Mental Skills Articles

Probably never thought of it that way but often fear can save you from injury and it can create a great feeling of accomplishment when you overcome it (through practice and baby steps).

At BetterRide we define winning while mountain biking as doing your personal best. Not just showing up to ride but doing the best you can on any given day. I learned this when I coached for the Steamboat Spring Winter Sports Club. Despite coaching more Olympians that any other city in America the SSWSC defined winning as, “Doing your personal best”. The wise coaches who shaped the SSWSC understood that 99% of their athletes were never going to make a living at the sport and there were bigger things to be taught than just coming in 1st place. This is a great lesson for life too. If you do your best at what ever you are doing (working, playing, learning, etc.) you will be satisfied and happy. If you slack off you will be disappointed, it really is that simple.

Your body has NO idea how to ride a mountain bike correctly! Your brain might know some skills but your body doesn’t preform them. A great example of this is looking ahead, we all know to do this but 99% of mountain bikers fail to do this most/all of the time. You honestly aren’t riding as well as you are physically and mentally capable of because your body doesn’t understand how to consistently ride in balance and in control.
Why does your body have no idea how to ride correctly? You and your body aren’t dumb, I’m not putting you down, it is just comes down to practice, you haven’t done any….

Issues Keeping You From Mountain Biking at Your Best, Part 2.

Fear, the killer! Fear is a topic we deal with a lot in our skills camps. Even with new and/or greatly improved skills from our camp fear can still hold you back. With this in mind I will share some ways we help our students manage their fear while mountain biking. Fear does have a purpose and it isn’t always a bad thing, ….