Drop in.

Duck under that branch, then hard right to hit the berm.

Get a little air over that hip, then punch between those two trees and follow the trail along that off-camber section.

Drop left, hold the line and let the back end drift so you can get around that cedar.

Pump the roller to maintain speed up and over that small rise.

Almost out of the woods, just have to make that gap and... WHAM!  Absorb the landing, wave to the imaginary crowd as you ride away.

I don't like resolutions, but I can make lists of things I should be doing this year.

1.  Figure out a way to get more people involved in taking care of the trails.  Many people already do this [you know who you are], but we need more - way more.  If I had to guess, I'd say that less than 1% of active mountain bikers in the Calgary area do anything to help with trail maintenance.  With so many demands on people's time, I can understand that.  Still, the work needs to be done.  Maybe ride 9 times, and then instead of going for ride number 10 do some trail work - that's not so bad.  Don't know how to do trail work?  We can help with that, and it won't cost you a dime...

2.  Ride More. 

Mountain Bike Skills Parks.  Many major NorAm cities have one, and a lot of smaller places have them too.  Canmore has two, Hinton has a gigantic Hoots-built fun factory.  There's several in Vancouver and area, despite the fact that some of the best mtn bike trails in the world are right there.  Calgary's park[s] has been in the making for a looooooong time.  Depending on who you talk to, 2002 was the first year it showed up on the City's radar.  Why the delay?  The big problem is location, location, location.  Ideally, you want to site a park near its intended users - kids and the young-at-heart.  If you put it in the middle of nowhere, it's simply hard to get to.  The obvious solution is to put it near the kids.  It's a playground for kids who happen to be on bikes, so that makes sense, right? 

The time would be easy to know, for then cyclists would have become as the Great Old Bikers; free and wild and beyond good and evil, with laws and morals thrown aside and all people shouting and riding and revelling in joy. Then the liberated Old Bikers would teach them new ways to shout and ride and revel and enjoy themselves, and all the earth would shred with a gnar of ecstasy and freedom.
—with tremendous apologies to H. P. Lovecraft

Me and Ms. PR got out for what might be the last snow-free ride of the year.  The sound that tires make on dirt, there's nothing else that makes a noise like that.  Soon I'll be hearing the crunch of snow and ice in its place.  Good, but different.  It is the End Times for another year, the pogies and the warmer gear must come out of storage.  Port replaces lager.  Bailey's replaces orange juice.  Nothing replaces Guinness.  It's time to start working on next year's trail plan.