To Send or Not to Send: When to Tackle Tough Obstacles and When to Hit Pause

In the last two interviews we did with BMXers, we got two really different answers when it came to how they tackle scary new obstacles and their best advice for how you can do the same:

Alberta-based Molly Simpson travels all around Canada as one of the Next-Gen BMX racers, and says, “My tip is to just turn your mind off and just send it.” (Read the whole interview here)

On the flip side, though, BMX jumper Kara Bruce has an opposite experience:  “Oh man. When I was a beginner, not to be sexist, but boys tend to say stuff like ‘just do it,’ ‘send it’ ‘go harder, go faster.’ But that’s not how most people learn. So, there’s a trick I do sometimes, a 270 Smith. Go up, do a 270, land in a smith on the other side. When I’m practicing, I always have guys coming over and telling me how to ‘disaster,’ and I’m always thinking, that’s not what I’m trying to do, I’m trying to do a 270 Smith. The more advanced I get, I don’t get that as much—but as a beginner, people come try to help and the advice isn’t always helpful. So don’t feel like you have to take advice from everyone. ‘Just send it’ isn’t always great advice.”

I think that both of them are right.

There are times where you need the confidence boost of ‘just send it,’ and there are other times when you do need to back up a bit and really consider what you’re about to send!

So, when do you send it?

I love MTB World Champ Kate Courtney’s advice on obstacles:

“It’s really common to be terrified of obstacles! I’m still terrified of some. I think it’s so important to focus on developing skills. If you go out for a ride with someone who’s already great at skills, it can be intimidating and seem like they just naturally are good at it, and you think ’they can do it but I can’t.’ But if you take the steps to learn, OK how do I go off a drop? What do I need to do with my body? And find a good teacher, you start to take away that fear.”

“You start to take away some of those skills and have more confidence in your ability. The best way to combat fear: prepare yourself.”

And CX Worlds silver medalist Ellen Noble:

“Ease into it! Start with just rolling off a curb. Get up the courage, nail the small trick. Then find something a little bigger. Understand as you level up, so you have the confidence. Once you have that, go for it. (And I crash all the time. Don’t be afraid of falling down.)”

I think the big takeaway here is that you should have confidence… but you also need to be thoughtful and think about what skills you need to approach an obstacle. When you’re Molly Simpson, with a decade of experience on the bike, it’s easy to think about sending something scary—you’ve probably done something similar in the past.

The key is to break down the scary stuff into manageable obstacles: start small, like with that curb roll off, and slowly progress. You’ll be sending it in no time!