Scooter Crunchy Snow & Leafy Singletrack w/the Jazzed Pup! Early Jan 25 with Steezy :)

The crunchy old snow, especially over still not packed-down leaves on the singletrack was extra draggy, but Steezy was extra excited to GO, so we flew along for a lovely outing! Love to see him pull with good excitement, but not over the top and wasting energy ❤️ And dang, a super nice close-up squirrel dart double-header that he successfully resisted diving after either one! I've worked hard to make it easy for him to understand that we stop on a dime and the fun stops if he leaves the trail chasing, and he gets to keep going and run off adrenaline if he stays on trail, and it clicked Fast and works a treat in most scenarios, but I'm extra proud of him when there've been multiple prey drive triggers within a small space/time and he still keeps us heading forward ❤️ That's probably the biggest question I get when meeting people on the trail or in the lot - What do you do if you see a critter?!? Starting off consistent from the Very beginning with a set plan that's clear to the dog and that you the human rider are prepared to back up with really skilled, powerful emergency stopping is such a huge help! If you haven't spent the time to truly learn how to brake, and practiced until it's second nature, then you won't be able to execute when the squirrel hits that fan, so to speak, so it's for everyone's safety And clarity in training for your dog! Being able to 'ride a bike' is not the same as being able to confidently control a bike(or scooter) off-road to mountain bike, much less to have a dog pulling even on a tame trail, so we can learn to be so much safer and have more fun by not falling into the trap of thinking this is something we should just be learning on the go by trial and error! :D
Who: Steezy the Samoyed! Prairie Isle Let's Get Lost in the Wild ❤️
Where: Fellows Lake Trails MO, Valhalla lot
Riding: The old faithful Diggler DSK scooter. Upgrades over the years include: lower handlebar to match my height better (width & backsweep already felt nice!), new Suntour suspension fork - still went with coil sprung for durability/low maintenance/not over-investing in a really old frame and front wheel size, just a newer nicer design and a touch more travel (63mm, I find it nice and doesn't throw off the geo/if anything improved handling!), TRP Slate T4 hydraulic disc brakes, Vee Flow Snap 20" x 2.4" enduro tire front & Vee Crown Gem 20" x 2.25" rear, and most recently, replaced/upgraded the stock wheels!!! High time the ol frame got modern wheels!! I went with JUnit Duroc 30 wheels by Sun Ringle for tubeless ready, nice width for my Trail width tires, rims! Super happy with how they've been riding, and way overdue to ditch the tube related flats and inner tubes (other than an emergency spare of course bc leaving that at home would invite a side wall slash since it's about all that could ever do in a tubeless tire enough to need one LoL!) Didn't enjoy spending the money, but regret nothing as there's still nothing else like the combo of sturdy, stable, And nimble that the old Diggler is for both beginners, and advanced riders on less tame trails! Give me a sturdy lively ride any day over something race oriented or so stable it's boring on tame stuff and unwieldly on exciting trails :)
🔔 Subscribe to ride along with us: / @themushingmountainbiker
❤️ Want to buy the cuter, furrier channel star a dog treat?www.buymeacoff...
🎬 New here? Check out my Channel Sampler Playlist to get acquainted :)
• MMB Channel Sampler
🎬 Want to ride along on a human powered trail ride? Mtb Ride Vibes Edits:
• Mtb Ride Vibes Edits
🎬 Parts & Skills topics for Dryland Mushers using bikes/scooters/light rigs, From a Musher's Perspective:
• From a Musher's Perspe...

[@jeffrey5961]

At 0:09 was a squirrel? I love how many octaves your voice rises when Steezy sees a squirrel. Does Steezy ever get to mush with any other dogs? Are there any other mushers in Missouri ? Thank you for posting these videos allowing us to vicariously share your adventures.

[@TheMushingMountainBiker]

Yes, there was a squirrel further down the side-hill at the beginning, which on the flat I might not have given him a reminder with it that far out, but on the downhill side of a bench cut I usually err on the side of reminding him to pay attention to the trail 😄 He hasn't had a chance to run with other dogs so far, so it would probably be a bit over-exciting at first :) I'm sure there's also others here and there that I don't know, but for sure there is Lucky Fox Racing also in the southwest MO area - they focus on competitive Canicross but run some team rig/sled too!