Today, my SAT (a.k.a. self-appointed trainer and my husband) and I went on some different local mountain bike trails. Instead of riding the same (easy) trails, we did one trail backwards and one entirely new trail. I don’t tend to do the same trails backwards because I like doing what I know in the direction I know. I found that doing the one trail backwards was….harder. But, I got one obstacle on my first try and have another obstacle to work on for next time. The new-to-me trail is a wee bit out of my comfort zone, but still within my reach. There are about 3 obstacles on the uphill I need to work on….but, I “cleaned” (i.e. complete a section of trail on the first try) the downhill! In addition to doing new stuff, I “sessioned” things I didn’t get on the first try, which means that I repeated the sections I didn’t get until I did get it. It’s similar to practicing a hard part in a piano piece until you master it.

Anyway, I thought I’d document my first (and only, so far) session ride of 2020 for posterity. I have to admit that being able to do harder things is cool. Yes, the practicing part is work, but the concept is something with which I’m familiar from years of piano practice. Stay tuned for more skill development on the mountain bike from yours truly. 🙂