[Jou]

I liv ein a small town and there are probably only a dozen or so guys that will ride the downhill track me and my friend built. My friend is still a good deal better than me, but i'm very competitive in nature so i try anything he does. I used to race MX and the guy i rode with was SCORES better than i was, so if i couldn't keep up, or couldn't do the bigger jumps, he call me a pussy etc etc untill he got me to hit it. It's nto exactly nice but its gotta be the fastest way to learn. Anyhow, basically everyone besides me, even my friend who is better than me, are pussys. They hardly ever hit the jumps or drops unless they have hit them 20 times before without wrecking once. They all have been riding longer, and have nicer bikes (bullit, switch, bighit comp) and i'm out riding them allready in 3 months on a dback coil-ex. I try motic=vating them to hit the bigger bstacles, but they just spend 30 minutes looking at it and doing practice run to the obstacle, and then never do it. How do i get them to stop sucking thier thumbs?

 

[mcA896]

you dont. everyone has there own way of doing things IMO. but, the more you think about something the harder it gets bec. your imagination automatically thinks up the worst-case scenario.

 

[Tully]

I know this sounds dumb, but if they want it bad enough, they'll do it. Some people will do anything that they're antagonized for not doing; for other people, however, if you are increasingly hard on them for not doing something, they become increasingly cemented against doing it. Besides, if you chide them too much, you will make enemies in the long run. Of course that's not always the case, as with you, but I believe that that's how it usually works. In other words, you respond to chiding by stepping up your riding, but not everyone does. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you should encourage them, i.e. "You can do it," not "Just friggin' do it, you pu$$y", and maybe teach them how to do whatever it is, but let them do it when they know they're ready. It's all about having fun, right?

 

[Tully]

If it's something with few if any sonsequences, show them the worst-case scenario by intentionally messing up. When people do that for me, my confidence quadruples, I ride it perfectly, and I get a better idea of how easy it really is and what my bike and myself can do, which I believe is the key to riding well.

 

[mcA896]

another thing that works for me, walk them through the stunt. show them exactly how you do it and then successfully pull it off a few times for them.

 

[The Kadvang]

Word. Seeing someone do a stunt or following them into rythyms or gaps to get a feel for the speed and technique involved helps me alot.