We just finished Guacamole. The trail, and the food. In my opinion, both are delicious! I haven’t ridden Guacamole since 2015, and I remember liking it, but it was better than I remembered! The punchy rock climbs and descents mixed with fast single track and beautiful views made for some great riding.

The Guacamole trail isn’t long, but due to it’s skate park like nature, it’s not fast. The 10 ish mile lollipop took about an hour and 15 minutes at a chill pace. There are a lot of really good, challenging lines that will test your riding abilities, confidence, and trust in your bike. Nothing is insane (no mandatory drops or jumps). But there are several steep rolls on rocks, some of which are 6 or 7 feet tall. There are also some chunky rock gardens going both up and downhill. None of them are steep and so the consequences aren’t high, but it’s certainly challenging.

While riding some of these challenging sections of trail, it made me think of what I learned last year in my sports psychology class. My professor, Craig Manning would talk about the importance of having a power statement. A power statement is a short phrase you can tell to yourself to recall what you’ve been practicing. It is crucial for helping athletes to perform under pressure. It can be as simple as, “I’ve got this!” Or “Today is my day!” The stronger tone in which you can tell it to yourself the better. When attempting new obstacles on my bike, I often use “I’ve got this!” It helps me to put a side any doubt, or concern, and to go for it. It also helps me to let my muscles and bike do there thing, keeping me from getting in my head.