This is making shift happen, and I'm your
host Jen Katz.
Over the years, I've coached hundreds of clients.
Find their ideal self through the way they
nourish their bodies and minds. And now I'm
here to help pass on these same strategies
to you. To so let's stop the madness
and get your results once and for all.
Let's go.
Hello, fam.
Thanks for joining me this week, and thanks
for being so patient. My voice... This is
the best. My voice has been actually all
week.
I raised in Silver rush
50
out in Lead, Colorado, and it was an
amazing event.
For those of you don't know already. I
have vocal cord dysfunction. I've had it. Ever
since I've
really known about it. But I was diagnosed
later in life unfortunately because I was mis
diagnosed with asthma for years.
But I guess the combination of dusty conditions
in Lead, the high elevation on sucking wind,
and and my Vc just caused me to
have my voice ebb and flow in these
past few days. So I had planned
to record this episode on Monday
because that's usually what I do. Mondays or
Tuesdays. I record this, and that's why I
block time.
Unfortunately, my voice just was not cooperating, and
I sounded like a broken
a broken record.
But, yeah, Thanks for being patient for this
episode to be coming out. Because, hey, I'm
really excited about this up. Of course, like
all of my episodes, I guess, I can
say. And, you know, the reason for that
is because this is going to be a
summary of my bi magazine article that I
wrote. So and
you know, it was it was updated and
published on 06/06/2024.
And it was... It's basically my summary of,
you know, hey, 10 mountain biking tips that
can help new riders.
And
it's not necessarily skills based, but it is
going to be based on just things that
you
that you really wanna focus on, You know,
and not not the things that
are kind of smoke mirrors that are the
things that maybe
you shouldn't be focusing on especially if you
are new to the sport. Because, you know,
a little bit about my background
in case you didn't know.
God. Sorry. My boy... This is just the
voice you're gonna have to deal with.
When I was at the University of North
Carolina in Greens.
You went to you.
That was over 20 years ago. We won't
talk about that.
And, you know, someone I was dating at
the time. Introduced Me mount Making. And she
was actually a Mountain Biking instructor, Mountain Biking
coach at the time and
you know, kind of a situation,
at over heels for the individual and it's
so funny to think about, you, young love.
But
went and visited her for weekend trip to
mountains because she in her roommate, Nick, were
were there as well, and I'm actually kinda
laughing out because I just shared, a name.
And, I mean, those of you who have
no me for this long. You know who
I'm talking about.
But, you know,
I fell in love with Mountain biking that
weekend. And it's kind funny because in retrospect,
looking back on my bike. You know, I
do recall her looking at my bike thinking,
you know, in Did say, like, hey. When's
was last time, you know,
it was serviced.
When was the last time, you know, that
did chain was lube, and, you know, things
like that. So she did dig good care
of me.
She was a little hesitant, though because I'll
be honest with you. I'm kind surprised that
I went. Down that trail on that specific
bike because it was...
It was a great bike. Mom and dad
if you're listening, I loved to that bike.
It was great,
I think it was like an old Mon
if I'm not mistaken, like, years ago. Bought
it from Mountain biking shop in Florida if
that gives you any idea. Yeah and at
time I was, of course, living in North
Carolina. And, you know, I was like, 26
inch bike.
And,
yeah. Had, like, a front fork. It was
a hard tail. So I had a had
a fork, had some suspension up there,
but it was definitely
sitting in the garage for quite a few
years and just sitting dormant, not being used.
But then when I found out she would
d mount biking and I've always been intrigued
by it,
at especially living in North carolina at the
time.
Shook me out, and I had a blast.
It was terrifying,
but I remember it being more fun than
it was terrifying. You know, the only reason
it was terrifying is because my brakes probably
should've have been looked at,
you know, back in the day, old caliber
breaks. And
they just weren't breaking as effectively. And we
were riding, you know, around kinda like the
sol area in North Carolina,
not in Sol Park, but in that area,
and
I have since fall in love with the
sport.
I will say I did take hiatus so
even though I started mountain biking, you know,
over 20 years ago. Did take a good,
like, 10 or so your hiatus just because
I I didn't I didn't really know anyone.
