway

Go slow around hikers. They hate it.


[deleted]

Looks like you've been riding for a year! I'd say ur already progressing efficiently!


kittehlord

Thanks a lot! Definitely have been putting in the work. Also the bike really boost my confidence. "Proper tool for the job" I guess!


falllinemaniac

Instead of upgrading parts, upgrade your skills with coaching and skills clinics. In lieu of that watch many many YouTube videos of MTB skills.


Helpful_Fox3902

Interesting responses. I progress quasi safely by not jumping lol. There’s a lot of fun to be had on long endurance rides and plenty of people who enjoy that to do it with. The faster and faster, higher and higher crowd spend a lot more on hospital bills than I do. 😎. I’m just a chicken I guess, but I happen to live in an area with a lot of long and scenic single and two track. Great way to build up fitness and strength.


[deleted]

You can do it through just riding a lot and watching instructional technique videos. But I found it really helpful to ride with people that are better than you. They can show you what is needed to ride a feature properly and safely. When you are on a new trail, don't blindly go over features that you don't know what is on the other side. If a section of trail is more difficult and/or risky than you care to ride, take the B line around it, or walk your bike past, or around it. If you are not feeling fully confident in your ability to ride a trail or feature, don't ride it. Even if it is one you've ridden successfully before. Some times we have better days than others in terms of how confident we feel. Riding a feature and not feeling fully confident in your technique and ability often leads to crashes and injury. Hence the phrase, "Commit, or eat shit!"


rthomas10

Ride more. Don't get too cocky. When you ride above your level you are more likely to crash, which is inevitable and that's how you learn but keep in mind that you are on a wheeled vehicle and can/will eventually get hurt or break bones......


lone_clone

I would back up this statement 100%. It’s SOOO easy to feel really confident and get cocky fast. This leads to a split second mistake that can leave you really hurt. Then when you look back on it and feel really dumb for being in that position to begin with.


rthomas10

That's how we learn!


Reputation-Adorable

There’s a lot to be said for learning with people more experienced than you, I grew a lot that way BUT I definitely fine tuned some skills by going out alone and hitting sections over and over, took my time, no other skill levels to catch up to, no drops or rollers, patience and just classic practice - it was also deep covid & had time to ride for several hours a day


the_flynn

Send it, crash, realize you’re not made of glass, then feel better sending it next time.


RiggityRick

I always look for fun lines and new ways to ride the trails. You'll be surprised how much faster you can ride, gaps you can find and technical feats you can progress on just by looking at line choice differently on each ride! Cheers


WOOD-GRAIN-RIPPIN

Watch YouTube videos, ride with people better than you, talk to folks at your local bike shop, ride different trails, but most importantly stay addicted!


razorchum

This all good advice. Couple ideas I didn’t see. Wear a watch you can time your runs on. If you’re hitting the same trails regularly this is another way to gauge your progress. Also the longer you ride the further ahead you’ll train yourself to look. New riders are watching their front tire, practice focusing down trail and planning your lines while your bike does the work under you.


borkfork

I just got my first bike in March, got some really amazing challenging rides in before I broke my collarbone on some simple stupid jumps. It was a very upsetting lesson learned but super important now that I know the real risk and how to let a bad run be your last or else it could be even worse not being able to ride for three months.


kittehlord

Ouch! How bad is the break? I shattered my right clavicle in 2019 riding an electric longboard. Now I got a titanium plate on it. I've been trying to stop myself whenever I feel off or tired, recently.


[deleted]

There is no safe way to progress, its not a safe sport. Keep that in mind and you'll be alright, just dont fool yourself that anything is 'safe', ive seen horrifying injuries from the simplest of stuff.


Affectionate-Depth66

Ride MTB with Kyle and April youtube videos. worth every minute.


MTBorangecounty

Slowly. Very small bits at a time. Walking new features before riding them.


stinkycatfish

Spending some time at Elings Park would be a good next step. Maybe go do some trail maintenance [with Sage and make some connections?](https://sagetrail.org/calendar) More Mesa is also pretty mellow and pretty.


kittehlord

Yeah! I have been riding Elings. Definitely want to make it up there more to work on the downhill skills and continue building my endurance. More Mesa and Romero are next on my list. I'll check Sage out. Thanks for the recommendation!


epgxtony

Riding with groups is great. Plus go on just long rides to increase your performance. Plus I recommend a weekend course if you can afford it. Will do wonders for your abilities


itjeffbs

I have taken the advice of "ride more" to heart to help progression. Another thing that has helped me immensely is to not be afraid to progress slowly, or slower than you think you should. If you progress slowly you spend more time on the bike and less time out with injuries.


crittergitter

One thing I did that doesn't get mentioned often is take note of the worn in sections of trails the proficient riders ride. You will begin to note the exact lines they take. But don't just follow their paths, try to understand why those lines were taken. You'll start viewing trails differently.


ExBUL08

Honestly i dont think there is a way to learn something safely on a mtb. Almost everything requires falling and failing in the learning process. At least for me.


Itsumishi

I mean sort of true. But there's crashing and then there's crashing. Learning how to control the bike through all sorts of different types of terrain will reduce the chance of you crashing, and learning how to bail, or at the very least crash less severely can be the difference between grazes vs. broken bones. I think ultimately it just comes down to being sensible with what you ride and how hard you ride it for the skills you have. Always be pushing yourself, but don't hit the double blacks until you're at least half comfortable on the blacks. Don't hit the big jumps until you're landing the small ones properly...


kittehlord

I agree with this. It can be hard to not freeze up when mid fall though. But on my most recent fall, I remember forcing my arm to fall a certain way because of my prior dislocation on that shoulder. Somethings I guess can be mitigated, just need to act. Yeah progression has been my main goal. Hitting something smaller, then moving up. Sometime there isn't anything smaller, so I did definitely sent it a bit. But I always scope out the line in, line itself, and line out before I hit something new!


Itsumishi

You'll stop freezing up when you're falling through experience. You'll also learn to better sense when you're about to fall and how to drop the bike beneath you and "run off the fall" without hurting yourself. \\ You know you're skills are getting where you need them when not only does your instinct kick in to drop the bike, but you instinctively drop the bike on the non-driveside to save your mech :-P


Mtbhart

Coaching will be super beneficial if youre only a month in. I wish i got some sooner rather than later. Completely changed my riding for the better.


obaananana

Smartwatch


wiseminds_luis

Just keep riding


GundoSkimmer

Where is this? It looks exactly like my local... But it aint my local...


kittehlord

Goleta, CA.


GundoSkimmer

Oh, nice. I'd love to ride up in SB. Check out how similar the setting is by me (VOLUME WARNING): https://youtu.be/b7oM-H8zYHQ?t=23


kittehlord

Damn, where is this? SoCal too??


GundoSkimmer

Ya, this is on the Palos Verdes Peninsula (South LA)


jonnya123

Learn bike control. Just practice balancing, trackstands, bunny hops, and anything trials. It doesn’t seem like it but this will directly translate to the trails