Hey Lee,
I’ve been following your career for awhile now, and am always impressed by your pump track advocacy and advice. I have the book you wrote with Lopes on my kindle. I’ve built my own stuff on private land.

Here’s my question: tons of people talk about good cornering technique, and then I saw your video about pumping on flat ground. It’s awesome! I’ve been practicing it the past couple of days, as I’ve always been nervous in corners, and I’ve found that I can go from a track-stand to around 10mph uphill and down. Now my question is this: How practical is this drill for trail riding? It seems super practical, easy and fun to me, but I’ve never seen it before and not many people seem into it. Is it because the same rules don’t apply as much at higher speeds?

Thanks for taking time to read this!

Philip

I dig Dirt’s recent interview with Fabien Barel about Flow (capital F), and I got to use his wisdom today while working with DH champ Alex Willie.

Lee,

I was looking at your fitness books: Pump up the Base and Prepare to Pin It. It appears that one should start with Pump Up the Base during the off-season. Then, move to Prepare to Pin It. What about those of us that live in Southern California? We do not have an off-season. Is it still worthwhile to use the Pump up the base program considering that I am not going to stop my regular mountain bike rides, or should I go straight to the Prepare to Pin It program?

Ron

Lee,

How will i find the sweet spot for an Epic EVO Brain for pump or trail?

Peter

During the winter it was pretty easy to follow the Pump Up the Base and Prepare to Pin It training programs to the letter, and I saw some big power gains.

Now that I’m coaching most days and traveling many weeks—not to mention other work and Life—it’s getting harder to follow P2PI precisely. But I’m following its spirit: fitting in the key workouts, sticking to my weight work and resting when I can.

And the power numbers are still improving:

Lyons Bike Park is a great place to work on the essential MTB kung fu skills—and it’s the best place around here to learn how to ride up and down rocks.

I’m offering three classes through the Town of Lyons: one for kids, one for teens and one for adults.

Check ‘em out:

When I moved to the East San Francisco Bay area in 1993, Gregory was the first person to befriend me and take me riding. Let’s see if I can return the favor.

These tips will apply for most pump track riders.

Hey all, I’m stoked to announce a kung fu skills session in Pensacola, FL on May 12.

Private and semiprivate sessions are available May 12-17.

UPDATE: NO SPOTS LEFT

Here’s a nice note from a reader who’s getting stronger and more skilled—and having more fun.

This is great Tony. Rip it up!

First of all, thank you for all your work on books and website – it’s eye-opening regardless of skills level.

I have a question about body position and riding techniques for short people. Being 170 cm (5’7”) I feel that some of the normal “tricks” are harder to perform, especially those requiring more movement around a bike, like correct turning (leaning the bike heavily, but not the body) or manualling. It’s just impossible or very difficult to move the weight far enough over the rear wheel to lift the front end, or in case of turning – to move the bike between your legs and stretch the inside shoulder enough to lean the bike without leaning yourself too much.

Maybe you have some experience from coaching shorter people? Are there any smart ways of overcoming these limitations?

Michal