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Home > Media > Guest post on Singletracks.com: Why Lowering Your Seatpost for Skinnies and Other Technical Terrain Reduces Your Odds of Getting Injured
Published January 7, 2015 by Griff Wigley

Guest post on Singletracks.com: Why Lowering Your Seatpost for Skinnies and Other Technical Terrain Reduces Your Odds of Getting Injured

guest post singletracks lowering seatI have a guest blog post on Singletracks. com today:

Why Lowering Your Seatpost for Skinnies and Other Technical Terrain Reduces Your Odds of Getting Injured

It’s my fourth guest post for them. The others:

  • How To Prepare Your Eyes to Ignore Your Survival Instincts When Riding Skinnies
  • 11 Drills for Holding a Line: Gain Confidence on Skinnies and Narrow, Exposed Terrain
  • Light Hands, Heavy Feet: 17 Drills to Help Make Your Riding More Stable no Matter What the Terrain

 

Previous Post Rear wheel unweighting and lifts: neglected mountain bike skills

Next Post Guest post on Singletracks.com: The Jumping Dismount – 10 Drills to Make You Safer When Bailing Off High Skinnies

Griff Wigley

Griff Wigley

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  • ►2018 (2)
    • ►December(1)
      • Being an mtb student makes me a better coach
    • ►April(1)
      • Developing construction skills for a skills park: a work in progress
  • ►2017 (20)
    • ►November(1)
      • Advanced quiz: 3/4 pedal stroke technique
    • ►July(4)
      • Photo album: testing Welch Village's new lift-served gravity flow trails
      • Archived Facebook Live videos from my recent MTB trip
      • Putting my newbie bunny hop and manual skills to use on the trails
      • Following Michael Knoll on our Konas down the gnarly/technical and fast/flowy COGGS trails in Duluth
    • ►June(3)
      • Photos: MTB instruction soon available at Welch Village's new bike park
      • Video: achieving beginner-level bunny hop & manual skills
      • Video: learning to ride fakie on a mountain bike
    • ►May(4)
      • Video: graduating from a bunny flop to a bunny hop
      • Video: learning to bunny hop is helping me learn to jump
      • Video: Interview with Kat Sweet on how to ride drops
      • MTB Coach Kat Sweet, Guest Expert, Live Q&A video chat on May 7, 9 PM CDT
    • ►April(3)
      • Video: doing a manual through a dip
      • Video: Rocking my front wheel around a tight uphill switchback
      • Video: big boulders = playground, made possible by track stands, backwards hopping, ratcheting, & 3/4 pedal stroke
    • ►March(1)
      • Learning to jump, dealing with fears: video interview with mountain bike coach Elaine Bothe
    • ►February(2)
      • Video: riding up and down an icy corner
      • MTB coach Elaine Bothe is the first featured guest expert in the Mountain Bike Skills Network Facebook Group starting Feb. 13
    • ►January(2)
      • Video: Interviewed by Gene Arnold, founder of Regular Guy Mountain Biking & host of the Bike Chat show on YouTube
      • Video: demonstrating side-to-side bike/body separation for holding a line
  • ►2016 (49)
    • ►December(9)
      • FREE until midnight on New Year's Eve: Ryan Leech's 12-Ride Flat Pedal Challenge online course.
      • Video: driveway practice session on three mtb braking drills
      • Video: dragging the rear brake with low tire pressure to ride a sheet of ice
      • Video: practicing mtb balance skills in my garage when it's -5 F outside
      • Announcing: The Mountain Bike Skills Network Community (MTBSN)
      • Video: 3 fails on a snowy logover drop
      • Video analysis: logover drop
      • Four photos of a logover drop: Can you predict if I endoed?
      • Video: hopping backwards to get lined up for a ledge
    • ►November(9)
      • Video: driveway rocking skills practice session
      • Video: track stands, hopping, & rocking to get back down a skinny
      • Video: Difficult climbs at Theo's new Brownie Lake trail
      • Video: Two different ways up a tight switchback
      • Photo album: Brownie Lake opens at Theo
      • Video: hopping and rocking on a camelback skinny
      • Video: How often do I fail when sessioning difficult obstacles like this log skinny?
      • Video: putting my newbie hopping skills to use on the trail
      • Video: track stands on 6 bikes in my garage
    • ►September(6)
      • Video: ratcheting & track stand skills provide more precision for cleaning this boardwalk skinny
      • Demoing the Specialized Turbo Levo FSR 6Fattie: how does this eMTB affect my technical riding?