I didn't have any friends who were out
by biking at the time.
And also, you know, at the time, I
was in a relationship that just didn't
allow the space time or energy for Mountain
biking. Let's put that way, Mainly because of
just the other individual. So
all of this to say that, hey, Mountain
Biking has been an evolution for me over
the years. And it all started with that
little, you know, weekend date in the mountains
with a friend who I was seeing at
the time and and I had an absolute
blessed with that.
Now, of course, over the years, my biking
has evolved. And once I did get back
into mountain Biking, right around, like, 20,
15 or 20 14 because I moved to
Colorado in 20 14.
That's when I started to really just fall
in love with it head over heels. Oh
my gosh.
And
I took a clinic with Vid mountain bike
series
and shout out to Sarah raleigh and the
crew.
And
I participated in, like, my
second race.
Was my second mountain Biking can race. Because
I did race Mountain bike, you know, it
did participate in Mountain Biking race years prior
in North Carolina just for, you know, s
as and g's. But... Because
did my second mountain by grace that weekend
Fell in love with it.
Realized how to shape it was. And then
also just, you know, realize like, how much
I love. That energy and the vibe of
a mount biking greece. So
there you go. That gives you a little
bit of my...
Background and how my passion
for bikes and Mountain biking just kept increasing
And then lo behold, hey, in 20 16,
you know, I searched fault
even deeper, and that's when I found it
shift team performance. It was actually under a
different name. Rave river wellness at the time,
but shift... Found it shift performance. It was
mainly focused on health coaching. But then as
my my love and passion for bikes really
start to increase and involve and search chase
that because it's... It was such a long
time passion.
Because I was... What I didn't say is
in that 20 year span. I was also
a road cyclist.
Excuse me, end road cycling was my big
time passion when I lived in North Carolina,
until I had a little little incident with
a car, and
and that's when I, you know, kind just
stop road biking as much, and
that the rest is history. Alright. So I
did get into road cycling,
really heavily.
And that was something I focused on more
in terms of, like, just endurance distance, doing
a lot of charity events and things like
that. A lot of, you know, century rides
half century rad stuff like that. Metric centuries.
But now, I'm addicted to the dirt,
whether it's gravel or Mountain Biking, I will
say I do fare
more heavily on the Mountain Biking side, and
that's why today's episode it's going to be
speaking specifically,
on the 10 tips 10 tips for better
Mountain. But for
newer mountain biker,
that way, you can kinda make
real good headway and just improve
your skills and abilities, and that will in
turn
cater to you really falling in love with
the sport as much as I did. Alright?
So the first thing that I have first
tip
is to take a lesson,
you know? And
I say this because I spent my first
few years. Chasing my best friends on the
trails.
You know, shout out to Gary, shout out
to Jason, you know, shout all my guys.
Because
they were only knew. I didn't know any
other female mountain biker, except for, of course,
you know, the the girl that I I
was senior in college. But
you know, it was 1 of those situations
where
it was also,
you know, back in my day, it was
before we really had, like, online groups.
And, you know,
Facebook wasn't necessarily a thing. And, you know,
there wasn't just these groups where you can
just shoot a message to
mass amount of people and say, hey, I'm
gonna be here at 5PM
for an after work ride. Meet me, you
know, that there just wasn't that. I did
a lot of writing by myself or a
lot of writing with my friends Gary or
Jason, scary.
And... So you know, I definitely followed their
lead. They were both phenomenal mountain biker. And
I followed their lead, and that definitely helped
me learn the basics. But I did also
pick some pick up some less than ideal
habits,
while riding with friends and then also while
road cycling because force road cycling, we do
tend to hug the saddle a little bit
with our thighs, you know, and kinda lean
back a little bit. So our geometry is
different. And I start to apply a lot
of the road cycling geometry basics
to my mountain biking endeavor. And that definitely
didn't match, you know,
quite as effectively for me to really have
the traction in
efficiency and power and speed that I need
it on the Mountain bike. So,
of course, back when I started, you know,
in 2000,
skills clinics, they were not nearly as popular
as they are now. I will say now
you even have women only clinics. And, you
know,
c clinics and and clinics specifically on drops
and jumps, clinics specifically on basics and intro
level and all of the all of the
things. So whether you're newbie or you're an
advanced cyclist, I highly recommend a skills clinic,
whether that's with the venture birds. I will
go ahead and tag these individuals in the
show notes so check them out. There's also
the ladies ride series,
you know, ninja
camp, there... There's endless endless endless resources. You
can also check out the women's Mt network,
they're going to have a list of especially
women specific or non binary
coaches
who
specialize in coaching other women and non binary
individuals. So definitely someone to check out.
