Originally Posted by velocipedio
...the dismount is much easier than it looks [isn;t it, andre!], and the re-mount actually starts to make sense once you learn how to do it.
as for tripping and falling, it happens all the time ... the good thing is that you usually hit dirt or mud, so it doesn't hurt.
for me, the hardest part of racing was learning to endure the anaerobic pain of an hour-long race. the only way i can describe it is it's like sprinting for sixty minutes.
i lots of singletrack and technical sections.
Thanks for the encouragement. I have executed many successful mounts and dismounts in the grassy park and some while riding single track to get over a large obstical. But I guess for me its the pressure of a race that fumbles me up (as an example, when I commute and am calm and collected I can start at a green light and smoothly clip in the first time I place foot on pedal, every time. If I am pushing to go fast I fumble and miss place my foot) Same thing has happened while riding single track and practicing CX skills - if I try too hard I screw up.
I ride alot of desert single track, some parts are relatively smooth sand (which requires care so as not to slip at speed) and some very rough rocky stuff, short steep hills, things that I've seen inexperineced mountain bikers carry over. I recently have started to push VERY hard on these single tracks and have learned my limits and to fall more - landing in cactus is not fun though, dirt and recently some mud has been fun. My last single track ride was >1hr and I pushed myself like I was racing. Of course I have not idea what a CX race feels like, but I am trying to approximate. Why all these words about my wannabe CX, because I can' wait to try a real race!
Al