      • Video: not pedaling is the key to generating enough unweighting to get up this boulder
      • MTB park features taking shape (ramping up?) at Sechler Pk
      • Scenes from my first mtb skills clinic for adults
      • What mountain bike chapter board members sometimes do: recruit volunteers
    • ►August(3)
      • Sometimes mountain bike advocacy requires good working relationships with city hall
      • Video: getting more comfortable on drops and jumps
      • Video: progress on jumps
    • ►July(4)
      • Video: riding up a dirt bank as preparation for learning table top jumps
      • Video: rocking technique
      • Video: one-handed track stands
      • Mountain biking instructor certifications: IMBA ICP Level 2 vs PMBI Level 1
    • ►June(8)
      • Video: learning to jump from Phil Kmetz, part 1
      • Video: some progress on my rocking skills
      • Adding some instruction to a weekly youth group mtb ride
      • Admiral Rockbar gets an extension: Piedmont remains atop the heap of Minnesota's technical trails
      • I'm now a PMBI Level 1 MTB instructor
      • Video: Getting over a logpile with an uphill approach
      • Using a blog post to address citizen concerns about a mountain bike trail
      • I'm now an IMBA ICP Level 2 MTB instructor
    • ►May(3)
      • Video: Hopping practice, brakes locked
      • A big rockover seems easier with The Watchman
      • Combining track stands with other technical maneuvers = loads of fun
    • ►April(1)
      • Practicing drops and then discovering another use for the lunge technique
    • ►March(2)
      • Ratcheting up and sitting down: progress on my track stands
      • Teaching The Watchman to ride switchbacks
    • ►February(3)
      • New fat bike day: Advocate Cycles' Watchman
      • Slippery snowy off-cambers can be ridden more reliably if you know this technique
      • A narrated slide presentation of CROCT's activities, events, & accomplishments for 2015
    • ►January(1)
      • Mountain Bike Geezer teams up with Ryan Leech, pro mountain biker & coach
  • ►2015 (39)
    • ►December(3)
      • The Camelbak KUDO enduro hydration pack I won has served its purpose
      • What I'm doing to learn from my nasty skinny drop crash
      • With help from Penn Cycle's Michael Weiss, Trek replaces my X-Caliber frame
    • ►November(2)
      • My summer as an MTB skills park dirt boss and heavy equipment operator
      • Five difficult local mountain bike obstacles that I've been avoiding
    • ►October(3)
      • Photo album: Superior Cycling Association's Sawtooth Mountain Challenge mtb race
      • Advocate Cycles: Tim Krueger's excellent adventure
      • CROCT photos & video: Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, 2015
    • ►August(1)
      • CROCT leads an overnight youth group mountain bike trip at Cuyuna Lakes
    • ►July(1)
      • I failed Ryan Leech's 30-Day Wheelie Challenge. Join me as I try again.
    • ►June(4)
      • Photo album: IMBA Great Lakes Regional Summit 2015
      • The Duluth Enduro Series: why I'm now hooked on mountain bike enduro racing
      • Weekly youth mountain biking group rides: a CROCT adventure
      • CROCT's first National Trails Day & membership drive: superb
    • ►May(4)
      • MAMB's Kiwanis MTB Trail: continuous improvements include a difficult 'Stonehenge'
      • A spectacular day to visit Cuyuna
      • COGGS rocks! Photos & video of some X sections of the Piedmont trail in Duluth
      • Two dozen volunteer trail workers install two bridges and reroute a trail in a week
    • ►April(2)
      • Wider bars and shorter stem make my XC 29'er hardtail into an all-mountain bike. Kind of.
      • DNR's 'yurt guy' Peter Hark rides CROCT's Sechler Park MTB trail, approves
    • ►March(5)
      • Ryan Leech's online course: 30 Day Wheelie Challenge
      • El Gato returns to his Northfield roots, draws the heat
      • Learning to reduce the impact of some mountain bike crashes, Part 1: sliding out sideways
      • My last days of the winter singletrack (ridegroomed) season: not half-bad
      • Photo album: CROCT group ride on doubletrack at the River Bend Nature Center
    • ►February(8)
      • Why infrastructure for bikes on city streets and paved trails can matter for mountain biking
      • City of Duluth's parking services: Prompt, friendly, forgiving
      • Advocating for MTB trails: CROCT Board members meet with Rice County Commissioner Jeff Docken
      • Getting City of Northfield officials to walk the Sechler Park mountain bike trail when it's zero degrees & windy
      • Slippery, snowy singletrack trails can provide the fun and skills benefits of riding mud without the damage
      • CROCT and friends team up for River Bend Nature Center's Fat Bike Event
      • Advocating for mountain biking to be part of Northfield’s new Meadows Park: Part 2
      • Organizing a CROCT group ride: my first attempt
    • ►January(6)
      • O'er the trails she goes, laughing all the way: fat bikes do that to you
      • CROCT's presentation to BikeNorthfield's Soup & Cycles
      • Michelle Barker is IMBA Upper Midwest's new Regional Director
      • Guest post on Singletracks.com: The Jumping Dismount - 10 Drills to Make You Safer When Bailing Off High Skinnies
      • Guest post on Singletracks.com: Why Lowering Your Seatpost for Skinnies and Other Technical Terrain Reduces Your Odds of Getting Injured
      • Rear wheel unweighting and lifts: neglected mountain bike skills
  • ►2014 (71)
    • ►December(3)
      • Embedding an MTB Project trail map
      • Video: Logover analysis
      • Straw poll: Analyze these two attempts at a logover
    • ►November(6)
      • Advocating for mountain biking to be part of Northfield's new Meadows Park
      • Photo album: CROCT's inaugural group ride
      • The 20th Anniversary MORC Gala: speakers and auctions and beer, oh my!
