66, Bike Verbier, Getting Better All the Time

When I was about 50 years old I had a scary crash on Lookout Mountain in the Ochoco Mountains near where I live in Bend, Or. I sat myself down and had a talking to. I told myself I was getting to an age where being careful and prudent was more important than getting better. It was good advice, and I have followed it, but another couple of things have happened since then. One mountain bike have gotten better. New bikes go down steeper, rockier more difficult terrain, two I have done two vacations with Bike Verbier in Switzerland.
I'm now 66, I still tell my self to be cautious but I found myself riding trails I never thought I would do even earlier this summer.
In Switzerland there is, to put it mildly, a lot of terrain and a lot of vertical. A day with 10,000 feet of descending is common, 14,000 not unheard of. A 5000 ft descent in one go not unusual. 30 switchbacks in a row not unusual, all of them harder then anything we have around here. Rocks, roots, exposure are part of the day. Add to that a guide, Paul in this case, who is not afraid to give some pointers and all of a sudden I'm riding rocks, drops, roots and switchbacks that I had convinced my self 16 years ago I would never do, and it all was with me in total control. I had one small crash which was on an uphill going slow, the rest of the time I was sliding, slipping turning 100% in control. As my British friends say, I was well chuffed.
Last year on a trip to Canada we did a ride in Pemberton with 50 uphill switchbacks. I kept coming off on the right hand ones. Because there were so many after 15 or so I was able to figure out my problem and rectify it. On this trip I was able to do same on steep downhill switchbacks because of the repetition and because of Paul's voice reminding me, heels down, elbows and knees wide, don't sit on the saddle. It's hard to break old habits, but in Switzerland being in the right position meant smooth easy riding, the wrong position meant not making the corners.
My blog is not meant to be an advertisement, but I will make an exception.
If you want an adventure, reasonably priced, with everything taken care of, room and board, guides transfer to and from airport, Bike Verbier is for you. You might even learn something new.
Thanks for reading and get out and ride!