Friday, 6/23/06 at 6:42 PM
by Tara Llanes
by Tara Llanes
Tips – Riding Through Tricky Terrain
When I first started riding mountain bikes and doing cross-country rides there were a lot of little things I didn’t know. These little things would end up making my ride feel a bit harder or tire me out a little quicker during the ride.
In the beginning if I saw an obstacle like a pile of rocks or maybe a deep rut I would start to get really nervous. In my experience, the first thing you do when you see something tricky or a bit scary is to completely tense up and stare right at it like a deer in headlights. Well, let me be the first to tell you that is exactly what you DO NOT want to do.
Rocks
First thing’s first when riding a trail. You always want to keep your eyes at least a couple feet ahead of you so you know what is coming up next and can prepare. Don’t just look 6 inches in front of your wheel. If you see a pile of rocks coming your way, try to remember to RELAX and try not to slow down too much. Here is the reason why. As soon as you tense up you start tiring yourself out. Your body reacts by raising your heart rate and making you tired sooner than you need to be. Also, when you hit the brakes and try to go through the rock pile really slow it actually is making it harder on you. If you keep your wheels rolling a little faster, the bike naturally wants to go in a straight line and with a little extra momentum you’ll be through the rock pile before you know it. I know, I know…easier said than done, but as soon as you do it one time you’ll get the feel of it and understand what I mean.
Ruts
The same goes with ruts. Ruts can be the scariest obstacles that some of us see on the trails. They are a bit daunting. They can sometimes splinter out and make three or four ruts crisscrossing all the way down the trail. My first piece of advice is if you are too uncomfortable and the ruts are just too deep to ride over or through, then by all means get off and walk through that section. However, if you want to give it a go, then here are some tips to help you get through them.
As soon as you see the rut look ahead and try to see if the rut goes left to right or right to left. If it goes right to left, then try to position your bike to as much of a 90 degree angle over the rut as possible and cross over to the right side as soon as the rut start to cross to the left. That way you don’t force yourself into the bushes if you are on the left side of it and stay on the left all the way until the rut ends either off the trail or somewhere you don’t want to be. If you can cross it at the top it is hopefully the narrowest part of the rut and the safest to cross. Always try to cross it at its’ narrowest point. And if it’s at the bottom and it looks safe then go for it.
I can’t stress enough to stay as loose on your bike as possible. The tenser you get, the more you are fighting your bike to do what it doesn’t naturally want to do. It is usually the rider that fights the process. So just remember to keep your arms, legs, shoulders, and all the way down to your fingers loose. This way you will not only make it over the obstacle by letting the bike flow in the natural direction, but you also won’t be tiring yourself out prematurely.
One more very important thing is to keep your head up. I know that a lot of times when you see an obstacle and get nervous about it you tend to stare right at it. Well, I’m sure some of you have figured out that the more you stare the more you head straight for that nasty rock. It is natural that wherever your eyes look is where your head is pointing and wherever you head is pointing your body goes. So to help fix that problem…just don’t look at it!! Ha Ha, kidding. On a serious note, once you see an obstacle try to look just ahead of it. Your body will follow your head and before you know it you’ll be past that nasty rock.
These tips should allow for a much more enjoyable and stress-free ride. More tips like this to come in my next blog. Also, if any of you have a specific problem please let me know and maybe my next blog will be about just that.
Happy Trails!
Tara
In the beginning if I saw an obstacle like a pile of rocks or maybe a deep rut I would start to get really nervous. In my experience, the first thing you do when you see something tricky or a bit scary is to completely tense up and stare right at it like a deer in headlights. Well, let me be the first to tell you that is exactly what you DO NOT want to do.
Rocks
First thing’s first when riding a trail. You always want to keep your eyes at least a couple feet ahead of you so you know what is coming up next and can prepare. Don’t just look 6 inches in front of your wheel. If you see a pile of rocks coming your way, try to remember to RELAX and try not to slow down too much. Here is the reason why. As soon as you tense up you start tiring yourself out. Your body reacts by raising your heart rate and making you tired sooner than you need to be. Also, when you hit the brakes and try to go through the rock pile really slow it actually is making it harder on you. If you keep your wheels rolling a little faster, the bike naturally wants to go in a straight line and with a little extra momentum you’ll be through the rock pile before you know it. I know, I know…easier said than done, but as soon as you do it one time you’ll get the feel of it and understand what I mean.
Ruts
The same goes with ruts. Ruts can be the scariest obstacles that some of us see on the trails. They are a bit daunting. They can sometimes splinter out and make three or four ruts crisscrossing all the way down the trail. My first piece of advice is if you are too uncomfortable and the ruts are just too deep to ride over or through, then by all means get off and walk through that section. However, if you want to give it a go, then here are some tips to help you get through them.
As soon as you see the rut look ahead and try to see if the rut goes left to right or right to left. If it goes right to left, then try to position your bike to as much of a 90 degree angle over the rut as possible and cross over to the right side as soon as the rut start to cross to the left. That way you don’t force yourself into the bushes if you are on the left side of it and stay on the left all the way until the rut ends either off the trail or somewhere you don’t want to be. If you can cross it at the top it is hopefully the narrowest part of the rut and the safest to cross. Always try to cross it at its’ narrowest point. And if it’s at the bottom and it looks safe then go for it.