      • Final ranking: Top Ten Difficult MTB technical obstacles in Twin Cities Metro area - 2014
      • Theo's new South Wirth flow trail: best in the Twin Cities Metro
      • Guest post on Singletracks.com: How To Prepare Your Eyes to Ignore Your Survival Instincts When Riding Skinnies
    • ►October(7)
      • MORC's 20th Anniversary Gala: why it's a big deal to me & why you should be there on Nov. 9
      • Vote: Top Ten Difficult MTB technical obstacles in Twin Cities Metro area
      • One weekend, four MORC trails ridden
      • Woolly Bike Club's new Erratic Rock Trail
      • Videos: failing at difficult rock climbs
      • Video: cleaning the log skinny both ways at Leb
      • Video: getting the hang of beginner tabletops at Cottage Grove Bike Park
    • ►September(2)
      • Video: cleaning the Browner stockade skinny at Hillside MTB Park
      • Video & photos: Building and testing the dirt jumps at Cottage Grove Bike Park
    • ►August(8)
      • Ego rationalization: mountain biking with the young bucks keeps me younger
      • What helps me recover after a hard ride
      • Video: pump track action at Cottage Grove Bike Park
      • Failed attempts are the norm when sessioning technical sections on a mountain bike
      • Photo album: Cottage Grove Bike Park's 2nd Annual Party at the Park
      • Part 1 of 'Holding a Line' video series now available
      • Using pedal ratcheting for precise turns on a skinny
      • Video: rock skinny at Leb's skills park
    • ►July(4)
      • The cornering foot position controversy: opinons abound
      • A request to take my 5-minute mountain bike skills survey
      • Thick Skull Mountain Bike Skills: a new venture for the Mountain Bike Geezer
      • 'Light hands, heavy feet' article available on Singletracks
    • ►June(8)
      • Two new how-to-bunny-hop videos demonstrate similar but slightly different approaches
      • Next how-to series: Drills for learning how to ride straight
      • A GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition arrives; better video coming soon
      • Photo album: Cottage Grove Bike Park grand opening
      • How to get my new video: Light Hands, Heavy Feet - Developing the Habit
      • Gilly gets a city bike from Erik's because Rob knows how to sell
      • Two guys who help make Ray's Indoor Bike Park special: Jeff Dowhen and Eric Crouthamel
      • 6 weeks after taking a Lee Likes Bikes clinic, what have I learned?
    • ►May(9)
      • Park Tool School at Erik's Bike Shop: basic bicycle maintenance from JJ and Brad
      • The new Energy Kick drink: just the right shot of caffeine without the other junk
      • IMBA's Level 1 Instructor Certification Program: intense, fun, valuable
      • Photo album: IMBA's Level 1 Instructor Certification Program at Lebanon Hills
      • Green-level sections alongside recreational bike trails: A better way to introduce mountain biking?
      • Photo album: 2014 IMBA Upper Midwest Regional Summit, Madison
      • Alternative to a double track flow trail: A White trail with multiple Green B-lines
      • R.I.P. Jim Oberstar, a friend to mountain biking
      • 5 ways to make mountain biking more attractive to beginners
    • ►April(5)
      • Photo album: Lee Likes Bikes MTB skills clinic at Ray's Indoor Bike Park
      • Last minute decision: attending a one-day Lee Likes Bikes skills clinic
      • Let's win $33,000 for the Cottage Grove Bike Park
      • Feedback needed: Part 1 of a video series on how to ride a mountain bike in a straight line (skinnies!)
      • My hybrid: not quite mountain biking but close enough for early April
    • ►March(11)
      • Why aren’t there more seniors mountain biking? Part 4: Image
      • Why aren’t there more seniors mountain biking? Part 3: Fear of injuries
      • Why aren’t there more seniors mountain biking? Part 2
      • Mankato Area Mountain Bikers (MAMB) fundraiser on tap for April 19
      • Why aren't there more seniors mountain biking?
      • Riding on frozen crusty snow piles: more than acceptable when you're desperate for spring
      • Mountain biking's sweet spot for seniors: high impact for bone density, low impact for joints
      • Photo album: 2nd Annual MORC Trail Steward and Dirt Boss Summit
      • A new club for gaining & maintaining MTB trails & bike parks in Rice County: CROCT
      • Parks & Trails Council of MN, 2014 Day on the Hill: bonding bill includes $2.5M for development of the MN River Bottoms trail
      • Photo album: MORC Board annual meeting
    • ►February(2)
      • QBP's demo course at Frostbike: fat bikes on rollers and berms, oh my!
