Candicecan
I love to go mountain biking, but sometimes Intimidated by the sharp drops and the really steep hills.
I always wear a helmet when on the trails, and I am usually graceful when flying off the bike-
I would like some tips for the trail, how to enjoy the ride more than just being scared and excited.
I ride my bike in Chattanooga TN, so it's pretty hilly at times.
What do you do to have fun on the trails?
Answer
If you can build your skills and get comfortable on some relatively easier trails where you aren't dealing with drops and difficult technical stuff, that'd be great. Then, when you get pretty good, move back up to the scary trails.
A couple things that might help you out.....1) Momentum is your friend, most of the time. The slower you go, especially while pointed downhill, the easier it is to stuff your front wheel and stall out or go over the bars. If you can let yourself roll a little quicker then some bumps and drops will melt away under your wheels (relatively speaking). You don't want to plow into rock gardens or extra-tall roots, but really, speed is your friend lots of times. 2) Back off of the scary stuff until you're ready for it. When you're intimidated your body will tense up and you'll tend to lose control (or your senses), making the harder challenges just that much harder. If you know you can handle what's coming at you then you'll be loose, fluid, and smooth...able to shift your weight and put some english on the bike rather than freezing up and putting a death grip on the bars which will take away your control and poise.
You can learn simple skills that will really help on the trail....practice on easy trails or even with urban obstacles. You should be able to wheelie, pull the front wheel up without pedaling to drop off of a ledge or up onto something, and bunnyhopping really comes in handy. Also, get comfortable with endos so that you know your balance point and have some control over the situation (when you're able to). Doing this trick is called a "stoppie".....roll forward at a medium speed and lock up the front brake hard. It may help to kind of lift your knees a little. Keep a good grip on the bars and firm up your forearms, then let the rear end rise up. Practice at it until you get comfy, then see how high you can get and how long you can hold it before dropping back. If you get scared (and if you aren't way up high and over the balance point of the front hub) just release the front brake and you'll plop back down...shift your weight back a bit, too. This really does help on the trails when you get into slow stall situations and start to endo....you can stop it sometimes, or at least know when it's time to bail.
Also, learning to do trackstands will help tremendously with your balance, and that transfers over into almost every riding situation. Lock up both brakes and try to balance as long as you can. You can shift your hips or turn the front wheel back and forth as needed to help stay up. If you can do it decently, then sometimes in technical areas you can stop, get composed, and shift directions or hop away from an obstacle at your front wheel.
Just practice on small things like curbs and little 12" dropoffs....learn to control the bike with wheelies and weight shifts. Try to ride painted lines as if they were balance beams. Then take it to the trails and see how much more skilled you are and how it smooths out the ride. You can move up to more challenging things as you want to. The only caution is to make sure the parts on your bike match your new skill level (strong wheels, for example).
And hey, if you can't get the hang of it or don't want to try, it's ok. You can have plenty of fun with "boring" trails when you ride just because you enjoy it and have friends to share it with. There's no shame in walking the steeps or rough stuff and it's better than ending up in the hospital, y'know?
Hope this helps some...post up again if you need help with specifics and stuff. Also, you might like to check out the book "Mastering Mountain Bike Skills" by Brian Lopes and Lee MacCormack. *Excellent* book and well-presented, sure to help you be a better and happier rider. :o)
If you can build your skills and get comfortable on some relatively easier trails where you aren't dealing with drops and difficult technical stuff, that'd be great. Then, when you get pretty good, move back up to the scary trails.
A couple things that might help you out.....1) Momentum is your friend, most of the time. The slower you go, especially while pointed downhill, the easier it is to stuff your front wheel and stall out or go over the bars. If you can let yourself roll a little quicker then some bumps and drops will melt away under your wheels (relatively speaking). You don't want to plow into rock gardens or extra-tall roots, but really, speed is your friend lots of times. 2) Back off of the scary stuff until you're ready for it. When you're intimidated your body will tense up and you'll tend to lose control (or your senses), making the harder challenges just that much harder. If you know you can handle what's coming at you then you'll be loose, fluid, and smooth...able to shift your weight and put some english on the bike rather than freezing up and putting a death grip on the bars which will take away your control and poise.
