General > Riding Tips & Tricks

Riding against your Instincts

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Hillclimb#42:
  After discussing riding skills with other riders, some experts, some serious newbies, my gf included, I realized that alot of the real riding secerets are the ones that are totally against your natural instincts. Just for example, in many situations hitting the gas when your instincts tell you to let off or even nail the brakes. I thought it may be basic for you vets, maybe helpful to new guys, and maybe everybody chimes in and I learn a bunch too.
  First, real rough sections, whoops, puddles, drop-offs, cross-ups and many other near crash situations can be saved by a little throttle. Your brain says "freeze up" or "brakes"
  Second, same thing during a mild wipe-out your instincts may tell you to bail, but I have found 99.9% of the time to keep driving through the wreck and have made many miracle saves. Bails can cause the bike to slam you when it catches back up.
  Third, You can turn with alot of control by turning the bars the opposite direction you intend on going. Which is really awkward at first. Although not a fool-proof trick for every turn.
  Fourth, many guys  are being fast in harescrambles or whatever, by accelerating down hills, instead of the natural coasting/braking. Throwing out the roost off of each berm turn, instead of waitng for the straight away.
  Last one is wide open to suggestions, hitting jumps and getting some real air, teaches us alot about ourselves and our bike's suspension. Anyway, freak out and let off the gas on the face of a jump and you wind up landing on your head like one of those yard darts. Panic and hit the gas too hard, and you may do a real painful crash. Also the big air time makes you want to lock up, when in reality there are many things that you may need to do to control you and your bike to get a smooth landing.
  Basically, some skills are easy. Especially if it is avoid an obstacle, or hit the gas on the flat straight parts. Fast peple are constanly going fast by doing things against the normal safe riding of the slower guys. I'd love to hear your take on this concept.

KXcam22:
Hillclimber,
  I have to agree with everything you have said.  It's hard to teach that stuff to new riders....you have to experience it.  One decent way to teach this is on whoops.  Basically, the faster you go the easier (and faster) it is..but at some time the student has to throw caution to the wind, step outside of the comfort (fear) zone and hit them far faster than is comfortable.  Thats when the realization hits that what they just did works.  Its funny that, when I was a kid, I knew that holding the throttle WFO would save you from almost any situation, and now after 7 years of university I know mathematically why it works,  but it still works the same (haha).  I can cite two personal situations, one dirt and one street where I was thrown completely off the side of the bike with nothing but one arm over the seat, both toes dragging behind on the ground BUT one hand on the throttle pegged WFO.  In both cases I saved it solely due to the throttle. Cam.

Hillclimb#42:
 I have 2 more cents to add, if noone else will. I found that for me personally it helped my pace to always be in say 3rd opposed to 2nd, if I was on a down hill run. I mean to say that, instead of  using the motor to slow me to a comfort zone, click it up a gear to use less rolling drag. Spooky and against instincts a little at first. Its actually safer to keep your wheels rolling, because if you lock your wheels up it doesn't let you turn.  If you're on a steep downhill, and need to turn, do not let the steepness convince you to lock up the brake. If you can't get stopped you may actually need to let off brake, and gas it, to avoid obstacles on an incline.
  Also, I agree whoops are a good spot to learn the throttle control trick. Each bobble kinda freaks you out and the only thing that seems to help is that you were going too fast to wreck it. I learned one on small puddles. I kept getting soaked and then would freeze. I was told, if i got the front wheel over the puddle, that I would not get wet. Sure enough, i started burpin the throttle and I stayed dry. Eventually using bigger burps for bigger puddles and then transferred that to obstacles of many kinds, especially ones that would abruptly stop the front tire. Little tricks apply to many conditions. Whoops riding applies to rocky sections, Puddle burp works on a small drop off, ect...
  I know you guys have more, but they only really come back to mind when you are teaching a riding rookie. Its hard to teach someone to clutch, when it has become automatic reactions, but thats what it does, make you explain actions and movements that are subliminal, kind of.

Dutch-K5 Fan:
I have been to a mx training camp. five years and one week each time.
Even the last time I still learned stuff. Some times it's just small things.
When outcoming from a conner, you don't have to full trottle. Just turn it a bit and keep
turning. The big thing is :NEVER shut it of. Keep open as it is.

When turning left, sit in front of the bike and put your foot (toes) under your (right) brake pedal.
when turning right, also sit in front and put your foot (toes) under your shift lever.

On hard track you can use with eas the front brake to make tighter turns. The bike tilts over to
the front and creating a steeper steering angle.

Some tips'i've lurned for them.


Dutchie

kwakman:
Doing sumthing your not comfortable with usually seems like a bad idea, but 7 times in 10 it is only your minds' limits' that stops you.Not yours' or the bikes' physical limit. Everything in my riding career has been a steady progression, from wheelieing mountain bikes for miles, rolling stoppies, to jumping;They were all quite daunting to start with but once caution goes windward you realise the only thing in the way was confidence. So ultimately, we can all take ourselves to our limits if we want to, conquering the initial fear is the only barrier until you reach your own physical limit.And then you crash.
                                 HOW FAST DO YA WANNA GO?

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