Journey to the Vision Line

It’s not long ago that I used to look at a jump with a gap and think oooooh that looks dangerous, whilst admiring anyone who could confidently clear that gnarly three foot gap. But once I passed 50, I thought it might be fun to try a few small gaps, then you kind of get mission creep, the kids build some pretty big stuff in the woods and before you know it you are getting pretty comfortable in the air. A bit of a landmark for me today; I started ticking off features on the Vision Line, it felt strangely comfortable for something I have always admired from afar, although the second was decidedly scary before I did hit it. I’m looking forward to getting the full line done by the end of summer, flow and fun :)

On a related note, some of the new stuff they are building at Revs looks like it is going to be a lot of fun, so glad it’s back open again, one of my favourite places.

Awesome!!

I’m 50 and thinking I need to get better at jumps – not sure about Vision line though!

That is very impressive, I have two years more of wheels on the ground then I’ll try and join the 50+ flight club!

Very good, I had a great year progress wise at 50 but sadly a couple of tumbles the year after soon put me back in my place!

Hope your progress continues, enjoy :)

Good work @steamtb

Very good work sir!

I rode for many years with a ‘not jumpy’ ethos but as the writing on my singletrack mug has faded so has my commitment to stay grounded. I’m now past the mid 40s wishing I had got into this jumpy lark sooner.

Good luck on your mission and keep us updated.

I’m at a different stage to most. I’m early 40’s but I’m trying to relearn how to jump after 10-15 years of mincing around trail centres and riding with my girlfriend. So I’m not trying to learn from scratch after spending my life as a desk jockey but it’s still bloody hard to get it back after such a long break.

I’ve definitely got some fear but also lack of technique. I’ve just lost the ‘pop’. Sometimes I feel it. Sometimes I boost a jump and nosedive into a landing and it feels mint. Other days I just go fast and hang up on everything in sight. I can remember how it ‘feels’ to do it right and when I can’t do it I get frustrated.

It doesn’t help that I don’t ride with any regularity. Once upon a time I was living in Whistler and had daily access to Dirt Merchant and A-Line. I’ll never reach that level again but I’d like to hit some of the new, big UK jump lines.

I’d actually be buzzing with a solid lap of Bolehills at this point.

The only thing that’s popped up in my head post-50 is how much longer it takes me to heal!

Impressed by anyone at that age who can override the nagging voice and roll into stuff like that.

Respect is due

*fist bump*

You just give us a tow-in then yeah?

:D

51yo here, and I’d love a go on the Vision Line.  Most big jumpers I’ve spoken to (that are admittedly a bit younger) have said that it’s “not actually that difficult”, but I just can’t seem to hold my nerve hitting big jumps like that at the speed needed.  You only need to get it wrong once and it’s gonna be a painful drive home.

Same thing with the Oakley drops at Dyfi.  A drops a drop, right?  Until you have to hit it at speed!!  One day, maybe…….

There’s some truth to that. Once you’ve got the technique a jump’s a jump and a drop’s a drop.

The problem with the big ones is that they’re much faster and scarier. And as you say, one wrong move and you’re out of action for who knows how long.

Top work. It’s a really fun and rewarding process.

It took me ages to get the first step down road gap, but I couldn’t believe how smooth and easy it was once I did it. The jump out of that berm is the hardest, but once you’ve got that the rest of the line should come pretty quickly.

I can’t wait to get back to Revs, much prefer their building style to Dyfi. Dirt Farm is also worth a visit if you’re enjoying Vision.

Well done @steamtb!

I’m mid 40s and have lost my ability to jump somewhat. I used to be able to bunnyhop a BMX above waist height from flat and loved riding dirt jumps on a DJ bike, however after many years spent riding full suss bikes I’ve lost my pop. Drops and flat launches are fine, but anything above a few ft with a kick or lip gives me the fear now. I recently got a hardtail though so need to find some decent local jumps to get back into it.

Thanks at mark88, I’m happy with my run in to the first road gap and will be quite chilled dropping into that when I’m next there and yes, the jump out of the berm does look the much more challenging of the two. I’ve been practicing a fair bit on a local feature; a berm / heavily angled into a (smaller) road gap, land into a turn and immediate gap jump, so I’m hoping that will make it feel a bit easier. Can’t wait to try it!

