The Trails Didn’t Change. I Did. | Raging River eMTB Progression

Mountain biking at Raging River near North Bend, Washington — three rides, one Santa Cruz Vala eMTB, and a lesson in mountain bike progression that had a lot less to do with speed than I expected. Sometimes progress doesn’t look like conquering a trail. Sometimes it looks like getting humbled, coming back, trying again — and realizing somewhere along the way that you’ve changed. Welcome to Episode 1 of PNW Dad Rides. This video follows three different rides at Raging River, one of the best-known mountain biking trail systems in the Seattle area and Pacific Northwest. I’m riding my Santa Cruz Vala Lite eMTB through classic Raging River trails while learning lines, making mistakes, building confidence, and trying to become a better mountain biker one ride at a time. The trails stayed mostly the same. The rider didn’t. This is PNW mountain biking from the perspective of a middle-aged rider who is still very much learning. I’m not a professional mountain biker, racer, freerider, or YouTube shredder. I’m a dad who loves riding bikes and is fascinated by what happens when we keep returning to things that challenge us. There’s plenty of e-mountain biking and GoPro POV riding here, but the larger story is about progression — hesitation, blown lines, small victories, repeated attempts, confidence, and eventually discovering that improvement often happens before we recognize it. If you’re learning mountain biking as an adult, getting into technical trail riding, returning to MTB later in life, riding an electric mountain bike, or simply trying to become a better and more confident rider, you’ll probably recognize some of this. And you don’t need to ride an eMTB — or even a mountain bike — to know what it feels like to get humbled by something, come back later, and discover that you’re not quite the same person who struggled with it the first time. 🚵 RAGING RIVER TRAILS FEATURED • Upward Mobility • PCT • Ferdinand the Bull • Executive Decision • Raging Tiger • Raging Ridge • Canyon Creek Downhill • Pop-n-Tops • Flow State Stick around through the final ride. That’s where this story really comes together. 🌲 RAGING RIVER TRAIL INFO Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance – Raging River: https://www.evergreenmtb.org/trails/r... Trailforks – Raging River: https://www.trailforks.com/map/?z=14.... If you ride mountain bikes in Washington, check out Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance. The trails we get to enjoy don’t build and maintain themselves. 🚲 THE BIKE Santa Cruz Vala Lite Bosch Performance Line CX 29 / 27.5 mixed-wheel setup 🎥 FOLLOW ALONG Instagram:   / tcsheridanadventures   PNW Dad Rides is about mountain biking, eMTB, motorcycles, commuting, exploring the Pacific Northwest, and what spending time on two wheels can give us beyond simply getting from Point A to Point B. This isn’t a channel about extraordinary riding. It’s about why an ordinary ride can be extraordinary. 💬 YOUR TURN What trail, feature, skill, or experience humbled you enough that you had to come back and try it again? Did something eventually click? Was there a ride when you suddenly realized you were doing something that seemed impossible a few months earlier? And since this is Episode 1, feedback on the video itself is absolutely welcome — storytelling, pacing, voiceover, music, riding footage, editing, or anything else you think could make the next one better. If you enjoyed the video: 👍 Like it — it helps other riders find the channel. 💬 Leave a comment — tell me about your own progression or favorite Raging River trail. ↗️ Share it with another rider who might recognize a little of their own story here. 🔔 Subscribe to PNW Dad Rides if you want to come along for the next ride. 🎬 PRODUCTION Shot on GoPro HERO13 Black. Edited with Final Cut Pro. Music sourced from Epidemic Sound. A small production disclaimer: this is my first YouTube video, my first video shot on a GoPro, and my first project edited in Final Cut Pro. Apparently I decided the efficient way to learn all three was to do them simultaneously. So this was very much a learn-by-doing exercise — which seems pretty appropriate for a video about progression. There are undoubtedly some rough edges that Future Me will eventually look back on and wonder about. Constructive criticism is genuinely welcome. Emphasis on constructive. 😄 I’m here to get better at this part, too. #MountainBiking #EMTB #PNWMountainBiking #RagingRiver #MountainBikeProgression #SeattleMountainBiking #WashingtonMTB #SantaCruzVala #mtb .