But I will say
the earlier
that you are able to learn your basic
skills,
especially bike body separation, how to position your
bike on your body on the bike how
to break effectively how to corner effectively how
to look and
trail and terrain. The earlier you can do
that, the better because that's going to really
prevent you from how getting some of those
poor skills
that I'm even still to the day trying
trying to shake a little bit. Alright. So
go attend a skills clinic. But then the
second tip here is going to be the
most important follow to that. And that's to
practice the skills that you learn in that
clinic,
because, hey, it's great. You know, I love
it when people do hire
a coach,
and, you know, they... Go to a clinic
and they do the thing. Right?
The problem is is they think that that's
all they need to do. They just need
to go to the clinic. They just need
to hire a coach and then boop, it's
gonna be done. They're going to by the
power of Osmosis. They're going to get all
the skills
and all of the things that they need
to,
you know,
mountain bike effectively or to lose the weight
that they want to or to increase their
muscle or whatever.
The thing is is you have to take
action. So going to the skills clinic yes
that's step 1 that is a huge amount
of action, but you have to take action
number 2, and that is to practice the
skills that you learn in the clinic. To
do the thing that the coach is actually
guiding you to do. Now,
I will say when I did my first
skills clinic back in 20 15 that I
mentioned with Vita Mt series
I I failed to consistently practice the skills
that I learned at that clinic after the
clinic ended. You know? Sometimes when I was
out on the trail, I would kinda practice
certain things, but I didn't necessarily go to
the park or go to the parking lot
or the road out front of my house
or the alley
and practice the skills that I learned.
If I did practice the skills that I
learned, then I actually could have given myself
chance to implement. What I learned.
So what I recommend is setting aside at
least a few minutes a couple of times
a week to practice what you learn and
then keep progressing the difficulties So you continue
to progress on your bike. That's gonna be
the key is putting in the practice, putting
an effective practice. And that way you can
actually put forth the effort. So that you
need to see the improvement in progress on
the trail. Alright?
Alright. Number 3. Find your community. You need
some people to ride with, You know, a
lot like me that back in back of
my day. Back in college, I just wasn't...
You know, I was writing solo a lot.
So in between classes, I'd go grab a
ride after classes, I'd go, grab a ride
on nights that I didn't have to wait
tables or bar 10, I would go and
grab a ride after classes.
And I mean, you know, you can ride
Solo. I had a grand all time,
but
it is infinitely more fun to ride with
other people. Every once in a while,
you know, plus, not to mention having some
sort of community to ride with and to
kinda lean on for support will help you
grow as a mountain biker. You know? And
and, of course, I do encourage riding with
other women if you are a woman,
just because there's something about that energy, and
we talk about this, I swear to again
get. We talk about this every time
I do a a woman specific clinic or
ride or something like that and nothing against
the male counterparts. We love you dearly.
But there is just something about a group
of woman coming together,
and
it's kind of magical.
I don't know It's like this magic of
sister, and it's so amazing and I love
seeing it and love seeing the high fives
and smiles and love seeing the confidence,
really just
so it's like a rocket. You know? I
love seeing everyone's confidence just soar after a
group bride or a group clinic that
is all women. It's it's really... It's
it's powerful. If you can't tell, I'm smiling
ear to ear right now, just thinking about
it.
Now,
How can you find these groups? Usually, you
can find them through your local trail maintenance
organizations such as like Comb, for example, Colorado
Mountain Biking Association. As well as any other
trail maintenance, you know, groups that you have
in your specific area.