I can’t stress enough to stay as loose on your bike as possible. The tenser you get, the more you are fighting your bike to do what it doesn’t naturally want to do. It is usually the rider that fights the process. So just remember to keep your arms, legs, shoulders, and all the way down to your fingers loose. This way you will not only make it over the obstacle by letting the bike flow in the natural direction, but you also won’t be tiring yourself out prematurely.
One more very important thing is to keep your head up. I know that a lot of times when you see an obstacle and get nervous about it you tend to stare right at it. Well, I’m sure some of you have figured out that the more you stare the more you head straight for that nasty rock. It is natural that wherever your eyes look is where your head is pointing and wherever you head is pointing your body goes. So to help fix that problem…just don’t look at it!! Ha Ha, kidding. On a serious note, once you see an obstacle try to look just ahead of it. Your body will follow your head and before you know it you’ll be past that nasty rock.
These tips should allow for a much more enjoyable and stress-free ride. More tips like this to come in my next blog. Also, if any of you have a specific problem please let me know and maybe my next blog will be about just that.
Happy Trails!
Tara
Comments
I've got a little problem. I can nail left hand berms and hip jumps, but I totally suck at doing them on my right side. I get round, but its always sketchy and end up loosing a lot of speed or end up eating dirt. Any tips on what I can do? I blame it on being left handed. But I can't use that as an excuse, can I?
Any tips would be highly appreciated.
Cheerz
Liz
You got any tips on how to tackle rhythm sections, I usually try an jump them, but that never works out too well.
Heather.
PS
I see my sister beat me here. She really sucks big time on right turns. LOL.
Hey who knows...being left handed might have something to do with it!
I know what you mean because I'm the same way. I can always seem to carve a little better and turn a little fast it seems depending on the direction of the turn. As cliche as it sounds one of the best ways to fix it is to just practice those right hand turns over and over again.
What you want to remember is to try do all of your braking before the turn and make sure to get leaned over in the turn. Really think about what your body position is and what it feels like in a left hand turn and emulate it as best as possible.
When you go into the apex (middle) of the turn try to have all your braking done and stay low on the bike. A low center of gravity always helps and then as you are coming out it's almost as if you've loaded up your pedals with weight and then you try to unweight them as you are coming out.
Give that a go and let me know how it works.
That's awesome both you and your sister ride! I'm sure you have some good battles going on.
Rhythm sections can be tough. Alot of it depends on how far apart the jumps or rollers are. Jumping through them can be fast, but so can manualling through them. You can practice this on a set of doubles.
As you come up the lip of the jump carry a little speed and try to keep your front wheel up through the middle of the jump and then put it back down on the backside of the second jump. If you can get a nice smooth manual down then try going faster and faster through the section.
Work on one jump and once you get that down try to link a couple more jumps together. Maybe you can have your sister time you and after some practice try to manual through a rhythm section and them jump through it and see which is faster. Remember when jumping through a rhythm section try to stay low and not to "pop" the jump too much and catch too much air. If you do you are wasting time when you want to be on the ground pedalling.
Let me know how that goes for you and feel free to write back if you have any questions.
Rip it up!
I tried what you suggested. It took a few runs but I think I've finally got right hand turns. Hips still not so good though, only gettin about 2-3 ft of air. But I can live with that.
Many thanks
Liz
I tried manualing through rythm sections, it's definetly faster on some occasions. Just depends on the course though. My sister and I are going to hit the downhill course at Fort Bill in a few weeks time. It's only a 2 hour drive from where we live. We should get up there quite a few times before it closes for winter. I'm stuck on what tyres to use. Any suggestions? The weather here is much better than it was for the world cup. Sunny 76 degrees.
Heather
You're right on when it comes to going over rocks. Recently I had the opportunity to ride behind a group of more experienced riders on a rocky portion of the trail. Keeping your tips in mind, I watched them ride pretty closely. They just rode over the rocks with no hesitation, letting their momentum carry them through. I tried to ride the same way and found that with higher speed and with my weight off the saddle I could hold my line much more easily. Awesome!!!
I also liked your tips concerning Rhythm sections. I usually manual through rhythm sections, mainly because it's an easier technique for me. I usually drop like a hunk of lead when I try to jump and find myself casing the crest of the following jump. Ouch!!!
I definitely need to work on my jumping so I can at least have the option.
Great Blog...
Take Care,
Vince
Well, I've never raced the downhill at Fort Billy but I have walked the course. It is by far one of the toughest yet fun looking courses on the circuit. It's got everything from rocky fast to muddy woods. Good stuff. With the weather being as nice as you said it sounds like I would use either a Michelin DH 16 or a DH 24. The DH 24's work a little better in the hardpack stuff and the DH 16's work better in the mud. You can always cut the knobbies as well for better rolling. They both come in either a 2.2 or a 2.5.
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