Why riding easier trails is the best way to start your season

I understand. Nothing is more exciting than getting back out on trails finally thawed and dried out after a long Canadian winter. We all want to get right back into the best, hardest trails we can ride. But if you really want to get better on the bike this year the fastest way is to stay away from the hard trails. Ditch the double blacks. Start slow and start easy.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast

As a good friend used to say, “Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.” He wasn’t talking about mountain biking, but it applies. We all know going through a corner smoothly is faster than coming in hot and slamming on the breaks. But it can be hard not to do just that when you’re fighting for your life, or at least to stay in control, through a corner partway down a steep, technical, or steep and technical trail.

Cruising through chill corners, whatever level of riding “chill” means for you, it’s much easier to remember proper technique. Not just remember, but execute and reinforce that technique. Especially if you slow down just a little instead of trying to ride ever easier section as fast as you can.

Isolating technique doesn’t have to mean drills

Taking out all of the extra factors and isolating one or two skills in your riding makes it easier to work on those skills. Whether that’s corners, roots, rocks, jumps, whatever vexes you the most in your riding, the theory is the same. Riding a trail difficulty grade or two down from your usual routine is one of the best, and more fun ways to do that. Green trails or easy blues are a great way to find a series of smooth corners to practice technique and still have fun, instead of pulling out cones for cornering drills (though that’s also a great idea). They’re great ways to practice jumps that have a predictable run out, or reinforce technique for getting over a log when you know there isn’t another feature hiding on the other side.

For example…

This is one of those things that we all know, but few of us take the time to do. It’s way more fun to go hit your favorite, most challenging trails all the time. Most of us wish we had more time to ride, and don’t want to “waste” that time riding easy trails. But this is something that I promise will pay off in the long run, or even the very short term.

A concrete example: A few years back I had the great fortune and luck to spend a week house sitting in Squamish. The place I was ostensibly taking care of was situated right at the bottom of…