After picking up the full-face and the flats at the swap meet, it was just a matter of time. Chongoman and I circled the Sunday after Tday on the calendar, and planned on a short spin up the north face of Pass Mtn to the saddle as warm up. I love riding with Bob – he and I are so compatible in just about everything, we had a hoot spinning up 40 minutes and down 30 back to the NRA pit.

NRA has become a huge draw for the gravity and freeride crowd, the best site in the Valley. Up til recently it was outside anything i wanted to try, even though its only 10 minutes away. They have recently built a beginner line, and Bob had been there a few times enough to know 10am on a Sunday we would find some of the regulars willing to show us around. The only thing scarier to me than my first willful jumps since i smashed into Mark Croce’s mailbox when i was 10 was doing it without anyone to show me the way. As we rolled up, KennyB came flying down the trail on a Yeti hardtail with a gold set of rings and electric blue pedals–sweeeeeeeet bling. Kenny gave us the tour as we headed up the hill to the starting point of the B-line, and there is some incredible shit out there — things i do not see myself ever wanting to try — but awesome to watch and learn.

The first thing i noticed was there were very few natural drops in the trails Clockwork and his regulars cut into the hillside. It was mostly built-up dirt jumps with gaps and landings. I had never done this, and between the sharp angles of the takeoffs and the downsloping landings, I knew my goal for the first day: go off a ramp, come down without breaking my neck.   The beauty of my “no crashing” rule is that it make identifying stepping-stones very easy.     Anything beyond this would be a goal for another day; all i wanted was to learn one new thing and escape this session a better rider than before.   If i followed my fundamentals (pump, stay-centered, head up, stay off the brakes) and went the right speed, the bike would take care of the rest. But convincing myself of this strategy was an entirely different thing. never really happened, as I flew up 30 degree slopes that felt vertical to me, and over exposed rocks and bushes. I sweated each early jump, but knew that once i lined it up there was really no braking or turning back. The easiest way out was through, hesitating would lead to eating shit.   Getting paced by Bob in front helped a lot – i knew i really just had to follow him and stay within my discipline.

Bob and I hit the beginner line about 5 times.   It started with with one of the few natural drops, to an obscured landing, over some plants onto the curving trail. The scarier take off line led to the easiest…well, flight…and easier landing.   It was a proper litmus test for the run to be able to fly the 5 feet, or not. Looking at the jump, it became the primary question of my morning: are you gonna hit this, or are you gonna go home?   I was scared, but training got me through it and into a nice landing. There is a big bermed turn soon after, and Kenny told me to stay heavy on the fork to keep from drifting out — indeed he was correct, a bonus lesson for the day. This led to about 6 more jumps, some with easy and some with rockier gaps, a few bigger than others.

I struggled with keeping my feet on the pedals and landing on the nose, I struggled with self-doubt, but i was happy to see after a few runs that the jumps i was still struggling with were the slightly harder ones that I should feel no shame not hitting on day 1.   I hit one of them twice; the first time a nose landing, the second a near slide sideways – both times survived by just being cool honeybunny.   The last run Bob wanted to go up off a wooden ramp gap jump, and he nailed it, and then ended with a long leap that trannied into the pit.   It was fun to watch, I think i might have made them both, but refusing to fall was the motto, and i wanted a good finish to a good day.

Today I went through the pit while doing the Hawes-Pass Mountain Loop.   I decided to hit the easiest stuff on the b-line, enough to give me a few reps but not get stoopid without the right gear and warm-up.   Right at the start off the drop over the rocks, the landing felt stiff.   Duh! I left my fork locked out from the XC climb up Hawes, but it was cool to have come back a week later and not fretted that one.   Through the bermed turn and a few small jumps and i felt good.   The largest ramp, all 2 feet of it (which Eabos and Kenny will laugh their asses off if they read this), was a small act of faith to point up it and go, but i had the right form and it was no problem.   Its kind of a rush.

The cloud behind the silver lining was the Forest Service is planning to bulldoze all the jumps.   They recently plotted an extension to Wild Horse trail that will bypass the pit proper and parallel Ellsworth another mile up the pass.   I rode it today, and it will be a fun little XC trail like Big Rock, but nothing special.   And totally redundant with the existing trail that runs through the pit and out to the road, which has a ginormous shoulder and bike lane and is very heavily used by bikes already.   I don’t understand where approval comes from, if its from the whim of the FS Land Manager?   Tearing down something unique that a lot of people enjoy…why?   I’ve heard people on MTBR complain about such-and-such changes to such-and-such trail, but the closest i’ve come to this was the mile on TRW they shut down.   This pisses me off, and I’ve only been there twice!!!     Sometimes i just hate the government.