Are your goals the same as a pro racer?
Are you in your 20’s or 30’s? Pro riders are probably younger, stronger, and more aggressive than you and their goal is to win races.
When I coach pro racers like Mitch Ropelato and Cody Kelly I realize they aren’t the same as most riders. They are younger versions of me (and now much better versions of me) when I raced in the pro class.
Being stronger, more aggressive, and getting paid to do well in races gives pro racers a different goal than most avid mountain bikers have. Different Goals require different methods.
I have found quite a few situations where you might not want to ride like a pro and I will share them with you in a series of articles. Some involve different equipment, some different mindsets, and some completely different skills.
Situation One When You Might Not Want to Ride Like a Pro:
Don’t Take Pro Lines when your goals are different.
Have you ever heard the saying, “don’t take the smooth line fast, take the fast line smooth”? I learned that from a teammate years ago. Everyone who’s goal is to go as fast as they can, need to learn and live that. I’ve taught that to my students for years.
Taking the fast line smoothly often means going straight and using various methods to float over the rough stuff. Bump jump, bunny hop or simply unweight over anything that might slow you down. Then pump the backsides of the landing to gain speed.
Doing this well has been my meditation for years. It keeps me focused, in the moment and it provides instant feedback. It rewards you by avoiding impacts and allowing you to accelerate down the trail.
You also immediately know when you mess up as you “eat the handlebars” when the bike slows and your body keeps going, causing you to do a full-strength pushup.
3 Photos (sequence) of me taking the fast line smoothly, 2018, Porcupine Rim Singletrack
What is your goal? Is it to have fun, ride with more confidence, and/or not hurt yourself?
Well, depending on your goals you might actually want to take the smooth lines at medium speed! I’m 54, “taking the fast line smooth” can be exhausting now.
Floating over the rough stuff often takes speed and explosive movements, two things I find myself with less of as I age.
I crashed hard on New Year’s Day 2020 and it woke me up. My priorities have changed, I can’t be broken and provide for my family and I can’t coach when broken.
Since the crash, I have backed off to 90-95% of my former pace. When going that pace, descending is different. I don’t have the momentum to float over some of the rough stuff, so sometimes I have to take the smooth line fast instead of taking the fast line smooth.
Taking the smooth line fast is actually pretty fun though – it won’t win any races, but you take less of a beating. It’s much calmer, and you’re not overloading your mind with hundreds of split-second decisions a minute.
“Don’t take the smooth line fast, take the fast line smooth” is also a relative thing. Believe me, Aaron Gwin takes way faster lines than me because he is better and MUCH stronger than me.
Aaron’s lines scare the heck out of me! Anything as small or smaller than a Honda Civic he just goes through or over, his lines are insane.
Though they won’t scare Aaron, my lines might scare you. Based on our goal/s, our fitness, and our skill level, what we think is the fast line, changes greatly.
I honestly never realized how mentally exhausting it is to ride at the edge of your ability until I decided to back off a bit. The way I have descended for the last 30 years produces a massive rush, not just an adrenaline rush and dopamine rush, but a brain rush too. It is super intense, like a drug, hence my addiction.
Riding just a little slower is a completely different sport, less intense and much more relaxing. Riding like this doesn’t wear me out near as much as charging it does.
A wise Buddhist once said that our goal isn’t elation, the goal is an even keel. We can get too happy and when we get too happy we can’t maintain it and we will crash later. As a young man, I found that defeating. I wanted the happiest happy ever. As a middle-aged man I have learned to appreciate the Buddhist wisdom, apparently, it even applies to mountain biking!
I also missed a lot of fun lines and isn’t the #1 of mountain biking to have fun? Following my “slower friends” I have always found them to be more creative than me. They playfully look for little “hits” to jump off of as they zig-zag down the trail. It used to drive me nuts! Now I enjoy following them, seeing and hitting all the “fun lines” that I missed while seeking out the fast lines.
I hope you found this article helpful or at least entertaining. Look out for my next article on how you might want to use different equipment than pros use.
Please share this article with anyone you think may benefit and feel free to call or e-mail with any questions.
Cheers
Gene
I relaxed, saw the line I wanted to take, found my balance and went through the section very controlled – it was great!
Couldn’t agree more with you, Gene! I’m 73 and help coach a local high school NICA team. If I want to continue enjoying that and MTB’ing for another 20 years, I can’t afford to get injured badly and start the “death spiral” associated with a bad injury at my age. So……I take the smooth, fun lines very slowly and smile a heck of a lot! 🙂 Ride strong, ride safe!
Awesome JD! I hope I’m healthy and still riding when I’m your age! Thanks for helping the coach your high school team and thanks for the inspiration!
Cheers,
Gene
Gene; excellent little perspective adjustment! I am 47 and have been riding/racing off-road for 39years. I seem to have fallen into a non-riding rut the last three years 🙁 sadly my motivation to ride has taken a back seat. I have previously always been high aggression and high speed oriented, now I don’t seem to have the strength and energy as before. I’m going to try the (get back to basics when it was fun) approach.
I also hope to afford one of your courses someday; I think your methodology will kickstart me back into what has been my life’s direction all these years and get me having fun again.
Hope to see you in Asheville 👍
Hi Chris,
Thank you! Love to know that people appreciate my articles.
Please invest in one of my courses, I promise it will be the best investment you ever make in your riding.
Create your best ride yet,
Gene
I really like how your approach to riding evolves over time, Gene. I like that you recognize that age might slow us down a bit. Thanks for sharing that Buddhist wisdom!
