Finest Moments on Two Wheels: by Stacy Schroeder

Written by Stacy Schroeder in response to: Finest Moments on Two Wheels

Alright, I got one. Let's think back to that epic day of riding at Northstar, shall we?

What a fantastic bluebird day that was, with a great group of people and a whole lot of stoke going around. I was particularly excited to be riding Northstar, as I had only heard stories of such fun trails. I had been riding a bike for about 6 months, and had a laundry list of skills I wanted to work on. Needless to say, I was bubbling with excitement to have the opportunity to do run after run on a groomed, built up trail like LiveWire with its tabletops galore, doubles, step-ups, and huge fast birms.

The first trip down the trail was fairly comical in itself. I still hadn't grasped the concept of how to approach faces of the jumps, especially when they had a little "kicker" on them. So I'd be happily and naively blazing down the trail, get swept up in what seemed to be a low-consequence ramp leading to a tabletop, but then just as I'd reach the lip to conservatively "roll" over it, I'd find my bike suddenly detached from the ground, my center of gravity waaaay too far back, with waaay more speed than I knew what to do with, and I'd clumsily re-connect with the earth with an awkward thud and keep on rolling. And, for the most part, I kept it rubber side down.

After awhile I started to get the hang of it, thanks to some pointed advice and helpful hints from Jesse. I began to relax. I started to actually feel the bike underneath me and was able to move with it and tell it what to do, as opposed to me being a victim of speed and gravity, just trying to survive.

After oh, say, the 8th run I started opening up a bit more. I'd charge up those ramps with more and more confidence and speed, I'd take the "pop" at the top, and I was even happy to get little more air each time. As I blasted up this one long steep face, I felt a surge of excitement and I just went with it – I put everything I had into that approach, knowing that the other side was a small tabletop and a very cushy, long, gradual landing on the other side. If I could just clear the little landing pad on the top, my bike would simply ease onto the downward sloping landing and I'd keep on rolling!

Well, in my excitement, I must have forgotten all the lessons on technique that I'd been learning that day. I gunned it, cleared the top, and completely lost control mid-air. I was pitched forward helplessly, flying face first through the air, still attached to my bike. The front tire promptly hit the landing, sending me over the bars, at which time I proceeded to accelerate in a spread-eagle, face-first, high-speed belly-flop down the 20 foot slope.

When I realized what the heck I just pulled off, I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Oh, if only any of my teammates had seen me, I would NEVER hear the end of this one!

So, I brushed myself off, got back on the bike, and happily rolled down to meet up with the rest of the gang, who immediately demanded stories to explain my filthy face and body :)

Ever since, Dusty has affectionately taken to calling me "Ms. Rose"