Mental Skills Articles

Fear is a powerful and often misunderstood emotion that has some effect on every mountain bike ride we do. The fear we ALL experience while mountain biking varies greatly in intensity from rider to rider and from trail to trail. Most riders think of pro downhill racers as fearless but in my 19 years of coaching them and 15 years of being one I have found that even the fastest pro downhill racers experience fear, on beginner trails!

So the idea of “No Fear” is comical at best, we all experience fear and it isn’t always a bad thing, fear can save us

All the skills coaching, drill doing, fitness coaching and workout smashing in the world will not allow us to reach our goals until we overcome this issue. Whether you are self-taught and relatively new to riding or a veteran with skills coaching experience and years on your mountain bike this might be holding you back.

The number one issue holding you back from reaching your potential is in your mind! I cringe when I hear my students say …
How to do you stop this often subconscious self-defeating cycle?  Step one is to identify the belief, “I am a good rider but will never be great”

All mountain bikers can learn a lot from Aaron Gwin’s winning run at Mont Sainte Anne this year. You don’t have to be into downhill mountain biking or even enjoy it to learn from this amazing run.

If you don’t know much about this incredible feat I will give you the backstory. ….
Lesson 1.  Intention! Aaron decided to ride his best and give it is all! He was obviously focused the entire time and didn’t change his riding due to the weather, he rode the track as if it were dry!

Intention is everything! Aaron decided to ride his best and give it is all! He was obviously focused the entire time and didn’t change his riding due to the weather, he rode the track as if it were dry!

We have probably all read that we should set goals in life (and sport) and then work towards them. What if I told you there is a much better way to achieve your mountain biking goals and a much more enjoyable way too?
Wow, as a mountain bike coach I never thought I would tell you to stop setting goals! A few years ago I read an article that talked about not setting goals but creating and doing processes that allow you to grow in the direction you want to. Before that, in his book Body Mind, Mastery Dan Millman taught me something similar, to set my goals, write them down and then set them aside and simply focus on being the best I can be every day.

Focusing on being the best you can be, helps keep you in the moment (instead of focusing on the goal which could be months or even years away) and if you honestly do this you are likely to exceed your goals