You can also do that on social media,
search on social media, search on, you know,
Facebook. Gram things like that. And then of
course search online, you know, search online, do
a nice little Google search, and Google a
hell out of it. Google, whatever you need
to find, in terms of, you know, women's
mountain bike,
club, women's mountain bike, group, women's Mountain bike
clinic. And, you know,
you
search it for your area, and you can
kinda find what you need. Alright? But go
on some rides. I know it's scary. If
I'll link another episode in the show notes
when I talked about going on the group
ride because I know it can be super
scary to do something new. And
to,
you know, get out of your comfort zone
and go ride with people you don't even
know and you've never met But let me
tell you most of the time. I will
say, like, I'd say majority of the time.
Individuals are going to be so incredibly
supportive and helpful and
just... They're gonna be amazing. I I can't
I can't see enough good things about just
going and going on the right. Just going
and doing the thing.
Alright.
Number 4, I have to say this 1.
You've gotta fuel your ride friend. You really
do.
The reason for that is
you are not going to be able to
ride effectively or with clarity and attention,
and focus that you need on rocky terrain
and tree filled terrain
if you're not fueled effectively. And I love
my snacks
but I will say that when I did
start writing,
I didn't feel enough for my rides, especially
when I was road. Oh my god. If
I could go back, I don't know how
you all feel. But if I could go
back
and fuel,
you know, 20 year old jen.
And 20 to 30 year old jet when
I was a road, and I was dabbling
in mountain biking a little bit.
Oh my gosh, friends.
I would
be... I would have had such better rides.
I mean, I had Vc back then I
didn't know. I had Vc, so I I
had no idea why I couldn't breathe.
Man I felt like I was gonna pass
out. It's because of my vocal boards were,
you know, my larynx was just closing. And,
unfortunately, you know, I was also on top
of that not fueling enough.
And there are so many times when I
wish, like, when I look back on my
group rides that I was doing with my
Bike team in San Francisco and And,
oh, my god. Why am Forgetting the the
all the city of north of San Francisco?
It's like, my favorite place. Saw.
It's like my favorite place to road ride
Oh my. So fucking beautiful.
When I look back on those rides that
I doing in Salsa, so it was just
San Francisco with my friends team,
and I just had no energy. And I'm
like, Jen, you just needed an the effing
snack. Even if it was like a Granola
bar. You just needed a Granola bar or
some fig newton
something. You just needed something. Alright?
Now, my energy, it often tanked during rides.
I was notorious for bunk and I
felt awful, like, I could not get any
power on my pedal strokes.
Even though I was trying to perfect my
pedal stroke, you I was working with a
friend of mine who was, like a, former
pro,
Brody, and and, you know, he was kinda
showing me the basics of pedal strokes and
things like that back in, like, 2001.
Didn't matter. Did not matter, friends.
It's still sucked. It sucked because I had
no energy, like I had nothing to give.
And a lot of times especially when I
was in college. I was fresh from from
class, fresh from a lab or whatever. I
would sometimes even skip lunch just to go
and get a ride.
And I was
pretty much riding on empty. So don't do
that. Eat a damn snack. Eat something link
quick and civil.
Mostly carbs is going to be beneficial for
you because that e is going to be
the best fuel f fuel before an effort
like Mountain Biking.
Have something about 60 minutes beforehand, you know,
before you ride, and that will give you
a little bit of time to digest. You
might need a little bit more time, but
test it out. Figure it out. Some people,
they might just need 30 minutes, totally different.
Right?
But, you know, get some like yogurt.
For soma protein, add some granola, add some
fruit to it. I'll add a little bit
of honey or have some fruit with some
nut butter, whatever it
just eat get a damn snack that has
some freaking carbs in it for crying out
loud.
Anyways. So
next thing to go hand in hand with
tip number 4 to fuel more is the
fifth tip to stay on top of your
freaking hydration.
And,
I'm only saying this because, yeah, I did
I did do silver rush 50, you know,
this past weekend, and I I did. I
sla my hydration in my nutrition. But let
me tell you I was out there longer
because I had gotten stuck behind
a group of people and unfortunately,
I could not pass.
Just trying to pass.
