I will post here what I had posted on the pugski mtb thread yesterday - people there have made me feel a bit better, but it was still an eye opener for me:
I remember the feeling I had when I realized 15 years or so ago that real people skied "those" runs. The tight trees, the chutes, the steeps. Not just the pros - there were lots of people skiing that stuff. I suddenly became aware that I was at best an intermediate skier.
Yesterday I rode with my awesome friend, and she had no hesitation whatsoever on a lot of scary downhill sections I walked. Made me think. And she was on a hardtail (27.5+, but still!).
Today I took my dogs on a hike on a familiar trail. I know it's popular for mountain biking, but I always thought people must walk soooo much of it. But today, timing worked out so that I saw people riding a bunch of the technical sections. Steep rocks and roots that would scare the piss out of me if I even contemplated them. And they weren't even wearing any body armor. And then I saw this guy get into a tight descending turn with rock on either side hemming him in, and techy stuff under his wheels, and he performed four bunny hops in place, each angling him just a couple of degrees, until he was facing in the direction he wanted to go. And off he rode.
So, yeah. I just realized I am at best an intermediate rider. For real for real. And I'm not sure I'm going to ever get much past that, which is a real bummer. But it freaking hurts to fall on pointy rocks and get your bike wrapped all around you. My husband says that objectively, the skiing I do is more dangerous. But it doesn't feel that way. When it comes to skiing, I pushed well past that intermediate zone. But I'm not sure I have it in me to ride stuff that I've just realized that many people ride. And it's kind of a bummer.
Since then, I've been giving some thought to the fact that I do live in the Boulder area, so for all I know the people riding that stuff are pros. But I do know that it's a popular trail.
I've also been thinking about how much time I spend on my bike vs skiing, not even considering how intensely I study skiing and the number of lessons I take.