MORE
May 1st, 2005, 01:03 AM
By Tom Mathis
Tom Mathis is mtb boot-camp instructor extraordinaire and author of many of the funniest e-mails to ever hit the MORE listserv. He returns to the Trailhead News after a hiatus marked by bearing offspring, earning promotions and other distractions
Over the years, folks have asked me about an ‘Advanced MTB Clinic’- I’ve been teaching a basic, i.e. “Boot Camp”, clinic for several years and folks have wanted more… I’ve entertained the idea of an advanced clinic, but could never figure out a lesson plan that made sense. Folks often consider ‘Bunny / J-Hops, riding a wheelie, going Big, etc.’ as Advanced MTB…true, these are Advanced Skills or tricks, but not what I consider skills that lend to increased proficiency. For example, when I trained seriously in Martial Arts, there are all sorts of complex dynamics techniques with associated whiz-bang names, like a ‘Tornado Kick’- Holy Moly Batman, can you imagine the fear one brings on when they whip out the ‘Tornado’- ha, ha! Ultimately folks realize that a cool technique of amazing complexity and physical prowess doesn’t translate into fighting skills or advanced combative knowledge. When I think of ‘Advanced’ in the context of MTB- my mind wanders down the path of the complexity associated to a System of Systems.
Anyone who is nobody in the technology side of the Defense Industry has heard of a System of Systems (SoS), it is one of those terms like Horizontal Integration, Net-Centric, GIG, NCES, EBO, blah, blah, etc.- terms/words that most folks absolutely have no idea what they mean, but don’t consider ‘understanding’ as an obstacle to the liberal application of these types of words.
A System is simply defined as two or more things that work together to do another thing. The things can be people and processes, technology and people, processes and technology and more from a car to an airport or the World Wide Web, etc. Ultimately, the definition of a ‘System’ is driven by perspective. For example a Wheel is a System that is composed of a Rim, Spokes & Nipples, Hub and Skewer/Axle- granted the Hub is also a System or we can abstract up and focus on the Bike, which is also a System. Since a Bike is composed of many smaller systems, e.g. Wheel, Fork, Transmission, Frame, Pedals, etc. of unique functionality that, in aggregate, lends to a capability- a Bike, ultimately, can be considered a SoS. Advanced MTB, imho, requires abstracting even a bit more and including the Rider, the Environment and Personality. Understanding how these respective complex components interface with each other dynamically to achieve the desired capability and performance lends to the foundation of Advance MTB. These critical interfaces are the first the Environment and the Rider, the Rider and the MTB and the MTB with the Environment- each of these interface have 1st, 2nd and 3rd order effects on the MTB SoS and potentially more…
A simple question I ask folks who prod me for insight into ‘Advanced MTB’ is, “what tire pressure do you like to ride for the front, rear?” Often, folks don’t know- I’ll explain the importance of this, etc. and will ask them again weeks, months later…if they don’t know at this time- then I know they don’t have the mindset to be receptive to learning. The tire is a critical interface w/ terrain and rubber compound, tread pattern, air pressure, etc. are exponentially critical details to appreciate for ‘Advanced MTB’- a person can be ignorant of durometers, etc. but they should have a relative understanding of the performance value of the brand/type of tire they are running respective to air pressure. This associated performance value respective to tire pressure has tradeoffs-- lower pressure often lends to more traction, but can lend to less sensitivity/feedback at speeds on turns, more flex during hard accelerations and pinch flats if folks are still running tubes…
Ultimately Advanced MTB knowledge is not acquired by mastering a specific skill or spectrum of skills, not by memorizing all the mechanical and technological details of your bike, not by training to peak condition and then some, nor by simply just riding a 24/7. It is acquired by a more cognitive awareness of Mountain Biking- a combination of experience, reflection, synthesis, experimentation, and application… Success isn’t simply determined by how fast one can ride nor simply if you can clear a certain obstacle, etc., but rather by how much one understands about how to ride fast respective to the trail, ones conditioning and the bike one is riding, how to negotiate an obstacle then applying that knowledge with demonstrated control and a degree of predictable failure for increased, unconscious performance. Once on a ride with a friend- after his 3rd or 4th failed log obstacle attempt- I asked him, “Dude- like what are you thinking when you approach the log…do you know what you are doing and what confidence level do you have for success?” His answer illustrated he wasn’t sure how he gets over a log and every attempt he thought his chance of success was like 50/50. He is actually a fairly experienced rider- but never improves his log clearing technique because there is no technique, no thought. Just momentum. A very deliberate way to acquire Advanced MTB knowledge is to do things slower and slower, e.g. stop at the base of a hill, shift your gears to 1:1 front and rear and from a dead stop- slowly crank your way up the hill, ensuring your pedal RPMs are only at the rate you required for necessary traction…after awhile, body position, trail focus, what to relax and what to tense and eventually ‘trail sensitivity’ will kick in…you’ll appreciate, if you have suspension, why balanced suspension is key, exactly how tire pressure, body position, relaxation and pedal cadence and stroke play a role in traction and control on different soil conditions. The same goes for descending, logs, drops, etc. To do something slow, you have to be under control and details like bike setup, etc. become very apparent. Since I’m usually riding with beginners, one of my favorite things is to cruise down a trail w/ a slight decline and not pedal, but try to max my momentum via good line selection, working my body and the bike to accelerate out of turns and staying really loose over the saddle so that no negative feed back from me translate down to the bike and then the ground to steal precious momentum.
