I Let My Husband Trick Me Into Downhill Mountain Biking
It was 2020, and I was still living in Saskatchewan. My husband and I drove past the local bike shop, and he immediately pulled a U-turn and said, “I want to go look at bikes!”
I always rode bikes around my neighborhood as a kid, while he would go on mountain trips with his dad to Panorama for biking. So, we both had fond childhood memories on bikes.
There were two full-suspension bikes in stock—one XL for him, one SM for me. It felt like fate, and before we knew it, we were purchasing two bikes.
The Price of Impulse Decisions
I had no idea how much bikes cost at the time. Luckily, business was booming, so this impulse decision wasn’t overly impactful financially.
We rode around Saskatchewan, and damn, we were out of shape. The seat hurt in ways my adult mind couldn’t fathom, and despite thinking I was in shape—pedaling sucked.
One morning, we woke up, and he said, “Let’s go to Fernie.”
I obliged, not realizing exactly what this meant for me.
The Fernie Fiasco
When we got to Fernie after 12 hours of driving, we did a little trail riding.
By trail riding, I mean we rode about 25 feet into the forest before my lovely husband told me how good I was at biking and that if I could handle that trail, I could definitely handle downhill biking.
Off we went to Fernie Alpine Resort. I still had plastic pedals on my bike and was wearing Nike gym shoes (specifically, Nike Metcons, which have virtually zero grip—if you ride bikes, you’ll understand why this matters).
I purchased the full equipment package, and off we went up the chair lift.
It was the first chair lift I’d ever been on that I could remember, and I was shaking just going up. He buttered me up, telling me how good I’d be.
We got to the top, and it was pretty clear there were no green (easy) runs at the top of Elk chair.
Mr. Berms and the Breakdown
He takes me onto Mr. Berms. Berm flow trail runs are easy, right? When you’re a 30-something-year-old woman who hasn’t cornered a bike properly or understands the very basics of body positioning or braking on a bike—no. Hell no. They are not easy.
I was attempting to ride in the valley of the berms, flying over the edge.
He told me to stand on my bike—I was shaking so badly I couldn’t stand.
I was scared to put my feet on the pedals. Everything was at a level 1000 of terrifying.
I was probably the worst first-time mountain biker out there. Then the tears began.
A Humbling Experience
I was so terrible, so terrified, and in such poor athletic condition that I just had a total meltdown on the mountain.
To add insult to injury, I got yelled at for stopping on the trail (I wasn’t even on a trail—I was on the service road). So, my first impression of fellow bikers and their expectations of me was a bit skewed. This hasn’t ever happened since that day—that guy was just a jerk.
I have to laugh at just how terrified I was. There was no reason for me to be THAT scared. However, I wasn’t really an athletic kid, I didn’t snowboard, I didn’t do anything that involved crashing. I was convinced I’d shatter bones just being on a bike, which, at those speeds, with the amount of protection I had on—was highly unlikely.
After three runs, I called it a day. I think he went back up and did a few more laps. I was happy I survived injury-free but disappointed in myself at just how bad I was.
The Comeback
We came home, and I was completely petrified of the bike. Although I’m not much of a quitter, and despite being freaked out, I knew how much my husband loved it, so I figured I’d give it another try.
Fast forward to a year later, and my husband convinced me to move to an almost-mountain town (we are about 20 minutes from the mountains).
Finding Confidence on the Trail
First riding day of the season, and I was back to flat-landing it on my bike. I had a memory of me somewhat riding down Fernie Alpine Resort.
We decided to join a shuttle group in the Alberta Rockies, and I attempted Moose Mountain.
The group leader wasn’t aware of just how new I was—despite me saying I’m pretty new.
There was a bit of confusion with a flat tire and us ending up on the wrong side of the mountain.
SHAFT: The Not-So-Easy Blue Run
The run they told me to do was SHAFT. He said it was pretty easy.
