Reddit mentions of Mastering Mountain Bike Skills

Ride more, and work on body positioning. Get the Mastering Mountain Bike Skills book and read it to learn a bunch of proper technique. Then, ride even more and practice.

One trick I like is to take a flat, easy piece of trail, and ride it without brakes. No matter how slow you have to go, ride it without brakes. This will give you a good feel for controlling the bike. Then you can bring the speed up more and more... Then eventually start using your brakes where it's really needed, which'll be far less than before.

this book from the sidebar is highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Mountain-Bike-Skills-3rd/dp/1492544493

there's a lot to it, but you can read further and further as you get more advanced, there's no need to read more than the first couple of chapters right away

This came up in another thread today.

Basically, you want to lean your bike (not your body), look through the turn, and put all of your weight on your outside pedal, which should be at 6 o’clock.

There’s a great section on cornering in the book “Mastering Mountain Bike Skils”

Good luck, and ride fast!

https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Mountain-Bike-Skills-3rd/dp/1492544493

Buy this. Get an older/used copy to save money if needed because this really does have a lot of useful info: Mastering Mountain Bike Skills 3rd Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1492544493/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_cnyKzb0K9MYZ1

That's terrific! Comfort her and be patient. Let her cry and be there for her. Sometimes it just has to get out. It sounds like you are already doing just what you should be.

Can I give you some advice for you and your girlfriend? Sorry but I'm long-winded :)

1. I can't tell you how many times I broke down crying on a hill. 100? 1,000? I remember the first "hill" I tried to tackle. It was pavement and at the time it was the steepest thing in the world to me. Today I'm up it effortlessly with two strong pedal strokes. I ran that damn hill for HOURS, for days, for weeks. I blew every shift. I would downshift too much and lose my pedals as they started to spin. I wouldn't downshift enough and I would fall over. I ran out of any strength or stamina halfway up the hill. It was humiliating, frustrating, dejecting, the whole nine. But I kept at it despite being at a point where I would rather die than even try it one more time. When I got up the hill the first time, it was a feeling I can't even describe. I had worked SO HARD for this, and I DID it. Keep at it. Keep trying. You will get there. It is a certainty.
   
   
2. Every ride is valuable. That ride where you failed every single thing you attempted? You fell over 15 times, ate shit coming down a hill, whatever? During that ride, if you come away still not having mastered whatever you were trying, you learned 10 approaches that didn't work. You have an opportunity to identify some of the things you are doing wrong, and that is a victory. You won't make the same mistakes again.
   
   
3. Celebrate all of the victories. Yesterday, I had to stop for a break at that tree over there. Today, I made it 50 yards farther. Two weeks ago, I had to stop 3 times on this trail for a break. Today, I only had to stop twice. Last time, I lifted my bike over that rock. Today, I got over it...or, just TRYING to get over it instead of lifting is a success. For you, as her mentor - enthusiastically point out the things she is doing right, no matter how basic. Her attack position just looked killer coming down that hill? Shout it out to her. She picked a perfect line? Tell her so. My boyfriend often calls out to me something as simple as "you look so comfortable on that bike right now." Even that makes me feel great.
   
   
4. For you - run drills with her. Not every outing has to be a ride. Find something she's struggling with, find somewhere perfect to practice it, and run it over and over. There was a point where I was terrified of going down even a relatively small decline or drop if it was rocky or otherwise not really flat. We found an area that had a great example, and I just practiced going down it for hours. By the end of that first outing, I had figured out where my weight needed to be on the bike, how far back my butt should be, etc. I never had any trouble at all with that again.
   
   
5. Teach her how to fall properly. It is so important that she understands to get away from the bike the millisecond she realizes there's no recovering from this. Tell her I said not to be afraid to fall. It's going to happen. The end. I usually consider it a good thing, in a way...every fall reminds me that falling isn't usually THAT bad, I've always managed to walk away from it, and keeping that in mind helps give me confidence when approaching something that makes me nervous. How many times have I eaten shit? What's one more? Teaching her how to do this will also reinforce the idea that EVERYONE FALLS. Everyone falls so much that there is an actual technique to doing it as safely as possible. A fall is not something to be embarrassed by, and I personally love my scrapes, cuts, and bruises. They remind me how strong and badass I am. My legs were never terribly pretty to begin with, but boy are they scarred up now. I rock that shit with pride - I earned every one of those scars by doing something difficult.
   
   
6. nakfoor's girlfriend...here are my #1 tips, the lessons that were the hardest and most valuable for me:
   
   -Speed is almost always your friend. Your instinct is to hit those brakes when you come up on something scary. Your bike WANTS to keep going. Your bike is literally designed to make it over that obstacle. If you hit it at speed, you've got a good chance of clearing it. If you run smack into it with nothing behind you, you're not gonna make it over. When in doubt...remember a high-speed crash is almost always preferable to a low-speed one.
   
   -Breaks are important. It took me so long (like, as in about 10 months ago) to get that in my brain. I always felt like stopping indicated I was weak, my boyfriend must be so bored stopping all the time, the objective is to complete the ride, etc. If you are tired, stop. Catch your breath. One of my favorite trails has two mega bitches of hills essentially right before a rock garden. I always wanted to keep going, and by the time I hit that rock garden, I was so tired my technique was sloppy and I struggled. If you stop ahead of that rock garden, hydrate and breathe, you'll hit it fresh and be much more successful.
   
   -You're gonna have days when it's just not happening. The most basic stuff you know how to do...you'll just blow it every time for some reason. Everything is gonna be a fail. It's okay. Everyone has those days, and it's completely normal and no reflection on you. Pack it up, have a beer, get over it, and look forward to next time.
   
   -Do not give up. Just don't do it. That moment you feel like you've got absolutely nothing left? Hang on for 2 more minutes and make sure it isn't your mind lying about your body. 99% of the time for me, that's my head giving out before my lungs and legs do. You're maxed out and have nowhere else to downshift going up that hill? When that happens to me, I reach deep inside and tell myself, "Your bike has gotten you this far. The rest is up to you." Then I hit it and every time I would downshift if I could, I press the shifter anyway and translate it to "I just shifted my own legs into that gear and I'm gonna get it."
   
   -Talk to yourself. You might feel stupid, but I promise it helps. When I've almost crested that hill and I'm about to lose it, I shout, "GET IT! YOU'VE GOT THIS! HIT IT!" When I'm dying trying to get over something, I'll just primal scream if I have to get that struggle out. It feels great and it is often that boost I need.
   
   One last thing...get this book. Mastering Mountain Bike Skills. This has been one of my best resources. Explanations are clear and concise, tons of pictures that help you see how you should be positioned, and covers every topic you could imagine. Best investment I made in my riding, and it was under 20 bucks.
   
   I hope you guys have a great experience together. Keep up what you're doing today and you will give her everything she needs :)
   
   
   
   

This is an excellent book-lots of folks here recommended it. I'm reading it now and it's helped me a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Mountain-Bike-Skills-3rd/dp/1492544493

Go on your own. Have fun. And read this at your own pace. https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Mountain-Bike-Skills-3rd/dp/1492544493 Great book for all skill levels.