Hearing everyone’s thoughts, it really is an interesting process, that mix of meaningful practice, ability, skill, fear (or terror :)) and the biggie (for me), the mental side of it all… It has been an interesting process; building up those foundational skills with lots of practice, making myself do all the jumps I didn’t like / scared me / was rubbish at (repeatedly) and making lots of mistakes. I think lots of mistakes along the way has helped me a lot, it gives me a bit more flexibility when doing things for the first time. The thing that really jumps out for me now is how much of a mental game it becomes, you really have to get your head in the right place, otherwise all the skill in the world doesn’t save you from yourself. Related to this, the features / skills area adjacent to the Revs car park is brilliant for practice now; progressive, with lots of challenging features and ways to build confidence without much jeopardy. I covered more than 10 miles staying within 100 metres of the car park in some of my earlier visits, and had indecent amounts of fun :)  I look forward to hearing how everyone gets on, new jumpers and old jumpers alike!

Good on ya. It’s funny how well built big features (as long as you have the bollocks and speed for it) can be easier to ride than much smaller badly built features!

Glad to see Revs back in the game, was my favorite UK bike park followed by Dirt Farm (genuinely amazing what they have done with a relatively small hill) and Dyfi.

Good going OP.

There’s some truth to that. Once you’ve got the technique a jump’s a jump and a drop’s a drop.

The problem with the big ones is that they’re much faster and scarier. And as you say, one wrong move and you’re out of action for who knows how long.

The rest of the truth is, Vision line is a really well built and thought through line, jump smooth and pump and you’re through it, height and gaps grow and match the speed. Full Moto at BMCC is the same.

Other Bike Parks or Trail Centres dont usually get this right (cough BPW cough), you’ll hit a few jumps and pick up speed and next there’s a small jump and you’re landing flat!

@oikeith that is something that stands out, they build some superbly judged features at Revs, epic work from them! :)

You know you occasionally have days that make you think, well that could have gone better? :) last Friday was definitely one of those days. I hadn’t been on my bike for over a week and woke up with a headache and feeling tired, but the weather was kind and I had time to go to Revs. Chilled ride I thought, that would make me feel better. Normally, I spend quite a bit warming up and playing on stuff, but on Friday I went straight to the top. A quick ride down Freeride and into the new Continental Line; what an amazing section of trail to play on, so many features you can link together; small, big, long, short, whale tails, step ups, just so much brilliant stuff :) :) you just need to be a bit careful in a few places that you can seriously over jump. Feeling good so I thought I’d pop to the Vision and play on the stuff I’d already done. Several runs in and it was starting to feel smooth up to the road gap. Added the drop into the road gap and that felt really nice, it’s bizarrely easy to place your bike and barely feels like you’ve done a drop when you get it right. Lots of grip into the bermed jump into the step up road gap. First time I hit it, I went fairly slowly and did a bit of a case, nothing harsh. The second run into it and I landed the first road gap very smoothly, perfectly on the landing, at this point I realise now, some braking might have been helpful here. I went much too deep with the second road gap, not something I thought was catastrophic as I was planning my line into the next jumps as I was coming in to land… unfortunately, my front wheel washed out immediately after I landed and I hit the ground hard, it’s always the sudden stops that hurt. Quite a tally of injuries; articular fracture of my left radius, articular fractures of my left big toe and too many lacerations, contusions and sprains to list. Riding down the mountain smarted a bit but thankfully, excepting having to straighten my bars, my bike was completely unscathed. Although it was an inauspicious start to the day, I obviously made some mistakes but how much each contributed, I’m not sure. I went far too deep but I also wonder if I hadn’t shifted my weight and bike into the landing enough, or maybe I turned my front wheel too much before it had decent grip. My tyre pressures might not have helped either, I was running them much higher than normal for the big jumps and fast corners.

I’m obviously casted now and back in the # clinic next week; if my radius isn’t healing then it will get pinned. It’s probably the best month to watch TV, work is busy and fun and I have a huge backlog of ace books to read, so pretty much perfect for a bit of downtime. I’ve also got some time to plan the areas I need to improve and practice; moving my bike a lot more in the air for a start. I also want to learn to whip properly. Out of respect to my lovely wife, the full Vision Line may be off the menu for a slightly extended period; although I’ll do the other big jumps but exclude that second road gap. I’ll obviously do a lot of practice leading up to that. :):):)

I have spent my professional life rehabbing people from injuries, especially significant sporting injuries, so I will use this to come back stronger and fitter. Hopefully before Christmas :)

Wow that’s devastating but at least you’ve manged to stay positive about it.