SHAFT is rated a blue (intermediate), which today I’d argue is more of a black (expert) run.
I was so embarrassed at how bad I was and how scared of it I was, especially considering he said it was “easy,” that I just quit.
I sat on the top of the mountain bawling. I couldn’t figure out how to get up on my pedals when the mountain is downhill because I was so scared of my bike just taking off on me. Reality check, you can’t get up on your pedals if your bike isn’t moving lol…
The Turning Point: From Fear to Fun
Then we did another bike trip at Kicking Horse Mountain. I got to the top and ended up taking the service road down because everything was steep and huge.
I didn’t ride that day.
After all of this, my husband decided, let’s do some cross-country riding.
At this point, I was exhausted from trying mountain biking as it was just so far out of my comfort level or comprehension that even that made me shake.
We went to Bragg Creek and did a run called Braggin’ Rights. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the end of the run, and despite the climb being a little much for my weak legs, we got it done.
From 45 Minutes to 7: Progress at Last
We said to each other, “If we did this every day, think of what kind of shape we’d be in!” Fast forward to today, that 45-minute section takes us 7 minutes lol…
We did that run a couple of times a week, eventually building up to Merlin View.
My confidence started to go up.
The Confidence Boost: Canada Olympic Bike Park
We got passes to Winsport Bike Park in Calgary, and we did that every other day as well.
These were runs well within my comfort and skill level, and I slowly progressed.
Eventually, we went back to Moose Mountain, and I did an easier run called 727. It wasn’t easy for me at the time, and I definitely took a little spill on a wall-ride-style berm, and it took me quite a few tries to get it.
Full Circle: The Bike Addiction Takes Hold
Three years later, and I’m fully addicted to mountain biking. This summer, we’ve spent almost every weekend at a bike park. I’ve spent six days riding Fernie.
Today, I can ride most blues and even some black runs.
Lessons Learned: Tips for New Riders
My biggest takeaways are these:
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Ease into it: If you haven’t ridden any trails and have only ridden on pavement, try cross-country riding first. Stick to greens. If you want to go to a bike park, check to make sure they have green runs right from the top all the way down. Jumping right to blues will kill your confidence if you’re not picking it up quickly.
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Take a lesson: Seriously, half of my issues and the speed with which I learned really came down to not having proper instructions. My husband was technically “new” on a bike as well and didn’t really have any skills to teach me. Even if he did, learning from a loved one is a terrible idea. Learn from a stranger, and you’ll have far less frustration with them.
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Don’t compare yourself to others: Especially teenagers. Some people are going to get on a bike, and a blue run will be natural and easy for them. I can’t tell you how much I’d beat myself up because kids were picking it up faster. Kids learn faster and don’t have a fully developed frontal cortex yet—which means they don’t understand risk the same way. 99% of biking is about being willing to just try something.
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Be gentle on yourself and patient: You’re not going to be good your first day, your first week, maybe even your first year. It took me almost two years to start feeling pretty confident on a bike. We don’t learn stuff at the same pace, and your ability to get really good at biking has absolutely zero merit on anything else in your life.
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Embrace the suck and learn to laugh at it: Your little crashes going 1 km per hour, if you’re wearing proper equipment, are highly unlikely to cause anything major. When you hear about broken bones from biking, it’s usually from people going mach stupid and getting air. The more you can laugh at your misfortunes of not being the greatest at it—the more fun it will be.
Embracing the Downhill Life
Mountain biking today is my absolute favorite thing to do, and I’m so glad I embraced just how terrible and scared I was. When I finally learned to get loose on the bike and quit worrying so much about what could happen, I finally got to embrace just how fun going downhill really can be. We’ve met so many great people and made so many biking friends that I wouldn’t trade it for the world. A few years later and I can laugh at my misfortune and understand that it wasn’t that serious.
I hope my story helps you do the same!
Leave a comment below and let’s hear your story about your first time mountain biking.