      • Ice, sweat and tears: Northfielder Christopher Tassava fat bikes his way to a 7th place finish at the Arrowhead Ultra 135
    • ►January(6)
      • A series of power turns on hockey skates is like pumping a flat surface on a mountain bike
      • Video: riding some snow covered B-lines at Lebanon Hills
      • The pros and cons of MORC taking a position now about the addition of a paved trail along the MN River Bottoms
      • Video & Audio: MORC Webinar Q&A
      • Riding over snow-covered logs: a dual traction problem
      • 2014 IMBA Midwest Fat Bike Access & Grooming Workshop
  • ►2013 (99)
    • ►December(6)
      • The benefits of near-zero tire pressure for riding in the snow
      • I want a fatty but my 29'er is still fun on the snow-packed singletrack
      • Paralyzed mountain bike trials rider Martyn Ashton: his philosophy of life is one to emulate
      • Progress on cornering: berm turns vs. flatland turns
      • BikeMN guys Dorian and Nick are now mountain bikers, thanks to Cuyuna
      • Winter Bike Expo 2013: my first MORC booth duty stint
    • ►November(17)
      • Progress on the wheelie drops (AKA 'slow drop to flat'): surprisingly hard, fun
      • The exercises I do for mountain biking, Part I: Low back pain
      • An email from QPB's Gary Sjoquist: Trail sharing for fat bikes; upcoming Fat Bike Summits
      • Progress on pump-manualing across two bumps: a very sweet feeling indeed
      • Young guys sweep MORC's 2013 annual awards: Chance, Adam, Colin, Mike
      • Photo album: Northfield Area Bike Initiative community meeting (Soup & Cycles)
      • Red Wing's Memorial Park MTB Trails: optional gravity riding that I can't (yet) do
      • Fatties on the Bottoms: a no-drop, fat bike group ride along the MN River Bottoms
      • Video: Hitler learns his staff has hired IMBA Trail Solutions
      • It's Give to the Max day: If you ride a mountain bike in the Twin Cities metro area, MORC deserves your support
      • Doug Janni makes a logo for Mountain Bike Geezer
      • November MORC Board meeting: Matt doesn't suck
      • 9 Mile Creek skinny has been 'claimed' by Heath Weisbrod and it now has a name: Sqrl Log
      • Matt Andrews gets taken to school: MN River Bottoms advocacy school
      • Video: Practicing dismounts off a skinny
      • Critiquing Gene Hamilton's critique of IMBA
      • The height of a skinny: managing the danger is part of the fun
    • ►October(8)
      • Nita Woelbel, queen of Leb's annual Halloween party
      • Duluth's XC MTB trails just keep getting better. Here's partly why.
      • A taste of Spirit Mountain's new downhill trails
      • Clay and Justin, rippin' at Theo's new flow trail
      • Battle Creek's Wall of Death competition: Heath Weisbrod puts on a show
      • Climbing and sessioning with the Tims of Battle Creek
      • Theo's new flow trail: rollers and tables and berms, oh my
      • PedalMN Bicycle Summit: Minnesota is a state that works for mountain bikers
    • ►September(6)
      • Mill Towns Trail update from the DNR: Northfield citizens have a problem to solve
      • Getting up the rock ledge at Leb's Tedman's Curve: the importance of not pedaling
      • Dirt bosses toughen up a XX log step ladder at Leb
      • The inner railing on the 2nd St. Bridge in Northfield: my first urban skinny attempt goes awry
      • Using a pedal wheelie to get over the bridge rock at Lebanon Hills
      • The big cottonwood tree over 9 Mile Creek is now ready for your skinny riding pleasure
    • ►August(14)
      • A wheelchair user's view of putting a paved trail through the MN River Bottoms
      • Photos: MORC Gravity Advocates doing another build day at Cottage Grove Bike Park
      • Parks & Trails Council's support for a new MN River Bottoms trail: my meeting with Executive Director Brett Feldman
      • Salsa's long distance/adventure biker Tim Ek is learning to fly. Me, too.
      • The DNR's bonding request for a new MN River Bottoms trail: my meeting with field ops manager Peter Hark
      • MN River Bottoms: after the July flooding, it's different but still heaven
      • Rock garden alternative lines: six sections set at Leb
      • Cottage Grove Bike Park update: the 4x track is nearly complete. Fundraiser party on Sept. 14
      • A technical scheme: Mark up sections (alternative lines) through rock gardens
      • Pumping flat ground part 2: I suck less
      • MTB skills I thus far still suck at: pumping a flat surface
      • Can we get 3RPD Commissioner John Gunyou to become a mountain biker?
      • Sessioning: my favorite way to practice mountain bike skills and more fun in a group
      • What I learned from Chance and Jed at the MORC mountain bike skills clinic
    • ►July(9)
      • MORC hosts the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew: sustainable trail building practices taught by Lori and Jesse
      • Photo album: MORC mountain bike skills clinic
      • Photo album: 2013 Rhino Rally. Because cancer sucks.
      • Carver Lakers scheming, on a such a summer's day; MORC dirt bosses gear up for a big technical feature
      • If Northfield builds a bike park, it could save the city $280,000. Huh?
