adios summer

Another year of riding has come and past for most people. I got out today for my last ride of the season. I also road on Thursday. Thursday we went to Battle Creek and sessioned the luge DH run and the jump towards the end for about an hour. It was super cold. I was working on some balance things as I was hoping up on the wall and trying to ride around the curve and drop off. I did that for about ten minutes. I really want to work on thing like balance, riding skinnies and nose stalls and manuals, as well as improving my jumping and just over all confidence on my bike. This morning Tim and I headed over to the Hwy 8 dirt jumps for a little jump session and I was really feeling solid on my bike in the air. I wasn't confident enough to try some of the big line but I will work on that next year and the Lexington Bike Park will help out tremendously I think. After the ride I went to Kelly's parent's house and helped put the Christmas lights up. When we were finished with that I went home with the dog and went XC skiing. It isn't very often that you get to ride bike in the morning and ski in the afternoon around here.
During the off season I will continue to work out and prepare for next year but as of now the bikes are in the basement and being prepared for the winter. I will clean them and do the general maintenance so when next spring rolls around they will be ready to rip it up again!
Now it is time to enjoy winter. XC skiing, hockey and ice climbing are upon us and I can't wait.
This year has been a solid year for me. I purchased my first full suspension bike and made improvements in my riding in leaps and bounds. I have to credit Lee McCormack for his great online riding instruction as well as James Wilson for his work outs and information on MTB as well as all the people I met and got to ride with. I learned a lot from every ride and from every rider I got a chance to ride with. My skill set definitely increased with every new location I rode and every new obstacle I had to over come. My goal was to ride every trail in the Twin Cities at least once this summer but I failed to achieve that goal but I did manage to ride a plethora of different trail from the black hills of SD, all over MN and even Turkey Mountain in Oklahoma. I can't wait to keep growing and obtaining more and more skills. As well as continuing to train specifically for MTB and cross training with winter activities I plan on purchasing a few books that will help me develop as a rider as well as being able to help other riders increase their skills. The first book few books are all from Lee McCormick, Mastering Mountain Bike Skills, Pro BMX Skills and Teaching Mountain Bike Skills. I also want read the book Mind Gym as this will help with focus, commitment and proper training technique that pros use to succeed!
I need to be in good shape straight away as Kelly and I are going to Whistler for our honey moon and I was given permission to rent a bike and ride at least one day! So excited for that! I hope you all have big plans for the winter and goals for next season! Work hard and ride harder!
Keep it real!