Learn to ride a bike again !
Want to get better at riding trails without hurting yourself so much? It’s easy— just learn how to ride a bike again!
That’s right. You learned when you were a kid and have acquired enough skill to get by as long as the terrain isn’t too rough. But to mountain bike well—quickly and safely—requires much more than “getting by”.
Mountain biking will push you to your limits. We’re not even talking about big stunts but just standard trail riding. Speed, soil types, weather conditions, trail steepness and all kind of obstacles will work against your ability to remain on your bike. The good news is that you don’t need to hurt yourself to get better; you just need to get back to the basics, and from there build up your skills progressively.
This skills guide will help you learn and/or review your riding technique, advance to higher levels in a systematic way, and hopefully spare you from a load of crashes, injuries and frustrations.
Where and when to practice your skills?
Take time to develop your skills. While riding take time to stop at an obstacle and practice until you can go over the obstacle perfectly smoothly. Try to ride with people you can follow and make sure everyone will agree to practice on skills. Too often beginners spend their time trying to catch up with their group.
It’s almost useless to “follow” better riders because you can’t pay attention to what they are doing. Instead, set up an arrangement with a more advanced rider whereby you can ride ahead and then stop and wait for them to approach, enabling you to check for their line and posture.
