Microtech vs. Macrotech

I thought of a new way I'd like to start describing trails, today. The trails of new england are what I would call microtech- sharp rocks, slippery roots, and other small trail imperfections that make you focus on every foot of trail. There's a section near the river at Bradley Palmer SP that illustrates this perfectly. Enough roots, that are tall enough, and just moving forward is a chore.

This is opposed to what I would call macrotech- a sharp hill that requires technique to climb but is tricky in a much larger way (not more difficult, just physically larger) than microtech. Moab's slickrock trail might be a good example of this sort of technical riding: struggling with a natural feature, not the acual riding surface that approaches the feature.

I wish we had more trails like the latter. I love the former, but sometimes I feel like it gets a little frustrating and it certainly makes the hills and such more challenging!

The key: speed over the microtech to ride the macrotech!