Sheena, I think you would have enjoyed it! Here are a few of my take aways:
1. Practice your trackstands, slow riding skills, etc. They pay off here, especially if you are riding with other people and are not the leader.
2. On the cornering, tuck your inside elbow in. This can make or break that tight turn. This is the one item that was new to me. Maybe I did it without thinking of it, but maybe not.
3. Picking your line is even more important if your switchback is.. not sure of the word, but I'll say "off cantor". That is, as you are climbing, the outside of the switchback actually slopes back down to the outside. In this case, you've got to pick a line as far inside as you need to to stay on a slope coming down to the inside. If you pick a line that is off cantor, you will turn the wrong way.
4. Everyone's favorite, look where you want your wheel to go. So, the first part of your switchback you are riding it slow and are looking just a little in front of your wheel... staring like a mad woman on the exact spot you want you tire to go. As you reach the peak of the corner and your front wheel is starting to come around, now you lift your eyes and focus up the trail 10 feet or so and continue the power. Even if your tire was heading towards the wall, it will magically come around and you are on your way to the next one.
5. And, of course, there is the forward-back balance to keep enough weight on your back tire that you aren't slipping, but still enough on the front tire so you can steer around the corner.
And, that's it. For me, #2, 3 and 4 are the ones that I have to be more intentional with.
In fact, he even did the steeper drop-in and the banked curve before me!
And, I even packed my camera this morning without any comments from DH! sigh... We've avoided certain locations in the past weeks, but this is the first time we've actually cancelled the whole ride.