      • An unofficial strategy meeting on the proposed trail through the MN River Bottoms which, conveniently enough, just flooded
      • Video update: do the big rocks at Lebanon Hills require a full bunny hop?
      • How much are we at risk of losing the natural surface mountain bike trails in the Minnesota River Bottoms?
      • City of Woodbury video on mountain bike trail maintenance at Carver Lake Park
    • ►June(9)
      • Video: how to get up and over the bridge rock at Lebanon Hills
      • Anatomy of a MORC MTB trail work crew: reshaping corners at Carver Lake Park
      • Jed and Chance can ride but they can also coach: attend their MORC skills clinic next week
      • IMBA Upper Midwest Regional Summit 2013 in Cable, WI: good meeting, great riding
      • Photo album: REI and MORC team up for National Trails Day Service Project at Salem Hills
      • Blog delivery via email now back
      • Copper Harbor: one of the few places where you can watch the sun rise and the sun set over Lake Superior
      • Scheming about IMBA's Upper Midwest region
      • Copper Harbor Trail System: the bar has been set high for Upper Midwest mountain biking
    • ►May(10)
      • Ride the Keweenaw: When the mountain biking is done, the fun fundraising begins
      • Of the three ways to get to the top of the Copper Harbor trails, Sam's is best. Duh.
      • Keweenaw Peninsula mountain biking: more than just Copper Harbor
      • Karl Erbach saves the day for Dave and son Colin with a cool trail-side tire repair
      • First stop for the 'Ride the Keweenaw' weekend: The Bike Shop in Houghton, MI
      • 'Cuyuna Gold' is golden for a mountain bike trail surface
      • A Bikeable Community Workshop in Faribault indicates what Northfield should be doing
      • The transformation of the Eagan Bike Park: build day, spring 2013
      • Lebanon Hills trail work night
      • Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota‘s annual meeting makes it clear: the time is right for Northfield to get its bike act together
    • ►April(4)
      • Video: riding the skinnies at the MN River Bottoms
      • How a last-minute get-out-the-vote idea that died got revived by one determined mountain biker
      • First ride of a miserable spring for mountain biking: Bob saves my psyche
      • April 12 deadline: vote Midwest in the Bell Built mountain bike trail building grants competition
    • ►March(7)
      • My first trip to Over The Top's indoor BMX park: humbling, rewarding
      • Parks and Trails Council's 'Day on the Hill' includes some good news: veteran lobbyist Judy Erickson takes on Cuyuna as a client
      • Cottage Grove considers a bike park
      • Cuyuna's Timber Shaft trail: just as fun in winter on a fat bike
      • Photo album: 2013 Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout
      • Distributing a little dirt in Cuyuna's Yawkey unit
      • Warming up for the Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout: the Yawkey Unit is perfect
    • ►February(3)
      • Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout 2013, here I come
      • BikeMN's Minnesota Bicycle Summit: how bike advocacy works
      • Variations in how to ride the hamster wheel at Ray's Indoor Bike Park in Milwaukee
    • ►January(6)
      • Technical sections at Ray's Indoor Bike Park: ingeniously challenging
      • 30 seconds of coaching from Jed Olson and I learn to jump a table top
      • Photo album: Hansi Johnson's IMBA weekend at Ray's Indoor Bike Park in Milwaukee
      • Ray's Indoor Bike Parks are having a 2-for1 weekend IMBA membership drive Jan. 19-20
      • A tale of two units: How Sagamore and Yawkey were opened for fat biking in winter
      • A tale of two units: How Sagamore and Yawkey were opened for fat biking in winter at Cuyuna Lakes
  • ►2012 (75)
    • ►December(1)
      • Winter Bike Expo 2012: fat bikes rule
    • ►November(1)
      • Photo album: MN High School Cycling League 2012 season awards party
    • ►October(9)
      • Want to be able to ride fat bikes in national parks in the winter? Attend the 2nd Annual Fat Bike Winter Summit and Festival
      • Photo album: MN High School mountain bike race at Buck Hill
      • Mammoth Trail technical obstacles: small victories, one large defeat
      • Upper body armor means I can crash more with confidence
      • Learning to pump and hop so you can learn to jump
      • Photo album: Lebanon Hills West Trailhead grand opening
      • QBP hosts a bike tour of Minneapolis for Utah delegation
      • Lebanon Hills West Trailhead grand opening is Saturday
      • John Burke's BHAG: 5% of trips by bike by 2025. What about mountain biking?
    • ►September(3)
      • Another memorable trip to Cuyuna: good for the body and spirit
      • How not to crash on your shoulder
      • This mountain bike geezer plans to vote no on the marriage amendment
    • ►August(6)
      • When I learned about rotational violence to the brain, I bought a full-face MIPS helmet
      • Gary Sjoquist remembers Leslie Bohm
      • Lebanon Hills skills park grand opening on Oct. 6 with food from BDP
      • Salsa Cycles demo gets me thinking about my next three bikes
      • 'Reveal Your Path' video contest by Salsa Cycles: Fellow geezers, I entered with a message for you
      • Preview photos and video of the Lebanon Hills skills park, opening Friday, Aug. 10, 3 pm
    • ►July(2)
      • Learn to pump at a pump park. Singletrack flow trails will never be the same
      • Mountain biking at Theodore Wirth Park: a fun and very tricky skinny gets my attention
    • ►June(15)
      • Vote for Gary Sjoquist, nominee for this year's Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. But hurry.