It’s exactly this risk that holds me back now. 20 years ago I didn’t give a shit but now I know how it feels to be broken and bed ridden and spend months in rehab and physio. It makes me think, Nah I’ll not bother with that big scary feature today.

I’m still at the pump track all the time trying to get the ‘pop’ back! Some days I can feel it coming, others I just feel like a fat old man.

I kind of know what you mean, but it’s surprising how easy it is to break yourself doing something innocuous too. I think there are definitely big jumps and big jumps. Some things are really hard to mess up even if they are “big”, others are really easy to mess up and there is also a skill in recognising which is which! Working on that one :)

The pump track is your big jump; something to enjoy, practice and try to get better at.

trying to get the ‘pop’ back! Some days I can feel it coming, others I just feel like a fat old man.

I definitely feel this! My last few rides have been really good for re-learning jumps, but last night I went to Woburn for a ride and it was abysmal. I was tired after work and sandy conditions weren’t exactly great for inspiring confidence but I really struggled to get anything right. Ended on a dead sailor to shinner. Of course I’m now going to blame my bike and start looking for a DJ to throw money at the problem :) I do love jumps when you get them right though, it’s a really addictive feeling! Not actually sure I like “proper” MTB trails or trail riding that much any more, it’s all about the jumps for me so maybe learning to ride DJs properly is the way forward for me at the minute. Just wish I’d kept some of my old 26″ stuff :)

@_tom_ we’ve all learnt mainly on dirt jumps using long travel 29ers and they’ve been perfect for the “older” rider :) it gives you a lot more flexibility  in your technique and allows you to play a bit more in relative comfort :)

I had a Transition PBJ which I loved but I couldn’t resist buying a Fit 22 inch BMX out of curiosity and to be honest it was so good I sold the PBJ.

Because we ride mostly on pump tracks and small jumps the BMX is just absolutely rapid.

I tried switching back and forth for a while but the 26″ felt so slow and cumbersome that I decided I’d be happy to switch permanently. The 22 is nowhere near as twitchy and dangerous feeling as a 20″ but it looks the part!

we’ve all learnt mainly on dirt jumps using long travel 29ers and they’ve been perfect for the “older” rider :) it gives you a lot more flexibility in your technique and allows you to play a bit more in relative comfort :)

I’m only 35 but had about 5-6 years out of proper riding with a child seat attached to the bike, but I certainly felt old at Woburn seeing all the kids effortlessly hitting all the big jumps haha. I’m on a 29er hardtail which is fine for MTB style jumps, but feels really clumsy on pump tracks and anything with tighter transitions. @sharkattack I have definitely considered the Fit Series 22, used to BMX as a teenager but wasn’t that good at it apart from street, and I had a 24″ Sunday Model C which still felt really twitchy and horrible compared to 26″!

@steamtb – hope you heal up well and get back at it soon!

Give in to the temptation!

I got this one for £450 around Black Friday time last year and now it’s the first bike I grab most days. Loving it.

@steamtb

Sorry to hear about your crash, hopefully it’ll all heal up quickly.

I was just getting some of Vision sorted when Revs closed. I had my lad to tow me in which was really helpful. We’ve not been back since so definitely need to get that sorted. I’m 55 now though and have promised Mrs ColP I’ll start easing up a bit.

The new line sounds great, looking forward to checking that out.

Only a couple of days and I should find out whether my rehab is going to be extended or if I will be back jumping in just over a month… its like waiting for Christmas, with added jeopardy :) I really can’t wait to start building myself back up and getting out on my bike. I’m currently constrained to single leg deadlifts, presses and rows along with some trunk stuff and only knee extensions / flexion on my damaged side along with some very gentle ankle stuff. I can now walk in a short shuffle with a rigid orthotic which is a massive improvement over the hospital boot; it is good to be reminded how lucky a lot of us are and will certainly make me very grateful when I can do more.

In my downtime, I’ve been having a look at what vids I’ve got, really not many is the answer and sadly no pics from the Vision line either, I should take more! Here is one from the optional gaps on the Freeride just after revs opened again:   https://youtu.be/-PPXbtlzZsg