Large Terrain Park
Are the jumps getting bigger, or is my appetite for big jumps getting smaller, or both? Sounds like a legitimate question, right? Well it isn't, not really. Asking this is a step down the path to agony. Not the kind of agony your back knee might feel after knucking the landing on a 45 foot step-down, but the agony of mental suffering that goes something like this... Should I hit this? That is a big jump, but it's not that big. If s/he can hit it, I could as well. I would if the light were right and if the snow were a little bit softer. And so on. I notice myself doing variations of this stuff all the time and it just steals the fun away. I am getting good at tuning out this kind of noise.
Riding with Karl the past few days has been super fun. He is a straight talker. He says "I don't want to hit it." And that is that. Then he eyes a jump he does want to hit and throws a front seven or a switch back five off it! He makes no bones about it.
The jumps are what they are, my appetite for air is what it is. Want to go bigger, then go faster over a bigger jump. Don't want to go big, then don't. Not today? OK, come back tomorrow. Whatever you do, don't agonize over it. Once a high level of skill is reached, riding the park is largely a game of confidence. Stick with "want to" and "don't want to" to keep your head in the right space for the big park.
Always "Smart Style" it and know the code. Go to http://www.terrainparksafety.org
Posted On: February 06th, 2010 By: Dan Humphries
