WBP 19

Do you still case last dm when coming from the rutabaga side?

Yeah, but I get get a little antsy when it's squishy-greasy.  Yesterday was much better.. even if I had my longest manual upon landing yet.  Maybe I should just own it and say I meant to do that :D

(That is until one day Clark is checking out my tailbone in the clinic)

I'm thinking about trying to avoid another year of bike park days spent casing jumps.  Can anybody recommend someone that might show a middle-aged un-bro how to huck his meat?

Doesn't look like they are running the weekend Elevation camps anymore. Too bad, those were an awesome way to learn and a great value (2 full days in a small group with similar ability and same coach for like $230). The bike park coaches for the higher skilled groups are great and skilled riders themselves, that's how I learned to jump. The technique part helps for sure, and then following a coach you trust who goes the trail speed you need to clear stuff... really boosted the confidence. Note that I am now back to casing as I just don't jump enough.

Zep gets good reviews as well, but more spendy.

Posted by: Henry-Chinaski

I'm thinking about trying to avoid another year of bike park days spent casing jumps.  Can anybody recommend someone that might show a middle-aged un-bro how to huck his meat?

Back about 7 years ago, our group of riders put in for a day at the park with Darren from Endless Biking. It was an awesome day, and everyone in our group progressed in some way. This was a long time ago now, and I've been thinking about doing another session with my 15 year old, as he is balls to the wall without a lot of experience. A day of coaching will help you, and there are no shortages of coaches up there. 

grambo is right though, if you're not on the trails jumping, you're going to start casing again. Hell, I take a week off from the park, and it feels like I'm starting all over again. But after 3 consecutive park days, the skills and confidence come back. Until I spill, then it all starts over again.... lol.

Am I the only one who seriously sucks at jump trails and has given up on attempting to get good at them? I really like C-More but anything bigger than that, I just can't get comfortable with the amount of speed that it takes to clear the jump. When you are going that fast it wouldn't take much for you to take-off or land slightly off balance and then find yourself headed for the trees going 50kmph. I've never even attempted A-line and don't plan to... but it seems like everyone else at the bike park is able to ride that stuff easily.

Posted by: Bull_Dozer

Am I the only one who seriously sucks at jump trails and has given up on attempting to get good at them? I really like C-More but anything bigger than that, I just can't get comfortable with the amount of speed that it takes to clear the jump. When you are going that fast it wouldn't take much for you to take-off or land slightly off balance and then find yourself headed for the trees going 50kmph. I've never even attempted A-line and don't plan to... but it seems like everyone else at the bike park is able to ride that stuff easily.

I've only done C-More a couple of times, but I was surprised how big the tabletops are. If you're cleaning that I wouldn't say you seriouisly suck at jump trails.

Like hypa said, people get comfortable when they're in the park every weekend or a few days in a row. If someone is interested in riding A-Line, the park seems to allow a lot of people to work up to riding it.

If it's not for you and you're having fun, then you're doing it right. I pretty much only rode tech for a couple of years after crashing on jumps a couple of seasons in a row. I slowly regained interest in learning to jump, but it's certainly not imperative to enjoying the bike park.

With all due respect, there's no golden ticket to getting better at jumping. time. you need to invest time. 

The guy who likes c-more: try going slower and popping harder. then try going faster and soaking or even doing baby scrubs. then learn to transfer left to right and vice versa. if you feel disaster is around the corner when speed increases, you haven't really mastered the trails you're comfortable on. try following someone you know is slower than you and learn to pop harder to still make the landing. In all likelihood, there's still a lot CIU and C-More have to teach you. The new jump at joyride jump park is meant to be more or less a representative a-line feature so swing by there as well. you're not actually going that much faster on a lot of a-line.

One thing not mentioned yet is the ability to ride berms properly. If you are constantly breaking in berms and/or coming out of them slower you'll need to pedal hard into many jumps. Pedaling into jumps is a good way to get your balance off... Things that took me time to master: getting my weight over the pedals with my ass behind the seat, my elbows out and my chest down, with my belly button and knee pointing to the exit, and depending on the berm, a bike at a flatter angle than my body. Further to this, I'm probably coming in high and light and waiting for the right time to really press down and pop out. (When you get this, it's almost as good as jumping... at least for me it was/is).

I think CMore is the best place to learn this and jumping... I think the really small jumps on CIU are hard to learn on. Your rear tire is still on flat ground but your front tire is already almost going over the lip. Whereas the jumps on CMore have the nice tall lips but shallow table so you get the best of all worlds, and it has great big berms with lots of lead up to really focus on body position.

I am no bike teacher, but if the timing works out I can come along for a few laps.. (as long as it's before September).

----

The first jump on ALine is live and it's so much better than the old one that you were pretty much forced to scrub. Lots of work done on ALine and Dirt Merchant. Haven't made it up Garbo in the last few days, so not sure how the fast No JOke bit before Drop In Clinic is riding, but can't wait to check it out.

Also, there is a new connector trail for those of us who want to hit the last Dirt Merchant jump or Mid Aline that takes you to Del Boca without having to pedal up to the trail head. (Thank god because that enduro stage was a killer)... (and thanks for making the Dirt Merchant connector to DBV that happens before the big jump... and nickel, speaking of that jump, I have that one dialed in properly now... the problem existed between the seat and the handlebars. My timing was just shit).

Crab #2 went under the knife and it looks done.. I can't really tell what was changed but maybe it's been moved a bit in? I suspect I'll get a chance to try it tomorrow.

SGC is in full effect and causing much grief to the lines from 10-12 and most of the times between 1-2/3ish.

We've been actually getting rain this year so the park is, how do you say... pretty fun.

A ton of good posts.  Thanks for all the thoughts.  Loud and clear on putting in the time.  I've been a 3 day/year park rider for as long as I can remember, which is likely why it never feels right.  Trying to get a hall pass for July 19th - 23rd.  ReductiMat, I may hit you up when I make some solid plans.

Posted by: ReductiMat

Crab #2 went under the knife and it looks done.. I can't really tell what was changed but maybe it's been moved a bit in? I suspect I'll get a chance to try it tomorrow.

less twang, bit bigger.

C-more is a great jump trail. For some reason, I feel more comfortable there than I do on a lot of trails.

I'll still ride A-line, but damned if there are a dozen jumps that I still can't clear.  Maybe I'll take Reductimat's advice, and focus on pop and stance with a lower speed. Honestly, skills with phil and Seth's bike hacks have been instrumental in getting me back into the real meaty trails in the park. I will conquer the professor at some point in time.

So mid Aline cracked at 5 today.  Super soft in places but sweet baby Jesus.. I can’t remember a smoother mid-to-Rock drop ever.

Almost died from the cross winds at the GLC jump finally.. surprised it took this long.  I can’t believe Vail hasn’t installed a wind block there already.  Gonna get my pass refunded.

I really really hope this storm coming in doesn’t break all the work that was put into ALine tomorrow.

we gambled that it would work out. if it's too soft we'll close it for a bit while the oly Williams weather forecast rolls through. it was surprisingly dry still in places. boys had to bust out the snowmaking equipment to get the hand tooling complete. 

It's been quite a few years since things have been wet enough mid July to want to do a rebuild on a-line. good times!