Your welcome Heather. Evolve or become extinct. 🙂 Keep on having fun!
Cheers,
Gene
100%. Racing is for racers; but mountain biking is for folks looking to have fun! I even made a point of buying a decent “XC Race” bike, just to convert it into a really fun flow bike (oval 1x, flat pedals, bar ends for long rides to & from trails). I love how it handles can turn any trail into something fast, fun, and flowy with lots of confidence, despite my having way more age than skill!
Keep on smiling!
Right on Paul!
Hi Gene,
I couldn’t help compare your article to the ‘evolution’ of MTB. This relatively young sport will evolve and if we choose to go along for the ride so too will we evolve. Cycling is the sport for the ages (any age). Guys like Joe Montana can’t suit up and play football again but you and I can roll off a hill (I like to call them cliffs) all day long. Meditation in movement all day long, there’s nothing better.
Thanks for you advice/coaching. It helps us all.
Be Safe, Ray
Thanks, Ray! You are quite welcome for the coaching. I love helping riders like you.
Cheers,
Gene
Gene, your email with the link to this article came Sunday morning as I was heading out to ride. You were in my thoughts all day. As a 68 year old rider, I could not agree more. My riding has significantly improved since taking your Sedona camp in March and I strongly recommend attendance to improve skills, confidence and enjoyment. Thank you my friend. John, Las Vegas
Hi John,
That is great to hear! Glad to hear you have benefited so much from my course. Keep practicing and keep having fun out there!
Cheers,
Gene
Just yesterday I was thinking about what this article addresses, I am not trying to ride like a pro, I’m out to enjoy the ride. I found myself looking for the fun lines, not the fast lines. I doubled back when I passed up a line that looked more fun, maybe less speed and risk.
I live in a college town, so often I encounter much younger riders who ride with less fear and less fatigue. Even though I am in the best fitness I’ve been for the past 20 years, I won’t keep up with them. I realize that when I let them pass on the trail, it’s ok to “stop and smell the flowers”, my surroundings are beautiful and need to be taken in. Nothing is lost when I yield to them, I realize I’m their parents’ age. And I guarantee not all of their parents ride mountain bikes like I do.
I don’t judge others who may be slower or less skilled on the trails, it’s taken me until now to not feel like there’s any judgement coming my way. Yeah, I wear armsleeves with light padding now, last year it was a request from my wife since she’s tired of meeting me at the ER with a gash or cracked arm, this year I won’t ride without them because I’m not keen on making that trip either.
Hi Doug,
Right on! Enjoy your rides, hit the lines that give you joy. Your attitude of doubling back when you miss a fun line is awesome. You are my teacher! As I am still in too big of a hurry (a hurry to where?) to backtrack and hit a line. “I’ll hit that next time,” I tell myself, but then I forget about it
It took me years to realize that most mountain bikers are so concerned with their own ride that they don’t have the time nor energy to judge another rider.
Keep on riding and having fun!
Gene
Great article, Gene!
I’m a couple years older than you and find something I would have bounced back from just a decade ago now sidelines me. The risk/reward calculation has changed.
What makes the whole thing a little tougher for those of us who started a little older is that the age-related decline intersects the experience-related growth earlier and our peak is a little lower. It’s really tough to accept that you may be past a point where continual improvement is a thing of the past. We can keep refining our technique, but at some point it can no longer compensate for the inevitable slowing.
That reminds me, I need to go do some drills!
Hi John,
Thanks! That risk/reward calculation changing is sad but happy at the same time. Sad because you realize you may be past your peak (at least speed-wise) but happy because it puts less pressure on yourself.
As you said, we can keep refining our technique though! For me, that is the saving grace of getting old. Being able to ride steeper, more challenging trails consistently. Definitely not fast, slower but in way more control than when I was younger.
So yes, go do your drills and then ride Hangover for me!
Cheers,
Gene
Hey Gene!
I relate so much to your point of riding with your “slower friends” and being annoyed by following them! I’m a young, 30 years old, and up until last year it was only a “good ride” if I was able to ride as fast as possible. I was so frustrated following my friends on flow trails especially, because they would boost all the jumps, going high instead of staying low and fast and square off all the corners to roost the dirt. I had to brake check constantly! I changed my mindset and decided to copy them, looking for side hits, learning how to be creative and look at the trail differently…I was tired of just feeling frustrated.
I realized two very important things:
1. A “good ride” means something different to everyone…now a good ride is one where I’ve had FUN! Fast will definitely always be fun, but sometimes fun means just being goofy with my buddies too.
2. Looking for different lines and learning how to be playful has actually made me a faster rider when I decide to put the hammer down again; I think I’ve unintentionally put more tools in my toolbox!
Anyways, thank you for putting out so many great articles that I can share with my friends. I’m always learning something! 🙂
Hi Laurie,
Great to hear! And thanks for sharing my articles with your friends!
Yes, that’s the beauty of mountain biking, everyone has a different definition of a good ride! Cool that hitting the fun lines has taught you how to be faster too.
Getting out of the racer mindset is tough, huh. It is still my default and I still enjoy going fast but I warming up to taking the fun lines instead of the fast lines.
You know, I just thought about this, maybe you and I enjoy going fast because it is what we are good at and what we have been rewarded for in the past. I honestly can’t pop near as well as some of my friends. Maybe I need to work on my popping skills! If I could get as much air off those little side hits as my friends do I would probably enjoy taking the fun lines more!