And we had to walk. So there's a
good, like, hour and a half to 2
hours
of pure
walking, more than I was ever planning on
walking.
But because of that, my did fall back
on my nutrition a little bit, so I
was about a gel behind than I should
have been. And a couple gels really. And
and I started to feel it right near
the end. And and that's fine. Yeah. You
know, It's near the end, I was able
to persevere.
But if I wasn't able to stay on
top of my hydration on top of that
because I was still I was still nailing
my hydration. So even though I wasn't nailing
my nutrition a hundred percent, I was nailing
it about 90 percent, 85 maybe.
My hydration was stellar. You know,
you have to think of it this way.
Your breathing
pretty heavily
when you're biking.
That will only increase your fluid loss because
you are sailing ex,
you know, some fluid.
On top of what you're already sweating out.
So bring a freaking water bottle, bring an
extra water bottle, have an extra water bottle
with you in your car after you're done
riding.
And then consider also carrying a water bladder,
you know, in your backpack or hip pack,
I don't care whatever you think is cool.
That way you can easily access water throughout
your ride. I cannot emphasize the
convenience of having...
A hydration pack on,
even back when I started, that was 1
of my first purchases
was,
hydration backpack.
There's an old school camel back. And it's
definitely a lot easier to grab that mouthpiece
on a pack on you. While you're mountain
biking especially, road cycling travel cycling, that's another
thing. You know, It's pretty easy to grab
a bottle. But when you're doing on... When
you're navigating un deleting train, and you're trying
to figure out, you know, how to get
the bottle out,
while also breaking effectively and not losing a
ton of speed. It can be really complicated
while on a mountain bike ride. Unless you're
doing, like, more cross country style riding and
things like that. But consider having of a
pack
Now, of course, everyone's sweat loss is different.
I'll link that episode in the show notes.
But drink when you're Thirsty. Drink before you
get thirsty. Quite honestly. That's going to be
the better the better idea there. And, of
course, try to alternate, you know, a bottle
of water with a bottle of of electrolytes
and things like that.
Number 6.
Where gear that builds confidence for you.
Friends, when you're mountain biking, there's going to
be on terrain. Like I mentioned, there's going
to be rocks logs.
There's gonna be slabs, all of this stuff.
Right? It could be super intimidating,
especially when you're new.
So I really recommend having some sort of,
you know, knee pads, elbow pads, Definitely, definitely
wear a helmet. Always wear helmet.
Because it can help you build confidence.
On these technical features. And having the right
protective gear just helps you wanna try things.
You know, So so definitely don't hesitate to
get it.
There's many, many brands out that you can
try and test and things like that.
I like 7 mesh... 7 mesh great. Is
that what it's called? Why is that not
sound right coming out of my mouth right
now?
So much protection. Right?
Why is that not? So no? Is that
mission? Someone else.
Oh my god. Why friends, friends. Why am
I
why am I 7 mesh is an apparel
company,
Why am I linking? I'm absolutely bla assist.
What happens when I didn't have notes, and
I just thought I could... I thought I
could just pretend and, you know, shoot the
shit here, and I can't find.
Anyways, there's a variety of gear that you
can wear in terms of knee pads elbow
above pads, things like that. There is a
local company here based out of Nevada, Colorado,
and I know that those of you who
are listing right now and live here in
Colorado and know the company that I'm talking
about. Are probably shouting at your radio or
shouting at your iphone or whatever smartphone you
use saying Jen, it's x company that you
are meaning to talk about. So feel free,
laugh at me and and enjoy my antics
here right now.
But the... Trust me, there are definitely...
Plenty, plenty of
companies out there that you can that you
can trust to find
gear that's going to be comfortable for you.
Alright?
Alright. Tip number 7, friends.
Don't be like me.
Maintain your bike for crying Ella la. Maintain
your bike. Alright This is, of course going
to cost some time and or money,
but that's fine. It's worth it because safety
first. Right? Not safety third. Now I will
say the first bike that I had, of
course, I talked about the Bun and things
like that.
That was the first bike my parents bought
me. But my first mountain bike that I
quickly purchased after my bike ride with with
Parker. Oh, no. I'm just shared another name.
