I need advice...

[Fred1956]

My riding has struggled this past year. I seem to be wearing out quicker and on the ground more- which wears me out more...at one point I considered throwing my bike down & picking it up for 2 hours as part of my training regimen
Tonight while riding I think I discovered a problem- I'm holding on to the bike by the handlebars........if I get bucked around then I yank the bars which puts me in the trees and BAM I'm picking the bike up!
I went back to the oldens days (Professor Gary Bailey instruction days) and rode the rest of the evening with only my throttle hand while standing on the pegs. While doing this I discovered that if I wasn't very judicious with throttle application, I wasn't able to stay centered on the bike. Downhills weren't to bad, still need some work but flat ground momentum changes and uphills were a huge wrestling match.... You guys would have enjoyed the part where I got off balance , hit a tree with the left handlebar and rode it to the ground-all with one hand on the throttle
Any suggestions? I do wear Asterisk Ultra Cell knee braces which seem to make gripping the bike with my knees a bit more difficult but others do it so I should be able to also.
Feel free to offer anything, riding has been more of a chore than enjoyment lately so I want to get back to the fun of riding and staying up on two wheels and in the trail will help immensely
Thanks in advance