Mindset Monday: Videos From XC, DH and Freeride to adjust your outlook

Goodbye weekend, hello Monday. Maybe you’re sitting at your desk happily tired after a weekend of pedalling. Maybe you work weekends and you’re looking forward to poaching the midweek trails while the nine-to-fivers are at work. Or maybe, like me, you’ve spent the weekend in bed with the latest iteration of Winter Virus of Doom and could do with a little injection of ‘that was good’ into your Monday. Which is all a preamble to avoid saying that I meant to share these with you on Friday as a motivator to get out this weekend, but I couldn’t open my eyes. Anyway, three nice videos from three corners of the mountain bike world:

High School Mountain Biking

The USA has a huge High School Mountain Biking scene, and Utah has the biggest NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) league. NICA is all about participation and development of personal resilience, rather than winning. This video does a nice job of showing what it means to these students – why don’t we have this in the UK?

Focus

Whether you fancy your chances between the race tape or not, this is a nice insight into the racing mindset, and keeping it healthy. I especially like what Nina has to say about her attitude to being beaten.

Desert Days

No race tape in sight, it’s freeride time. With Red Bull Formation cancelled this year, Utah local and Specialized rider Chelsea Kimball stepped in to set up a different sort of freeride gathering for women. Watch this to make you want to go on a mountain bike holiday (I want to try riding at Green River more than anywhere else in the world!), or watch it to be inspired to learn some new skills.

Join our mailing list to receive Singletrack editorial wisdom directly in your inbox.

Each newsletter is headed up by an exclusive editorial from our team and includes stories and news you don’t want to miss.

Please leave this field empty

Sign up to receive awesome editorial content from Hannah every week.

Email Address *

Check your inbox for our confirmation email and click the link to activate your newsletter.
We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

More posts from Hannah