My first bike that I purchased after my
bike ride with her. Was a 2000 Gary
Fisher big sur, and it's 26 inch had
a fork.
It was great. You know, It didn't... It
was a hard tail. But he was a
fun bike. It was a fantastic way.
I will go ahead and say that I
never serviced
its fork.
In, like, 20 years that I owned it,
never serves to fork.
You know,
never
really
I think I changed the brake pads like
maybe once,
because they were, like, the caliber breaks. They
weren't even, like, hydraulic breaks.
That's fine. It's okay.
You know, I don't think I changed the
cables and anything. I did change the chain.
I did change the chain once,
but it's all good. It it I was
safe. I kept the side down for the
most part.
I didn't have sealant in those tires because
it wasn't capable of that.
I had tubes,
so did not ride tubeless.
But what I recommend? No matter how old
your bike is.
For the love of god, please do some
basic maintenance every year.
Of course, so obvious to me now, but
back,
you know, 20 plus years ago, wasn't it
wasn't obvious to me.
You know, take your bike to local bike
shop at least have them assess it. That
way they can tell you what it needs.
But do that at least once a season,
they give you a nice little safety check.
They check your brakes, they check how your
gearing is is functioning,
they check your chain where,
they check just the basic stuff.
Now, if you ride more often,
you're going to need to service your bike
more often. Alright? I can definitely attest to
this. I think I've already ridden over 2000
miles. This season.
Some of that, of course, is on my
indoor trainer, so that doesn't always count. That's
actually the main reason why I use str
is just to easily keep track of how
many miles I have on each of my
bikes.
But
because you're riding more, you're just going to
have more wear and tear on your bike.
So you're probably going to need to bleed
your brakes spikes twice a season, if not,
3 or 4 times a season, like once
a quarter. If you are riding upwards of,
you know, over 2000 miles a year,
now your your suspension, that's gonna have to
be serviced every 50 hours or plus. Alright?
So
please keep that in mind. Please reference your
owner's manual for your mountain bike. You can
usually find those online.
But
for the love of God, at least get
your brakes blood, you know, get your suspension
looked at. Get your drivetrain train looked at.
And the reason for that is because it's
actually going to be more cost effective if
you catch things earlier, especially if you catch
like a worn chain and a chain cost
anywhere between 20 and 50 dollars generally speaking.
Changing your chain
is going to prevent wear and tear on
your cassette and the rest of your drivetrain.
So
correcting the problem, but when it first starts,
and when it first starts to show is
going to save you money in the long
run. Alright? Because getting a whole new drivetrain
can cost
quite an expensive endeavor depending on what model
and make you have on your bike,
it cost you up to 2 to grand.
You know, if you would need to train...
If you need to change your entire drivetrain,
But, you know, at a bare minimum, get
your bike serviced at least once a year
at a bare minimum.
Keep your bike clean, especially your chain, and
lube your chain
regularly.
Ideally before every ride or every other ride
is especially if you're in muddy conditions or
super dry conditions.
It's, you know, each condition is going to
put different wear and tear on your bike,
and it definitely needs to be
addressed.
That... On top of maintaining your bike, also
include sealant. So if you live in a
dry climate,
you're going to have to replace tire sealant.
If you do ride tubeless, it you're going
have to replace that every 3 to 6
months, you know, at a minimum. And, you
know, it's just 1 of those things. You
if you stay on top of it, you're
just going to have such a better ride.
And such a better experience. And then you're
gonna fall over with it. Alright. Moving on.
Tip number 8 for those of you who
are men training individuals, pay attention to your
menstrual cycle. The reason for that is because,
hey, let me
20 years ago, there wasn't any research really
on how your menstrual can affect your performance
energy and mood and things like that. I
mean, we knew about our mood right. But
we weren't really clear on, like, why we
felt like shit
for a couple of days a month if
not up to a week a month. And
if you're feeling extra exhausted, extra fatigued on
the bike, hey, feel supported knowing that
depending on where you are in your cycle
and tracking your cycle, that can obviously make
an impact on,
you know, how you're feeling on and off
the bike. So just be aware, and I'm
not saying don't ride when you're men trading.
