Three Stage

It took me a while but I finally got out for a ride on my mountain bike. I met my friend Steve up at Three Stage and we headed out for a nice ride on what could only be described as a beautiful day. The trails were dry so the traction was excellent.

Because I have not been mountain biking for quite a while my skills were lacking. I hit a lot more rocks than I usually would that would have to be attributed to poor vision. I have always stressed to new riders how important it is to look ahead as much as you can but that's easy to say but a little harder to do. I found myself looking down far too often and when this happens the result is you hit more rocks. Looking ahead allows you to plan your route and instead of reacting to obstacles in the trail you are anticipating them and therefore missing most of the things you wish to avoid. Looking ahead allows you to flow through the trail and that results in speed with less effort. I was also looking at obstacles instead of looking at the route I should be taking which is not a good idea for we all know one of the golden rules of mountain biking is if you look at that rock you will hit that rock.
Steve rode pretty much flawlessly for the ride but I knew many years ago when he first started riding that he had what it takes to be a great rider. He is fearless going through the tough technical stuff and just knows what to do to get that Santa Cruz humming along at a great pace. I was left banging off of rocks trying to keep up. The only thing that may have slowed him down was his wondering what the hell was with all the swearing behind him. I guess that will be my strategy in future rides.
All in all a fantastic day at Three Stage topped off perfectly with a couple of cold beers that Steve brought along. That boy has his priorities straight, I'll say that.

Steve at the lookout