DIGGING DEEP

In her own words, pro mountain biker Kate Courtney describes how she learned to confront her fears and demystify obstacles by working with veteran rider Jill Kintner.

- KATE COURTNEY

Closing my eyes, I visualize myself riding off it. Heels down, eyes up, weight centered. I know what I need to do. Yet a part of me still wonders if I will be able to do it when it counts.

Before I can let the doubt creep in, I hear Jill's matter-of-fact voice shouting up at me. "If you think you can do it, just do it," she says. Jill doesn't buy into the drama for even a moment; doesn't let her imagination fixate on what could go wrong. For her, the calculation is simple. If you know how to do it, then do it.

The confidence in her voice stirs something in me, pulling me back into the moment. I am reminded that this challenge is one I am prepared for. I take a deep breath and turn toward my bike, anxious anticipation now morphing into deep resolve. I don't hesitate. I clip my feet into the pedals, steady my hands on the handlebars and go.

It is the second day of my most recent skills camp working with Jill Kintner in Bellingham, Washington. Both the town and Jill herself are famous for mountain biking: Bellingham for its endless singletrack filled with well-built features and infinite opportunities to progress. And Jill for being a world champion, Olympian and all-around badass who has excelled in everything from downhill to BMX racing. For more than two decades, Jill has been a mainstay on the top step of the podium and a threat in any event she enters on the gravity side of the sport.

Jill also happens to be a fellow pro rider with Red Bull, which is how I first met her at a retreat in Texas in 2017. Like on many Red Bull retreats, we found ourselves immersed in a world that seemed almost unbelievable: a quick surf in an artificial wave pool before a helicopter dropped us at a pop-up camp village on Willie Nelson's ranch.