My heart was racing as I drove north from Seattle. To get to Bellingham and the mountain bike lessons to which I had committed, it was a straight shot on I-5 for 80 miles and there was hardly any traffic on that weekend morning. It was just me, the road, my intrusive thoughts, and the never-ending rattle of an unfamiliar bike on my Thule hitch.
The first time I got into mountain biking, I failed.
I didn’t fail at the sport per se, but I failed at being a beginner. I didn’t do any research, except for a few conversations with an uncle who biked. I bought the cheapest bike I could find. I didn’t think about pads or pedals, techniques or trail types.
Every time I got out there I was scared and miserably unprepared for the terrain and conditions (one exceptionally hot June trip to Moab comes to mind).
You probably won’t be surprised to hear that I didn’t stick with it for very long.
In the nearly ten years since I attempted the sport I’ve picked up other sports with great success. I attribute that to one important skill I’ve developed: I’ve learned how to be a beginner.
One problem that many beginners face, according to research, is actually one of overconfidence. I don’t need to research anything or ask for help, I can figure this out on my own. Since starting a career as a journalist — compared to the know-it-all college punk I was the first time I rode — I have become quite acquainted with asking questions and asking for help all the time.
It’s important for beginners to not swing too far the other way on the pendulum either, having no confidence in your ability to problem-solve and improve. Instead, I try to approach anything new from a place of non-judgement. I’m here. I’m trying. Let’s see how this goes.
That is exactly what I told myself as I pulled into the Lake Padden parking lot and found all sorts of ramps, platforms, logs, and cones laid out in a nearby field and half a dozen women geared up and ready to go for mountain bike lessons today.
Follow along in this series as I begin, again.
Step One: Take Mountain Bike Lessons
It never even occurred to me to take mountain bike lessons before. I thought people just got on the mountain and did it, relying on natural instinct and talent. I had some instruction from my now-husband, but he was fairly new to it too.
Meagen Dennis sees this major mistake often with new riders. “We often learn from our partners, or people who are less afraid of the sport, and we trust them to take us down something. And honestly, don’t do it. Learn from a professional. Learn from someone who knows how to break these skills down,” she says.
Dennis is the owner of the Norco Dirt Series Mountain Bike Camps. Long before she was the owner, she was a camp attendee, learning how to do it all herself. And when I showed up to the Norco Dirt Series for a two-day all women’s skills camp, she was my coach.
It instilled quite a bit of confidence in me to work with someone who believed so much in the instruction and mountain bike lessons in general.
“I’ve been a participant, I’ve been a volunteer, I’ve been a coach, I’ve helped do some back end work as kind of a consultant for a few years. Then I purchased the business and I’ve seen literally everything in this company,” she says.
Breaking Down Barriers
The all-women aspect was a big reason I felt comfortable even registering for the mountain bike lessons — showing up and knowing there would be people who share my life experiences in some part.
Before we started we all went around and introduced ourselves. Some women were like me: very new, nervous, hoping for the best. Though no one was advanced, others had at least some experience and were proud to admit they were addicted to adrenaline and ready to throw themselves into a challenge.
It was refreshing.
“I think women especially are very self deprecating in that we don’t think we can do as well as we really can. Which is why I love our women’s-specific format,” says Dennis.
Studies have shown that just the perception that mountain biking is a male-dominated sport, is a huge barrier to entry for women.
“At the end of the day, I just want to see more women out riding,” says Dennis.
Another highly ranked barrier to entry: the cost. There’s no getting around the fact that mountain biking is an expensive sport. I wanted to make sure I truly could see a fit for myself before I invested any more money than I had to.
The camp crew assured me that all I had to do was show up to these mountain bike lessons with a bike, which I rented. They provided demo shoes, pads, helmets, and pedals. (Normally, they have demo bikes to borrow as well, but supply chain issues made that not possible this season).
Dennis recognizes that someone like myself, might just want to try mountain bike lessons once and see how it goes. “This sport has a big barrier to entry because of cost,” she says. Though she hopes each woman who rolls through will be hooked and invest more into it.
The Skills
I can’t say I truly mastered anything over the two days of mountain bike lessons I attended, but I became quite familiar with terms and techniques that were all new to me. When I could not get the hang of something Dennis kindly reminded me, “you’re not struggling, you’re learning.”
Over the weekend we covered the basics. Prepping your bike for a day of riding. How to brake in different scenarios. How to get into a neutral stance or a ready stance. How to let the bike move underneath you and let your gaze guide a turn. How to get off the bike safely.
When I could not get the hang of something Dennis kindly reminded me, “you’re not struggling, you’re learning.”
Then we moved onto other important beginner skills: cornering, front and rear wheel lifts, drops, climbing techniques.
We’d spend the mornings doing drills and in the afternoons we’d put it all together out on the trails at the Galbraith Mountain Bike Park.
As helpful as the mountain bike lessons were, it was equally helpful knowing myself and how I learn.
Day one, I could not stop putting my pedals into the classic road cycling “flamingo” position–coasting with one pedal up and one pedal down. Dennis spent the whole day yelling “level pedals” at me from across the field or down the trail. I paid the price and took some minor spills because I couldn’t get my feet to focus on that level position.
But I tried not to get too frustrated about it. I reminded myself that I was going to get it. In fact, I had it. I just needed to take a break and reset my thinking. I know from experience that’s what I need when I get hung up on something involving my coordination. The next day, it wasn’t an issue once.
I asked Dennis at the end of our two days what she thought I should do next to keep progressing as a beginner. The short of it: keep practicing the skills. She gave me options for less time-intensive mountain bike lessons I could take that would hone in one skill at a time, now that I’ve really gotten my feet wet.
She reminded me: “It’s not all about just throwing yourself into the biggest, hardest thing. It’s looking at everything with a grain of salt and going, ‘What can I do today?’”