MTB Essentialism: The 2 Most Important MTB Skills
Photo by Colin Meagher
I am routinely asked “how can I improve my mtb skills?” As a former classroom teacher, I pride myself on delivering clear and concise instruction that leaves you with an action plan rather than a lengthy to-do list. I spend hours thinking about how much information is needed to learn a skill, the appropriate words to use, and ways to maximize practice time in order for your body to grasp what your mind has heard.
I recently started reading Essentialism, by Greg McKeown, and after yet another comment from a client regarding, “I can only focus on one thing at a time,” I realized I wanted to pair down MTB skills to their essential elements and define the most important skill to help improve your riding. The first thing I did, naturally, was have a group of kids I coach journal on the topic. The journal prompt: “What are the 3 most important skills you need to mountain bike?” I had already given the matter some thought, and knew my answer, but I wanted to see if the kids' thinking lined up with my own. The response from the kids blew me away and gave me a taste of my own medicine. The kids responded with things like, “confidence, the ability to try new things, being OK w messing up, trail etiquette, and fun.” I was floored. I thought their comments would be,”you need to be able to balance, or corner, or lift your front wheel.” Nope, they nailed it and went straight to mindset over skill.
Photo by Colin Meagher
I start all my clinics with a short chat about growth mindset before moving onto the practical skills portion. Right, OK Bekah, we get it, you need to have a growth mindset, but how do I ride down those roots? Below are my two essential MTB skills. In my opinion, these are the two most important skills you need to be a competent and confident mountain biker.
Growth Mindset. The kids reminded me that mindset is more important than physical skill. To have a growth mindset is absolutely the most important mountain bike skill. To mess up, and view it as a learning opportunity. To struggle and know you can get better with deliberate practice and effort. To dab on the rock garden and not beat yourself up about it. To try the switchback 5 times, not get it, and still finish the ride with a smile because you know you can come back. That is what it means to mountain bike with a growth mindset!
Foot Pressure Awareness. OK, you understand mindset is important, but what do I do on my bike? Your feet are the literal foundation of your mountain bike skills. If you are not able to evenly weight and deliberately and correctly unweight your feet, everything else will be a struggle. One of my favorite sayings regarding mtb skills is, “If the bike were to disappear, you should land on your feet.” Mountain biking requires balance that originates in your feet, rather than relying on your handlebars to support you or to lean back. Cornering is all about shifting foot pressure from one side to the next, jumping is about compressing down through your feet, techy loose rock gardens and roots are about maintaining a strong stable foundation through the feet to allow the bike to bounce around underneath you. The next time you are out riding, think about your feet. Connect with your feet. Notice how one foot may feel more tired than the other and see what happens if you unweight your bars and find all of your weight supported by your feet!
In summary, strip away all the noise from the MTB how to videos and focus on a growth mindset and your feet. These are not skills you will ever master. Rather, they will always be a work in progress, but I hope they help you ride with more confidence and have more fun out on the trail!