      • Rudy O'Brien's North Shore Enduro Tour: it rocked, we rolled
      • Cuyuna boys stray; no longer Leb virgins
      • Cuyuna Lakes MTB Fest BMX stunt show, airbag free-fall
      • Is Cuyuna having a positive economic impact? Ya Betcha!
      • Cuyuna über volunteer John Schaubach wins the raffle for the Trek X-Caliber 29er
      • Ryan Anderson, Cuyuna's bike mechanic
      • The Griffins shred the red & haul home some Cuyuna MTB Fest time trial and hillclimb hardware
      • CLMTB Crew president Aaron Hautala does the US Airbag jump
      • Some of the faces of the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Crew
      • Photo album: IMBA's Great Lakes (Upper Midwest) Summit 2012
      • They haven't changed but the trails at Cuyuna are more fun this year
      • Get your butt and your bike to this weekend's Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Fest. It could change your life.
      • The sulphur shelf mushroom: chicken of the woods
      • 'Reveal the Path' world premiere: adventure by bike
    • ►May(8)
      • The Freewheel Frolic at Afton Alps: my first MN Mountain Bike Series race
      • Riding the skinnies at Dan Funke's back yard MTB playground
      • And now I can say I'm a mountain bike racer
      • Photo album: Penn Cycle Thursday night MTB race at Buck Hill
      • Shredding and shedding the red in the Yawkey Unit at Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trail System
      • Anatomy of a MORC MTB trail work crew: adding options to the XX rock gardens at Lebanon Hills
      • Hillside Park in Elk River: technical heaven among the switchbacks
      • Elm Creek Park: a rolling and flowing beauty
    • ►April(8)
      • MN High School Mountain Bike League Leaders' Summit: instruction at its best
      • A revamped pump and jump park opens in Eagan
      • River Bend Nature Center and mountain biking: exciting possibilities
      • Mountain biking at River Bend Nature Center: opinions & ideas sought for information meeting next week
      • Bill Metz and bicycle friends raise $3K for S.A.V.E.
      • Lebanon Hills is not the Continental Divide. However…
      • Riding the MN River Bottoms trails with Chris Chavie, MN Bike Trail Navigator
      • StarTribune article on formation of high school mountain bike racing league
    • ►March(12)
      • Progress on the skinnies, Part 2
      • Opening day at Lebanon Hills: perfecto
      • Brushing out a log section at the MN River Bottoms
      • Big Ring 2nd Gear Art Auction is this week at the Angry Catfish
      • Wed. night at the MN River Bottoms
      • My first ride at Salem Hills: ideal beginner-intermediate trails
      • Minnesota High School Cycling League's kick-off open house
      • Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout, Day 2; photo album slideshow
      • Cuyuna Lakes Yeti captured, assaulted, released, revealed
      • Pioneer Press outdoors editor Dave Orrick: fat biking in the snow
      • Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout, Day 1
      • Cannon Valley Velo Club adds support for gravel rides and mountain biking
    • ►February(7)
      • Riding in fresh snow: challenging, fun, puzzling
      • FIT to be TRI'd: My local mountain bike clothing store
      • I'm going and I'm racing: the Cuyuna Lakes Whiteout, March 2-3
      • Teeters and totters and logs, oh my! (on the west end of the MN River Bottoms trail)
      • Beaver training facility discovered along the Minnesota River bottoms
      • MORC Board meets at QBP HQ
      • More technical riding on the MN River Bottoms' river side trail
    • ►January(3)
      • The sandy trail at the MN River Bottoms: a reliably good ride when mud and ice shut down everything else
      • MN River Bottoms: adding to the technical heaven
      • The mountain bike trails at the River Bend Nature Center in Faribault
  • ►2011 (25)
    • ►December(3)
      • The sandy trail at the MN River Bottoms
      • Battle Creek Park Reserve mountain bike trails
      • Minnesota River Bottoms mountain bike trail system
    • ►November(5)
      • Cuyuna: Minnesota's Gift to Mountain Bikers (article in Dec. 2011 Mountain Bike Action magazine)
      • Tim Wegner's contributions to mountain biking profiled in Minnesota Trails magazine
      • Learning to bunny hop: lifting the rear wheel with a rear foot 'scoop' motion
      • Progress on the skinnies
      • A spectacular ride on the McKenzie River Trail. However…
    • ►October(1)
      • Photo album: scenes from a bottom bracket tune-up
    • ►August(11)
      • Other benefits to mountain biking: wildlife
      • Photo album: Technical areas on the trails at Lebanon Hills
      • Cuyuna confusion on the web
      • Cornering: it's about leaning the bike, not turning the handlebars
      • Northfielder Ben Oney and the world's toughest mountain bike race
      • I'm having more fun with flat pedals
      • My first MORC board meeting
      • Learning to manual: a wheelie with no pedaling
      • Steep climbs with steps
      • New trail at Lebanon Hills: Beginners and intermediates? Yes. Fun for experts? You bet.