Advanced MTB as in all things in life is ultimately applied knowledge- and also like life, even if you once had the knowledge, if you don’t apply it consistently it diminishes- especially in physical activities. Knowledge just isn’t mental, but physical- especially, in the Spring post a long winter (or after 17-months of new parenthood)…your mind may say “Yes”, but your body has a lag or has forgotten how to do something that mentally seems so obvious. It is just a fact of life and MTB and no use it getting upset about it. My favorite saying is that “you have to earn your right to ride”- folks often translate that into conditioning, which is part of it- however, I’m hinting more at acquiring the knowledge and applying it to achieve one’s expectations. It is very easy to get in shape and ride fast if you have the schedule and discipline- it takes much more patience to acquire the knowledge to ride faster and be smoother. Experience does not make one exempt from this basic law of diminishing capabilities- knowledge, skill, physical prowess…it all diminishes with time and every ride whether you are a seasoned pro or a newbie, you have to work to sustain what have or earn what you covet or just accept who you are- ha, ha!
Tom Mathis is mtb boot-camp instructor extraordinaire and author of many of the funniest e-mails to ever hit the MORE listserv. He returns to the Trailhead News after a hiatus marked by bearing offspring, earning promotions and other distractions
Over the years, folks have asked me about an ‘Advanced MTB Clinic’- I’ve been teaching a basic, i.e. “Boot Camp”, clinic for several years and folks have wanted more… I’ve entertained the idea of an advanced clinic, but could never figure out a lesson plan that made sense. Folks often consider ‘Bunny / J-Hops, riding a wheelie, going Big, etc.’ as Advanced MTB…true, these are Advanced Skills or tricks, but not what I consider skills that lend to increased proficiency. For example, when I trained seriously in Martial Arts, there are all sorts of complex dynamics techniques with associated whiz-bang names, like a ‘Tornado Kick’- Holy Moly Batman, can you imagine the fear one brings on when they whip out the ‘Tornado’- ha, ha! Ultimately folks realize that a cool technique of amazing complexity and physical prowess doesn’t translate into fighting skills or advanced combative knowledge. When I think of ‘Advanced’ in the context of MTB- my mind wanders down the path of the complexity associated to a System of Systems.
Anyone who is nobody in the technology side of the Defense Industry has heard of a System of Systems (SoS), it is one of those terms like Horizontal Integration, Net-Centric, GIG, NCES, EBO, blah, blah, etc.- terms/words that most folks absolutely have no idea what they mean, but don’t consider ‘understanding’ as an obstacle to the liberal application of these types of words.
