I'm 37 and have never been great on a bike. I used to ride BMX and was rubbish at dirt jumping (scared of doubles and still am), I can't wheelie, low speed skills are lacking etc. etc.
The time has come to improve. I know that practice is the key but living where I do all I have available is a woodland that is rather flat (but has tons of single track, mud and roots).
What would you suggest I do to improve my overall riding?
I was thinking stuff like planks in the back garden for skinny riding, learning to wheelie (in the street outside my house), trials type skills (trackstands and hops).
I do need to concur my fear of jumping over doubles.
Just accept that you'll be competent at not falling off. And practice trackstands where you can't be seen 😉
Identify what you need to improve
Lots of tutorials on YouTube
Spend cash on a skills course
I still don't get embarrassed about getting off on stuff I cannot do, to old now and cannot afford the downtime to injuries if it all goes wrong 🙄 Also takes longer to heal and leaves too many aches & pains especially getting out of bed in the morning ❗ 🙄
Good luck
I've had a good think. Slow speed tech stuff even things like turning through narrow gaps and hopping over logs etc. then drops and jumps. I've done a couple of DH races on my hardtail a good few years ago and was fine on anything other than drops, jumps and rock gardens 🙂