![\"Stairstep\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mountainbikebill.com\/blog\/wp-content\/imagescaler\/e58ea49deec0d495d620418b79e3813e.jpg?resize=433%2C650\")
\nA different angle on the “Stair Step”<\/p>\n
So yesterday I was all primed to head to Alpine to hit\u00a0up one of my favorite\u00a0technical\/stunt trails.\u00a0\u00a0 I had a brand\u00a0spanking new full face helmet and was ready to go.\u00a0 I had not ridden with my\u00a0buddy Steve in months so it was going to be cool to catch up\u00a0on things with him while out on the trail.\u00a0\u00a0 I show up to the trailhead\u00a0early and get all my stuff together.\u00a0 Steve shows up a little\u00a0early as well and as I’m making final preps I realized that I left my pads at home!\u00a0\u00a0 Freaking Bummer!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Now it did not make much sense to be to wear a full-face helmet and no pads so I threw on the my regular helmet for the ride and went “naked” protection-wise.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I always throw\u00a0on pads at the top of Anderson because, well, this place has a tendency to have you leaking at the\u00a0end of the ride if you don’t.\u00a0 But for this day, I\u00a0decided to skip a few of the trechreous\u00a0spots and generally take it\u00a0easier.<\/p>\n
What a great ride I ended up having today.\u00a0 It was one of those days when things just all seem to click and you have to tell people about.\u00a0 Not because you want to brag, but because days like this don’t always happen.\u00a0 They are kind of special and today was one of those days. My gear snaffu aside, I rode well and it was just a great day to be out on a bike.\u00a0 The stuff I did hit, just seemed to flow and feel much more effortless than in the past.\u00a0 I was jazzed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Steve and I always play around on stuff up there and today was no different.\u00a0 I was also having a great day with the camera.\u00a0 Angles just seem to be coming into view better and\u00a0I was getting my envisioned\u00a0shots on the first take.\u00a0\u00a0It was cool to be in a camera zone as well.<\/p>\n
\nA different angle on the “Stair Step”<\/p>\n
\u00a0![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mountainbikebill.com\/blog\/wp-content\/imagescaler\/9f465f538ac64088bc41d99941b96707.jpg?resize=433%2C650\")
\nThis is called the Halloween Drop.\u00a0\u00a0 I’m not sure why, maybe it is because it will be a trick or treat.\u00a0 Not much room in between.<\/p>\n
![\"Rock](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mountainbikebill.com\/blog\/wp-content\/imagescaler\/eb354d7b7771df5d61d24225f6d2d5f0.jpg?resize=650%2C520\")
\nThis little rock drop had been messing with my head since forever out here.\u00a0 I had launched bigger stuff than this but I would always roll it,\u00a0even with pads on.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I think it\u00a0was the\u00a0rock onto a rock that was tweaking my melon.\u00a0 After riding a few days in Moab, where this stuff is everywhere, I hit this\u00a0without hesitation.\u00a0\u00a0I had to stop afterwards, look around and go “What the hell was I fretting about?”<\/p>\n
![\"911](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mountainbikebill.com\/blog\/wp-content\/imagescaler\/d909fe01f3d4c2c762ade1be7fa3a16c.jpg?resize=433%2C650\")
\nFurther down the trail, the camera zone continued as\u00a0I got a different angle on the 911 roll.\u00a0 I was jazzed with getting some scenery in the background on this shot.<\/p>\n
![\"Wall](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mountainbikebill.com\/blog\/wp-content\/imagescaler\/24a7b1a85fdf700c34c21584cb1f9859.jpg?resize=650%2C433\")
\nOn our way back down I had an “interesting moment” on the wall ride.\u00a0\u00a0 I came into the wall mighty hot and went up a lot higher than I had planned.\u00a0 I also had enough speed that I basically blew through the wall forcing me to come down off the wall in a much steeper section while turning the wheel sharper than normal.\u00a0\u00a0 About halfway down the wall I was\u00a0still leaned over and my\u00a0fork was way out to my left. Because of the steepness of the wall past the “normal” area the fork came off the wall and somehow I managed to pull the\u00a0frontend back underneath\u00a0me\u00a0and straighten it out just before the wheel touched\u00a0down at the bottom.\u00a0\u00a0It all happened really fast, but there was still that bit\u00a0of the mental slow motion thing happening.\u00a0 I stopped afterwards and had to let out a big yell.\u00a0\u00a0I had the post-adrenaline rush shakes and my stoke meter was officially pegged!<\/p>\n
The rest of the run was a cruiser and we finished off\u00a0the day off with some yummy burritos.\u00a0 Another great day to be a mountain biker.<\/p>\n
\u00a0-Bill<\/p>\n