      • Biking the gravel to Murphy-Hanrehan and back
    • ►July(2)
      • Squirrel Fest Mountain Bike Festival at Cuyuna
      • Gary Sjoquist, a man on a bicycle mission, with a company where you'd like to work
    • ►June(3)
      • My first ride at Lebanon Hills
      • Why I didn't buy my mountain bike from Milltown Cycles
      • Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Festival grand opening: John Gaddo and Hans "No way" Rey dazzle the crowd

Instagram: MTB Geezer

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Instagram post 2140782865168485230_40792932 While sessioning the new elevated boardwalk skinny this week at West Lake Marion Mountain Bike Trail in Lakeville, I happened to meet the guy who designed it, Sam Fox-Johnson The skinny passes through two pair of trees that not only form a narrow passageway. But the trees are also adjacent to each other, all of which requires some delicate maneuvering of your bars, shoulders, elbows and pedals. You then have to make a tight turn to exit as the height of the skinny peaks at 40 inches Although I was able to clean it both directions (no balance dabs with bike or body parts), I wasn't able to get through it without any scuffing of my bar ends on the bark of the trees at least once. Next time! Props to Sam, Larry Sauber, and volunteers from the Lakeville Cycling Association and @wolf_tooth_comp for building a difficult fun feature that is unique in the Twin Cities metro area FYI, this elevated boardwalk skinny is one of a half-dozen advanced technical features that is packed into an X loop right near the trailhead parking lot #mtb #mtbiking #mtnbiking #mountainbiking #mtbikegeezer #mountainbikes #mountainbike #mtblife #mountainbiker #mtblifestyle #mtblove #mtbculture #mtbaction #mtbporn #mtbinstagram #mtbgram #outsideisfree #moreskillsmorefun #mtbtechnique #mtbtechnicalskills #mtbskinnies #wolftoothcomponents #westlakemarion #westlakemarionmountainbiketrails
Instagram post 2134985844209763264_40792932 I took my 6-yr old granddaughter for her first ride on a MORC mtb trail yesterday: the beginner loop at Murphy-Hanrehan Singletrack It went fine but she has a disturbing tendency to show-off, both on the trail and in the parking lot. I'm not sure where she gets this from #takeakidmountainbikingday #takekidsmountainbikingallsummer #mtbikegeezer #murphyhanrehan #MORCpics #morcmtb
Instagram post 2128412052503186020_40792932 A dozen+ mountain biker friends of Superior Cycling Association president Tim Kennedy held a group ride and party in his honor yesterday Yes, he's entered advanced geezerhood soon, hence the birthday cake But it was also to acknowledge his profound influence on the development of singletrack trails in Cook County, MN Most recently, he spearheaded the multi-year effort to raise $1.2 million for the development of the 17-mile Jackpot mtb trail between Tofte and Lutsen, most of which we rode yesterday #mtb #mtbiking #mtnbiking #mountainbiking #mtbikegeezer #mountainbikes #mountainbike #mtblife #mountainbiker #mtblifestyle #mtblove #mtbculture #mtbaction #mtbporn #mtbinstagram #mtbgram #outsideisfree #superiorcyclingassociation #jackpotmtbtrailmn
Instagram post 2127029926675400864_40792932 RIDING STEP-DOWN JUMPS Back in August, I was having trouble riding a feature on the Eagle Eye run at @welchvillage. It seemed be a combo jump/drop. I learned that the feature was called a step-down jump and that there's a lesson devoted to it in the @ryanleechconnection Jump With Confidence course by instructor Kat Sweet of @sweetlines. Before I returned to the park to attempt the jump again, I figured out how to add a temporary booter of bricks and boards to the drop at my local bike park so I could practice. See the photo and the 28-second video of a practice session. I went back to @welchvillage last Friday and rode all three step-down jumps on that run with my buddy @jjdecoux, a more experienced jumper than me. (He's in the white helmet and green shirt in the 58-second video. I'm in black.) See the 58-second video of Jason's and my attempts. I was happy with the results as my confidence grew with each attempt. I concentrated on pressing all the way up the lip of each jump, (especially the rear wheel) and then unweighting. My landings seem fine, though I noticed later watching the videos that I was a bit nose-heavy on a few, though never to the point where I was freaked. I also noticed that upon take-off, my toes were often pointed down. That's likely due to my unweighting but it seems to be bad form to not level out the pedals quickly to prepare for a more solid landing. I'm eager for feedback on any of the attempts of mine in either of two the videos. #mtb #mtbiking #mtnbiking #mountainbiking #mtbikegeezer #mountainbikes #mountainbike #mtblife #mountainbiker #mtblifestyle #mtblove #mtbculture #mtbaction #mtbporn #mtbinstagram #mtbgram #outsideisfree #stepdownjump
