a few years ago Eric took me out to the white line which is a magnet for mountain bikers and other
tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of someone riding it it's exactly as bad as it looks it's
a white layer of rock that's just barely ridable if your tires are dry and you mind your pedals
while it doesn't look incredibly difficult or technical things can and have gone wrong here
like if you mess up that roll it's just a huge bummer so you should never ever ride
the white line unless your dad is Lars Romig and he gives you the green light Ronin who's
12 years old and lives in Sedona had already ridden the white line earlier on in the day
he was accompanied and guided by his father Lars who has ridden it probably hundreds of
times by now in all sorts of conditions I was in Sedona that weekend with Eric and family for
Sedona mountain bike festival which for me kind of marks the beginning of the spring riding season
on our final day of a trip punctuated by cold rainy weather we were gifted the perfect afternoon
and the perfect guides to help make the most of it as Lars and Ronin led us through Sedona's iconic
desert trails it became apparent that Eric had every intention of taking a white line lap for
old time's sake his kids Milo and Owen wanted to hike out and look at it and Ronin fresh off his
first lap was itching to take another now to fully appreciate the mental gamey to have for the white
line one must stare down the halfway point it's a steepish rock roll followed by a 90 degree turn
this is the part that really made me pause and consider what I was doing up there a few years ago
I mean 20 years ago this would have been impressive people would give you props for it
but we're in a different time now when I rode the white line I received grief and scathing personal
messages maybe that's a good thing I don't know but my point is that in 2022 you don't get a prize
for riding the white line so if you're up there it has to be for yourself so with that let's uh let's
watch a 12 year old ride the white line with his dad yeah round two for you yeah feel good
you're the tour guide over there he says uh you know sometimes it happens
usually not they're up there contemplating nobody ever really does it they're in for a serious treat
alright Lars has done it a million times let's focus on Ronin over here
he's so good
so confident how is that is that scary for you or still just normal now it's like it's
kind of normal now after the second time but it's definitely scary i've known he
can do it for quite a while and I didn't want to ever say like you should go do it
and I knew he was eventually going to ask about it he brought it up and said hey dad I want to
go up and look at it rather than just say no don't do that like enable them and show them the
how-to of like how to manage the risk like i've been managing this risk my entire life now and
I mean people call you crazy but if you fight he wants to do it and I want to show him how like
that's what he wants to do managing risk what does Lars mean by that how does one manage risk
well managing risk in mountain biking is analyzing the situation dispassionately looking at the facts
is it windy out are your tires muddy are you extremely adept at rock rolls are you calm hopped
up on coffee are you with someone who can lead you in are you on a rental bike you aren't used to
maybe we should walk this line and have a closer look at it
analyze everything in the situation that matters determine what variables you can control and
accept walking away as a possible outcome once you have all the facts you'll have a better
idea of how much risk is actually present then you can decide whether it's worth it
it's worth noting that having followed Ronin out on the trails I wasn't the least bit nervous
or worried while filming him from chicken point without the dramatic music it's just me breathing
into a camera watching him do something clearly within his abilities he made it look so easy that
the spectators on chicken point didn't even bother applauding if you're a mountain biker there's a
chance that the apple won't fall far from the tree so teaching your kids risk management
cannot be overlooked having seen Eric coach his kids through new mountain biking endeavors
I see it working so I better get started on learning some risk management myself
so that I can pass along the knowledge someday thanks to Lars and Ronin for being such good
hosts and showing us around on that sunday and check out Lars on instagram to see some
seriously captivating desert riding thanks for riding with me today and i'll see you next time
got a bit of seat buzz there
those are really fun honestly Milo would have no trouble hitting all those
no I don't think so I flat bottom that one for sure though guys buzz my build seat buzzer