No. I'm not saying that because you wanna
ride when you're men trading actually. What I've
found in recent months, is I actually feel
better when I ride when I straight. But
my my
energy will be so much lower for about
1 to 2 days prior to my period
sorry. Is So everyone's different, you might feel
more fatigued after your period,
starts or whatever. Again, everyone's different. But please
know that you're just going to feel a
little bit more tired. So... And I'm I'm
telling you this because I don't want you
to give yourself a hard time if you're
just having an off day on the bike.
You know, blame your period. No, But,
seriously, it could possibly be your period, and
I want you to just be aware of
that.
Alright. Number 9. Check your tires.
We have main contact points between us and
the bike as well as the bike and
the trail. The 2 contact points between the
bike and the trail are going to be
both wheels.
So making sure that you have
you know, them inflated enough, making sure that
you have tires that actually have efficient,
you know, knobs on the tires like on
the tread, making sure that they're not really
worn.
That's going to be key, Now, I'm not
going to get in an argument over what
the right tire pressure is for you,
but
there...
You know, there were definitely are links to
resources you can find online just to find
the right Ps psi,
but please know it's gonna take some playing
around.
Based on your weight, your size and things
like that. On 5 foot 2, I weigh
about a hundred and 18 or so pounds,
I'm guessing. I don't know it I hardly
weigh myself anymore.
But because of that,
my Psi is really low, you know? And
I also have inserts, I have cross country
inserts on my cross country bike.
So that counts for 5 Psi right there.
But I run anywhere between 14 and 15
Psi on my front and rear tire.
Yeah. So that's pretty low. But again, that's
gonna be, like 19 or 20 Psi when
you add the 5 Psi.
Again, that's what works for me. And my
riding style, and
I haven't had any tire wheel issues, but
everyone's different.
You might want it to be a little
bit higher, especially if you are a taller
or larger individual,
which is going to be like 95 percent
of the population,
but again, just play around with it, but
just know that you're your... How much your
tires are inflated and how worn they are.
Are both going to impact your traction and
ability to really grip on the trail. Alright?
Alright. Last, but not least, number 10,
focus on your skills more than your gear.
Alright?
You can have a fanciest bike. You can
have a fanciest clothing,
you can have the fanciest whatever.
But if you can't handle your bike well,
that's going to be the limiting factor.
You know,
keep your bike well maintain obviously,
but then really focus on skills
because you're going to have a lot less
anxiety about damaging your equipment, damaging yourself, having
an instant on the trail, if you have
solid skills.
So above all else. I don't want you
to think about all the bells and whistles
of Mountain Biking because let me tell you
there are some really cool... There's some really
cool gear out there. You know? And
especially for us ladies shredder, lately, I feel
like more and more companies are really starting
to pay keen attention to us, and cater
to what we need and want out of
our clothing and style and things like that.
And it just feels cool. It feel it...
I will admit, It does feel cool to
have, like, a cool kid on and things
like that.
But it feels even cooler to have a
comfortable kit on. So make sure that whatever
gear you're getting, it fits well and then
it's comfortable.
But
focus on your skills first. And then, of
course, then get the bike and the gear
that you can afford, you know, within your
price point. And
I I wanna see this and I wanna
emphasize this.
Riding a less expensive bike or a lower
level bike
does not make you less of a Mountain
biker. Alright?
You are a Mountain Biker if you're are
Mountain Biking.
I don't care what the hell you're on.
And you shouldn't care what the hell you're
on either as long as it's a safe
and effective ride. You know, as long as
you're keeping it maintained and safe,
And checking your tires before every ride, leaving
that chain.
You're staying hydrated in fueled. You're going to
have a good ride. You're gonna have a
good time, and you're gonna fall massively in
love. With a sport that I have fallen
head over here, he heels for and have
met some of my favorite people through. Alright.
On that,
I'm gonna give my voice a break, and
I'm going to send hugs and kisses to
all of you, and I hope that you
have a beautiful day, and I will catch
you next week.
Alright. On that,
get out and right.
Alright. 5 friends.