I’m not one to spend a lot of money for myself. When I saw the price to sign up for Lee McCormack’s full-day mountain bike clinic, I hesitated. I’ve never spent that much for a bike clinic. I’ve never spent seven hours practicing skills, truth be told. I knew about Lee through the grapevine (TrainerRoad interviews, people mentioning him and there, etc.) but I didn’t know how good he really was. You never know what something is like until you experience it yourself.
I signed up because I had reached a point in my mountain biking where I didn’t have the knowledge to try new things, and it scared me to try new things because I didn’t know where to begin. And learning from your husband — who hucks his bike downhill and hopes for the best — only goes so far.
I arrived early, nervous for what the day would bring. I had my knee pads on and continued to fidget with them. I walked by Lee’s van, hoping to get a glimpse of the celebrity before class started. He looked at me with a big grin and said, “Hi.” “Hi. I’m looking forward to learning today,” I said. I didn’t know what to say. I kept walking.
I wasn’t sure who would show up from our team. I don’t like going to places alone and not knowing anyone. That was another thing that made me nervous. I signed up, knowing that this was a possibility. I signed up knowing that I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone if I was ever going to grow, not just as a mountain biker, but as a person.
I finally saw Mike, who I already knew. So at least there was someone that wasn’t a stranger. Phew.
We rallied around Lee’s van as he passed out name tags. As much as it felt like a networking event, I appreciated the name tags more than Lee did, I’m sure. I’m terrible with names so being able to look at someone’s name tag without having to say, “Hey, you…” was helpful. And it was nice when Lee was talking directly to someone, he could say their names instead of “You in the black jersey…” It made the experience much more personable.
I inevitably lost my name tag, but I think he used my name enough earlier on that he remembered it.
We started out in a parking lot practicing turns. This is where we learned my theme of the day: “less pressure on the handlebars.” I like control. Gripping tightly to the handlebars gives me a false sense of security, okay?
This is how Lee learned my name so fast. He consistently reminded me to lessen the pressure on the handlebars.
It’s crazy how even the basics of mountain biking are difficult. Who knew it’d be a struggle to turn the bike effectively. We also practiced loading the bike — another thing I couldn’t quite grasp.
What I appreciated most about Lee’s teaching technique is how multi-dimension he is. He’d get off the bike and explain to us how something worked. He’d draw in the sand. He’d use rocks and features and even some of us to explain how to do an action on the bike. And his passion showed. You can tell he loves what he does.
When we finally had down the basics, we ventured into Valmont Park to practice on the pump track. The Bikery has their own pump track and I’ve been too anxious about trying. I had no idea what to do once I was on the pump track. Again, Lee explained it in a way that was digestible. We didn’t do everything all at once. We focused on certain aspects at a time. The first few laps we practiced the movement of our upper bodies. Then we practiced what our legs had to do to get through the pump track. Then we put it together.
Lee mentioned to me I was doing well. I was quick to disregard the compliment. Time and time again, he’d compliment my technique, and I’d brush it off. Finally, he had to call me out: “Are you self-critical?”
Was it that obvious? I guess so.
“Yes, I very much am,” I told him.
Lee said that it’s good to be self-critical to a point, but then it becomes too self-defeating. And he’s absolutely right.
He told me he wanted to take “this” (“this” as in the positive feedback) and internalize it. He said, “If you were doing something wrong, I’d tell you.” “I know, I know,” I’d say.
After the pump track, we ventured over to this downhill track with sand and berms and a couple of jumps because the youngest group member wanted to learn jumps. I started down this track, not knowing what to do really, and didn’t quite hit the jumps either. Again, Lee took the time to watch all of us individually and provide feedback.
I’m not worried about asking stupid questions, so any time I had one, I would blurt out, “I have a question.” And every time I’d ask, Lee would give me his undivided attention (as would the rest of the group) and answer it directly. Being the only woman in the group of six guys was intimidating enough. It helped that Lee didn’t try mansplaining things to me I already knew. He never talked down to me because I’m a woman. And he gave me the same respect as the rest of the members of the group.
I bring this up because I know there are plenty of women who won’t join certain things if they’re going to be the only woman there. Mountain biking is intimidating enough, let alone riding with dudes who aren’t as worried about injuries or hospital bills. Not once did I feel uncomfortable or intimidated by the group. They were all legit dudes.
There was a point where we went to the CX stairs. Just the name of it suggests that it’s more for CX racers to practice running up stairs. Instead, we were going to ride down them. This was the scariest fucking feature for me. It took a while to gather the courage to ride down this. As I did, I could feel the bike wanting to tip over or something. I made it halfway and stopped. And I totally freaked myself out over it.
Even after two days, I’m still pissed at myself for not trying it again. At least I know the park isn’t going anywhere.
After the CX stairs, we went down a trail that had this giant ass rock in the middle of it. I didn’t have to say anything, and the guys already knew what I was thinking: “fuck that.” I listened to Lee’s advice — “don’t stare directly at the rock, look past it” — and made it over the rock. All the adrenaline pumping through me meant I didn’t need a midday caffeine pick-me-up.
I went over it two more times for good measure. Now that I’m thinking about it, I’m not sure I even remember all the techniques I used to get over this thing.
After we played around on that rock for a while, we went to another section called the “Skillz Loop.” There are just random features on the trail. This was our final skills practice and the one I seemed to struggle with the most, minus the CX stairs.
The idea was to thrust our hips forward as we went over rocks. I’m butchering the explanation, I know. We practiced sitting down and as we came up to the rock, we’d sort of do a manual to get up over the rock, and then push our bikes forward to get the rest of the bike over.
Because I’m a child, any time Lee demonstrated this thrust, I’d giggle. In theory, it made total sense. I could only execute it a couple of times though. Both Todd and I struggled with this one the most. It looked like everyone else was popping a wheelie to get up and over the rock, and I just wasn’t getting it. It could have been due to the fact that we were in our sixth hour of the clinic and my brain was mush.
Lee noticed this too and took us back to the slalom course we practiced drops at earlier. For the last hour of the class, we practiced the downhill slalom course. I tried to remember all that we learned earlier in the day: position on the bike, less pressure on the handles, turning with my hips, etc. Some of the other guys practiced jumps.
We finally called it a day and I was excited to tell my husband everything I learned.
While I wussed out on the stairs or trying some of the crazy things the rest of the group did, I can say I walked away from the class having more confidence than when I went in. Taking Lee’s class taught me the basics I’ve never actually learned. Then he took it up another level by adding to the basics and making me a better mountain biker.
I haven’t gone out on the trails yet to test out everything I’ve learned, but I already know a spot I’ve struggled with for the past two years that I think I have the technique to nail it now. If I could take this class once a month, I know I’d be ripping trails in no time. Like, I’d actually be able to “send it” and not just have gloves that say so.
Learning the fundamentals of mountain biking is imperative. I thought I could learn from my friends but it’s different with a coach and especially with someone like Lee who knows what he’s talking about and knows how to explain it so you get it.
Lee is someone I would not hesitate giving my money to again. I am so glad I put myself first and decided that it was worth signing up for Lee’s class. I left feeling so much better about my bike handling (even through the harsh self-criticism) and mountain biking in general.
Thanks to my patrons who make my writing possible. You can become part of our club here:
Become a Patron!