You can learn simple skills that will really help on the trail....practice on easy trails or even with urban obstacles. You should be able to wheelie, pull the front wheel up without pedaling to drop off of a ledge or up onto something, and bunnyhopping really comes in handy. Also, get comfortable with endos so that you know your balance point and have some control over the situation (when you're able to). Doing this trick is called a "stoppie".....roll forward at a medium speed and lock up the front brake hard. It may help to kind of lift your knees a little. Keep a good grip on the bars and firm up your forearms, then let the rear end rise up. Practice at it until you get comfy, then see how high you can get and how long you can hold it before dropping back. If you get scared (and if you aren't way up high and over the balance point of the front hub) just release the front brake and you'll plop back down...shift your weight back a bit, too. This really does help on the trails when you get into slow stall situations and start to endo....you can stop it sometimes, or at least know when it's time to bail.
Also, learning to do trackstands will help tremendously with your balance, and that transfers over into almost every riding situation. Lock up both brakes and try to balance as long as you can. You can shift your hips or turn the front wheel back and forth as needed to help stay up. If you can do it decently, then sometimes in technical areas you can stop, get composed, and shift directions or hop away from an obstacle at your front wheel.
Just practice on small things like curbs and little 12" dropoffs....learn to control the bike with wheelies and weight shifts. Try to ride painted lines as if they were balance beams. Then take it to the trails and see how much more skilled you are and how it smooths out the ride. You can move up to more challenging things as you want to. The only caution is to make sure the parts on your bike match your new skill level (strong wheels, for example).
And hey, if you can't get the hang of it or don't want to try, it's ok. You can have plenty of fun with "boring" trails when you ride just because you enjoy it and have friends to share it with. There's no shame in walking the steeps or rough stuff and it's better than ending up in the hospital, y'know?
Hope this helps some...post up again if you need help with specifics and stuff. Also, you might like to check out the book "Mastering Mountain Bike Skills" by Brian Lopes and Lee MacCormack. *Excellent* book and well-presented, sure to help you be a better and happier rider. :o)
What age can I stop wearing a helmet when I bike? (Toronto)?
Anonymous
What is the minimum age in Toronto (Canada, Ontario), that I can ride my bicycle without wearing a helmet?
Answer
Depends on how old you are when you grow an adamantium layer of skin over your scalp...
You can legally ride without a helmet at 18, but it is *always* stupid to do so. Wearing a helmet, and wearing it properly, makes cycling immensely safer. In Toronto in particular, it's not that safe of a thing to do, but if you fall and hit your head, a helmet is the difference between having to spend $30 to replace your helmet, and having urban foxes make a meal of your brain matter.
It happens. All the freaking time. That's why whenever you see a cycling club ride past you, you can safely bet that they'll *all* be wearing helmets. Smart adults wear helmets even though they don't have to. And these days helmets can be pretty stylish, and there are always ways of dealing with helmet-head. So just get used to it, because if there's anything worth protecting in your head, you will *always* wear a helmet when you cycle.
Depends on how old you are when you grow an adamantium layer of skin over your scalp...
You can legally ride without a helmet at 18, but it is *always* stupid to do so. Wearing a helmet, and wearing it properly, makes cycling immensely safer. In Toronto in particular, it's not that safe of a thing to do, but if you fall and hit your head, a helmet is the difference between having to spend $30 to replace your helmet, and having urban foxes make a meal of your brain matter.
It happens. All the freaking time. That's why whenever you see a cycling club ride past you, you can safely bet that they'll *all* be wearing helmets. Smart adults wear helmets even though they don't have to. And these days helmets can be pretty stylish, and there are always ways of dealing with helmet-head. So just get used to it, because if there's anything worth protecting in your head, you will *always* wear a helmet when you cycle.
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Title Post: Mountain biking tips for a woman.?
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