TECHNIQUE
90 mbrM AY 2 019LINE CHOICE
Thisis suchaneasyonetobeawareof.Allyouneedto
dois lookforareasofthetrailthatwillopenupexitsto
corners.Typicallya cornerona downhillwillfallawayfrom
you,meaningthatasyougetfurtheraroundit youare
accelerating.It mightfeellikeyouhaveyourspeedunder
controlasyoucomein,butasyoumakeprogress,thecorner
willfeellikeit’sgettingtighter.If thishappens,getoffandgo
backupforanothergo.There’smostlikelya reallyobvious
highlineintothecornerthatyoumissedonthefirstgo.
Don’tbeafraidtoopenuptheturnbygoinghigh,butmake
sureyoustayuplaterthanyouthinkyoushould.Thiswill
allowyoutodoa lotoftheturnwhileyou’restillgoing
relativelyslowly,andasyoudropinandstarttoreally
accelerateyou’llbefacingintherightdirectionand
carryingallthatmomentumwithyoudownthenextstraight.USE THE WHOLE
TRAIL
We’renotencouragingcuttingcourseshere!Farfrom
it.Cheatingbymissingthingsoutis notinthespiritof
responsibleriding,andyou’reonlycheatingyourself,butthere
areoptionsavailabletoyouthatmostpeoplemiss.Thismight
beopeningupa turna littlehighertosaveyougoingwideon
theexit.Orit mightberidingontheothersideofa rootortree
stumpsothatyoucansmoothouta technicalsection.Either
way,you’restillstayingwellwithintheboundaries of the trail;
you’rejustmakinglifeeasierforyourself.Laura:I’mgenerallyOKonfamiliartrails,butwhen they get
steeportechnicalI feellikeI’moutofcontrol!Andy:Wehearthisallthetime.A technicalorsteeptrailwill
feellikeit’sa massivestepupforsomeridersandthey’ll
struggletofindsomethingthatallowsthemtoprogress
safely.Theproblemhereisn’tthe trail. It’s far more likely
that it’s your body position.STAY LOW
Soundsobvious,right?Butthefirstthing
tofallapartwhenyoufeelintimidated
willbeyourconfidentridingposition.
Ideallyyou’renottryingtokeepyour
weightforward,you’restayinglowso
thatyoucanneutraliseanymovement
underneathyou.Assoonasyourarms
arestraightandyourbrakesareon
you’llstruggletorideeventhemost
basicoftrails.Keepcomingbackto
yourbodypositionanddon’tbeafraid
ofjustgettingoffandhavinganother
coupleofgoessothatit starts to
becomeautomatic.Laura:I’vebeentoldtojustkeepmy
weightbackonsteepstuff.
Andy:DONOTkeepyourweightback.Assoonasyouhaveyourweightback
andyourarmsarestraight,you’re
basicallyridingrigidonyourbike.Any
timeyourfrontwheelslidesona root,
goesoffeventhesmallestofdrops,or
evenlocksupovera pinecone,it will
feellikea potentialdisasterbecauseyou
havenorangeofmovementleft.Stay
close to your bars and stem with yourelbowsbentandyou’llbeableto
handlehugemovementswithoutit
reallydisruptingyourbalanceonebit.
Thiswillallowyousomuchmoretime
toreactandcontrolyourweightonthe
trail.If you’restrugglingona steepbit
oftrail,getintothehabitofpushing
backupandtrying it again.Keepingyourweight
backistheworstthing
youcandoonsteep
and technical trails.✗
✓
Witha littlebitofa planyou
canfindareasofa trailthat
you’veriddenpastforyears.
Thiswillallowyoutoopen
uptheexitsandcarrymore
speedoutwithoutputting
in a single pedal stroke.HereLauranailsherbody
positiononthewayin,
meaningthatthedifficult
section will feel easy.