This past weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in the Homegrown women’s downhill clinic at Angelfire Bike Park in New Mexico. I’ve wanted to ride at a bike park for the past year and now I FINALLY know what it’s about! During the summer, a lot of ski resorts offer downhill mountain biking, which I learned is very fun to do. You ride the chair lift up to the top of the mountain, then pick the trails you want to ride down. Even though I knew that there is no uphill riding, it was kind of foreign to me to NOT pedal much at all!

I drove to the clinic with 3 other ladies from my mountain bike group in Phoenix. The clinic was spread over 2 days and focused on several topics, such as bike park etiquette, jumping technique, and cornering technique. We got to practice what we were learning all day on the trails.

We left Phoenix on Friday morning at 5am. Drive time is about 9 hours, but with a couple of stops for gas and a leisurely lunch break, we ended up arriving at Angelfire around 5pm, just in time for the clinic’s happy hour. All 70 clinic participants were sorted into about 10 small groups and during the happy hour, we met our respective coaches, some other ladies, and enjoyed snacks and drinks. After happy hour, my crew went back to our rooms at the Angelfire Resort to get our stuff organized for the next day and to GO TO BED!

Saturday: we all met at the Homegrown tent near the chair lift, then split into our small coaching groups. After official introductions, we got on the chair lift (the “Chile Express,” probably named after New Mexico’s famous green chilies?) to the top of the mountain! The small groups were generally split up according to level, which was based on the questionnaire we all had to fill out prior to arriving at Angelfire. I believe that most of the groups started day 1 with a review of fundamental bike skills, such as body position and braking. It was good we started with the skills, because that gave me a chance to get to know my rental bike (Trek Slash 8, 29″ wheels, 160/170 travel). The temperature was perfect and SUCH a treat after dealing with the Phoenix heat.

After the skills session, we got to do our first run (i.e., descent down the mountain). My group had 6 participants and 2 coaches and during each run, my coaches would stop at a certain point to demonstrate a specific skill, such as jumping. (For those familiar with Angelfire, the trails we rode that day included Ziggy, Combi, Diesel, Turbo Diesel, Sierra, and Jazz Hands. All are fun and feature lots of berms and jumps.)

After lunch, which was provided (box lunch: croissant sandwich, chips, cookie, water), we learned that the lift closed due to lightning (and rain). This is normal because of monsoon season. The lift opens when there are no lightning strikes for at least 30 minutes. If there is lightning within a single 30 minute timeframe, the clock is reset. Turned out that the lift would be closed the rest of the day. Therefore, instead of riding, my group snagged a covered spot and practiced trackstands (i.e., balancing on the bike without moving), played cornering games (ride in a square), practiced front wheel lifts, and learned about suspension. Very productive, educational, and creative!

Some of the ladies from my Phoenix mountain biking group met up at El Jefe’s (the Mexican restaurant right by the resort) for yummy margaritas and snacks and to discuss day 1. Then, I decided to eat some of my own food for dinner back in my room, after which I met up with the girls at the resort’s hot tub to unwind and relax. I was tired!

Sunday: All the small groups went up the chair lift to do as much riding as possible. My group focused on jumping for the morning session. I can’t believe I can jump now! It’s so fun to get a little air on the trail. This day marks the first time I was able to jump on the trail…so exciting! We also played around in the “drop zone,” which includes 4 wooden platforms of varying heights that you can “drop” off of. I’m not quite ready for the bigger drops! After all that jumping and dropping was a very tasty lunch of burgers and potato salad (and a cookie!). Tasted so good.

Our afternoon session was NOT cut short by inclement weather. However, we DID end early for the clinic’s raffle. All of our names were assigned a number and then randomly selected for fantastic prizes, like Dharco pants, Wild Rye apparel, an Outbound Lighting bike light, mtbvibes jewellery (made by one of the clinic coaches, Joanna Yates), and hats. I won a fun pair of earrings I’ve had my eye on for a while! We all got free t-shirts too. And….that’s the end of the clinic. But wait….there’s more! All of us Phoenix ladies had dinner at the Peruvian restaurant near the resort to celebrate a great weekend (good food! I’d come back). Then, most of us went to the hot tub to relax. That hot tub worked because I was super tired. Ah…bed….

Monday: bonus day! Three of my friends and I decided to stay an extra day to practice all the things we learned. I rode my own bike (Pivot Mach 4) which felt unstable and small after riding a downhill bike! Because of that, I opted not to ride any black trails. I noticed that I did not feel as stable on my bike as I did on the rental Trek Slash 8. Also, the Trek’s wheels are 29″ and my wheels are 27.5″. I felt like the Trek rolled over chunk much easier than my Pivot due to the wheel size. (Note to my Self-Appointed Trainer (SAT): I may be looking for a new bike soon….)

My group took a lot of fun pictures during our first run. We were having a great time riding the trails and enjoying the beautiful scenery. For the second run, my group split into two. Gina and Heidi wanted to check out some black trails and Jess and I decided to ride all of Easy Street, which is a really fun green trail with lots of opportunities to practice cornering. During one break, we met Russ from North Carolina, who took our picture. We were not expecting to see him again, but we saw him at the bottom. Because the others in my group wanted to check out more black trails, I thought it would be good to ride with him, since he seemed to be more interested in riding intermediate/blue trails. So, that’s what we did! It was fun and I played tour guide, showing him some trails my small group did on the weekend.

The lift was closed from about 12:30pm to 3pm because of lightning, so we decided to have lunch at El Jefe to try and wait out the lightning. When the lift opened up, I opted to take the opportunity to shower and pack. I mean….since the others weren’t around, I could take a long shower, haha. We enjoyed a final hot tub session, then went to bed.

Tuesday: This day is a blur, as we got up at 4am (NM time) because we planned on leaving at 4:30am. Good thing we packed up most of our stuff in Heidi’s car the night before. I got back to my place shortly after 2pm (AZ time). Yay to seeing my kitties! Yay for not crashing on my bike!

So many takeaways!: It’s hard to remember EVERYTHING I learned, but some of my main takeaways include the following:

• 2-1-0: This refers to how you enter a “berm,” i.e., corner. You don’t want to brake while cornering. I learned that you should use both brakes just before entering the berm, then just use one brake while cornering, then let go of the brakes to maintain speed and even gain a little speed while exiting the berm.
• Inquisitive turtle: As you are cornering, turn your head in the direction you WANT to go. You always want to be looking ahead.
• Chicken wings: Keep your elbows bent while riding down steep sections….and while cornering. This gives you room to navigate drops and turns more efficiently.
• Pop butt out: This helps to flatten the lower back and straighten the legs a bit to rest them. I found that I was staying in a squat position a lot while riding downhill, which fatigued my legs. Sticking my butt out reduced the pressure on my quads.
• I may have to get a downhill bike. 😀