A System is simply defined as two or more things that work together to do another thing. The things can be people and processes, technology and people, processes and technology and more from a car to an airport or the World Wide Web, etc. Ultimately, the definition of a ‘System’ is driven by perspective. For example a Wheel is a System that is composed of a Rim, Spokes & Nipples, Hub and Skewer/Axle- granted the Hub is also a System or we can abstract up and focus on the Bike, which is also a System. Since a Bike is composed of many smaller systems, e.g. Wheel, Fork, Transmission, Frame, Pedals, etc. of unique functionality that, in aggregate, lends to a capability- a Bike, ultimately, can be considered a SoS. Advanced MTB, imho, requires abstracting even a bit more and including the Rider, the Environment and Personality. Understanding how these respective complex components interface with each other dynamically to achieve the desired capability and performance lends to the foundation of Advance MTB. These critical interfaces are the first the Environment and the Rider, the Rider and the MTB and the MTB with the Environment- each of these interface have 1st, 2nd and 3rd order effects on the MTB SoS and potentially more…
A simple question I ask folks who prod me for insight into ‘Advanced MTB’ is, “what tire pressure do you like to ride for the front, rear?” Often, folks don’t know- I’ll explain the importance of this, etc. and will ask them again weeks, months later…if they don’t know at this time- then I know they don’t have the mindset to be receptive to learning. The tire is a critical interface w/ terrain and rubber compound, tread pattern, air pressure, etc. are exponentially critical details to appreciate for ‘Advanced MTB’- a person can be ignorant of durometers, etc. but they should have a relative understanding of the performance value of the brand/type of tire they are running respective to air pressure. This associated performance value respective to tire pressure has tradeoffs-- lower pressure often lends to more traction, but can lend to less sensitivity/feedback at speeds on turns, more flex during hard accelerations and pinch flats if folks are still running tubes…
Ultimately Advanced MTB knowledge is not acquired by mastering a specific skill or spectrum of skills, not by memorizing all the mechanical and technological details of your bike, not by training to peak condition and then some, nor by simply just riding a 24/7. It is acquired by a more cognitive awareness of Mountain Biking- a combination of experience, reflection, synthesis, experimentation, and application… Success isn’t simply determined by how fast one can ride nor simply if you can clear a certain obstacle, etc., but rather by how much one understands about how to ride fast respective to the trail, ones conditioning and the bike one is riding, how to negotiate an obstacle then applying that knowledge with demonstrated control and a degree of predictable failure for increased, unconscious performance. Once on a ride with a friend- after his 3rd or 4th failed log obstacle attempt- I asked him, “Dude- like what are you thinking when you approach the log…do you know what you are doing and what confidence level do you have for success?” His answer illustrated he wasn’t sure how he gets over a log and every attempt he thought his chance of success was like 50/50. He is actually a fairly experienced rider- but never improves his log clearing technique because there is no technique, no thought. Just momentum. A very deliberate way to acquire Advanced MTB knowledge is to do things slower and slower, e.g. stop at the base of a hill, shift your gears to 1:1 front and rear and from a dead stop- slowly crank your way up the hill, ensuring your pedal RPMs are only at the rate you required for necessary traction…after awhile, body position, trail focus, what to relax and what to tense and eventually ‘trail sensitivity’ will kick in…you’ll appreciate, if you have suspension, why balanced suspension is key, exactly how tire pressure, body position, relaxation and pedal cadence and stroke play a role in traction and control on different soil conditions. The same goes for descending, logs, drops, etc. To do something slow, you have to be under control and details like bike setup, etc. become very apparent. Since I’m usually riding with beginners, one of my favorite things is to cruise down a trail w/ a slight decline and not pedal, but try to max my momentum via good line selection, working my body and the bike to accelerate out of turns and staying really loose over the saddle so that no negative feed back from me translate down to the bike and then the ground to steal precious momentum.
Advanced MTB as in all things in life is ultimately applied knowledge- and also like life, even if you once had the knowledge, if you don’t apply it consistently it diminishes- especially in physical activities. Knowledge just isn’t mental, but physical- especially, in the Spring post a long winter (or after 17-months of new parenthood)…your mind may say “Yes”, but your body has a lag or has forgotten how to do something that mentally seems so obvious. It is just a fact of life and MTB and no use it getting upset about it. My favorite saying is that “you have to earn your right to ride”- folks often translate that into conditioning, which is part of it- however, I’m hinting more at acquiring the knowledge and applying it to achieve one’s expectations. It is very easy to get in shape and ride fast if you have the schedule and discipline- it takes much more patience to acquire the knowledge to ride faster and be smoother. Experience does not make one exempt from this basic law of diminishing capabilities- knowledge, skill, physical prowess…it all diminishes with time and every ride whether you are a seasoned pro or a newbie, you have to work to sustain what have or earn what you covet or just accept who you are- ha, ha!