Instagram post 2123747395024822363_40792932 I recently learned that @plymouthmn_gov, a suburb about an hour away from me, has a composite pump track. I paid it a visit yesterday After 4 short sessions of 45-seconds each (both directions) I recorded this one-miniute video (portions speeded up) in which I felt like I was getting the hang of it. The sensation of gaining a little speed around a berm was new to me I'm hoping that getting better at pumping on a pumptrack will help me improve my timing and overall agility for jumping Any of you pump track experts have suggestions on how to improve my form? FYI I’m wearing a @learnerlab t-shirt that’s says LEARNER #mtb #mtbiking #mtnbiking #mountainbiking #mtbikegeezer #mountainbikes #mountainbike #mtblife #mountainbiker #mtblifestyle #mtblove #mtbculture #mtbaction #mtbporn #mtbinstagram #mtbgram #outsideisfree #plymouthpumptrack #pumptrack #pumptracknation #pumptrackmtb
Instagram post 2119265022182734546_40792932 Good times with Michael Knoll (@michaelscyclespl and @michaelscycleschaska and @behindbarsbicycleshop) yesterday at @welchvillage We tried and somewhat failed to solve this fun optional feature on Eagle Eye. Is it a drop or a jump or a ? #mtb #mtbiking #mtnbiking #mountainbiking #mtbikegeezer #mountainbikes #mountainbike #mtblife #mountainbiker #mtblifestyle #mtblove #mtbculture #mtbaction #mtbporn #mtbinstagram #mtbgram #outsideisfree
Instagram post 2117277711848993535_40792932 On Tuesday, I rode (out and back) a 6-mile segment of Jackpot, a 17-mile mountain bike trail that the Superior Cycling Association (SCA) is about to open along the North Shore of Lake Superior between the towns of Tofte and Lutsen It's an intermediate-level flow trail that's loaded with optional advanced and expert-level options: jumps, drops, skinnies, rock gardens, you-name-it @rocksolidtrails out of Copper Harbor MI is the trail contractor, with a bit of sub-contracting trail work from Grand Marais-based @dirtcandydesigns My wife Robbie and I had lunch at @omc.smokehouse in Duluth with SCA president Tim Kennedy before we departed for home yesterday. Tim has led SCA's multiyear effort to raise the money to construct this trail -- over $1 million in grants and sponsorships Destination MTB trail? Yes. Epic? Yes. Buttery-smooth dirt? Yes. Roller-coaster fun and technical obstacles for nearly all levels of riders? Yes. Jaw-dropping scenery? Yes Tim indicated that the trail will unofficially open sometime in September. The US Forest Service is the land manager that will make the official decision. The grand opening celebration is slated for next year A tip of my hat (helmet) to @fbstanton for alerting me to this trail. And to Adam and Mica Harju @magicshell24 (Dirt Candy subcontractors) for the awesome rock drop that they just built. See my photos. I didn't ride it since I was alone but it's right up near the top of scary/hard/fun technical drops that I've seen in Minnesota #mtb #mtbiking #mtnbiking #mountainbiking #mtbikegeezer #mountainbikes #mountainbike #mtblife #mountainbiker #mtblifestyle #mtblove #mtbculture #mtbaction #mtbporn #mtbinstagram #mtbgram #outsideisfree #superiorcyclingassociation #jackpotmtbtrailmn
Instagram post 2110313682358353260_40792932 ONE-HANDED TRACK STAND CHALLENGE: What else can you do with your free hand while balancing? In the recently concluded @ryanleechconnection Online Practice Jam on Baseline Balance Skills, there emerged a challenge to participants What else can you do with your free hand while maintaining balance with a one-handed track stand? We had a few entries -- I chomped on an apple. But @ryankleech thought it might be fund to widen the informal competition so let's do it Yesterday, I decided to up my game by taking a selfie of the apple chomp Who's next? #mtb #mtbiking #mtnbiking #mountainbiking #mtbikegeezer #mountainbikes #mountainbike #mtblife #mountainbiker #mtblifestyle #mtblove #mtbculture #mtbaction #mtbporn #mtbinstagram #mtbgram #outsideisfree #trackstand #trackstanding #mtbtrackstand #mtbtrackstands #ryanleechconnection #trackstandchallenge
Instagram post 2107848941220196909_40792932 A gravity playday with the gang at @welchvillage MTB Park #mtb #mtbiking #mtnbiking #mountainbiking #mtbikegeezer #mountainbikes #mountainbike #mtblife #mountainbiker #mtblifestyle #mtblove #mtbculture #mtbaction #mtbporn #mtbinstagram #mtbgram #outsideisfree #WelchMTBPark #chairliftserved #bikepark #mtbbikepark
Instagram post 2100844106000197127_40792932 I introduced my granddaughter Ava to some Northfield area mountain biking over the weekend. We got dirty. #takeakidmountainbikingday #takekidsmountainbikingallsummer #mtbikegeezer
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Mountain Bike Geezer

Learning How to Learn Mountain Biking Skills
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