Baby steps

The weather has been brutal. Rainy and cold and it's making life at the dirtbowl miserable. In what can only be described as a tiny window of opportunity of no-rain, I decided to try out a jump that I had never before attempted: the no-footer. I think that it is an important trick that you need to learn in order to progress.

So, on my 39th birthday, I got out the bike and tried a few. The first time I tried it, I slipped a pedal and went over the bars and rolled down the side of the jump into the poison ivy. I now have an icthy plumber's crack. Great. But I managed to land some and they really aren't that hard. My no-footers are not pretty, or high, or stylish. Yet. Right now they are actually just terrible.



But I can land them. I found them to be a neat little trick. I like them. I was really tempted to try them higher but I decided to just do baby steps. I want to get used to finding my pedals and developing some 'muscle memory' before going higher.

The no-footer is a cornerstone trick. You need to be able to do them without thinking if you want to be able to do the really cool tricks. Like tailspins or supermans. I tried a couple of whips but the bike doesn't come around quick enough. Oh well, baby steps...



Here's some of the craptacular action. Don't mess with the dirtbowl guard dog. Any sudden movements could set him off.

Baby steps in the dirtpark from slamigo on Vimeo.