Mountain bike skills and avoiding the wipeout

Gabriel    mountainbikingholidays, Pro Tips     cycling, mountain biking, mountainbiking, MTB, off-road

Mountain biking is a balance. The thrill of the sport comes from balancing on the edge of colossal failure: that fine line between rocketing downhill full of endorphins, and the knowledge that one wrong move can stack you in the woods, break your bike and possibly your collar bone. No one wants to crash but sometimes it happens. Here are a few things to keep in mind to prevent a crash the next time you take the “knobbies” out to blast through the forest.

Try to avoid nosedive dismounts Image Flickr/ UltraRob

A: Anticipate your route.

Riding more means learning to read the terrain faster. When you stop looking at every single object that passes in front of you, you’ll begin to plan your attack more wisely. For instance, if you approach a wet patch of dirt and then have to climb a muddy pitch, think about hitting the puddle as fast as you can to make it as far up the pitch as possible. Stop thinking about the little things and look ahead.

B: Balance your body.

Good mountain bikers should always maintain a dynamic body position. Headed up a steep hill? Put your torso over the handle bars. Flying down a rocky descent? Put your back-side as far back as you can over your rear wheel. Hair-pin turns? Keep your inside pedal up and lean to the outside. The better balanced you are over the entire bike, the better your reaction will be when something unexpected comes along.

C: Stay calm.

The worst thing that can happen to you on the trail is to panic. Loosen your grip on the breaks, relax your neck muscles, and make sure there is spring in your position. Keep your elbows and knees bent to absorb the bike’s bounce. Allow the bike to roll underneath you easily. If you remain tense, the bike could possibly block up and throw you. Enjoy the ride, don’t fight it.

D: Deepen what you’ve learned.

Practice obstacles at your level. Did you roll over that small log? Nice one. Don’t move on to full-sized tree trunks until you have mastered its smaller counterparts. Doing the log quickly is one way to tackle it. Try it slower, then as slow as you possibly can. Try it from an angle. Try balancing on it sideways. Get to the point where each time you approach the log you nail it. Then move on to a slightly larger one and repeat. That’s mastering it.

E: Eject.

There comes a time when we have to let go. The problem is, it’s so unpredictable we can hardly prepare for it. The best way is to let your body go limp. If you need to ditch the bike, do it. Even a top-end bike costs less than the intensive care unit at A&E. If you fly over the handle bars, tuck in: chin down, arms in and roll your back. Sticking your arms out won’t help the fall, so keep your limbs tucked in.

F: Fitness.

Staying in shape improves your overall balance as well as the recovery from a fall. Working on your core muscles will help your general positioning on the bike, and assist in quick movements when things go pear-shaped (and hopefully avoiding a crash). If you do tank, being flexible and having better bone-density (which comes from high-impact sports like running) will hopefully have you riding (or walking) out of the woods with fewer bruises. You’ll also have an impressive story to tell your friends when the swelling goes down, because you lived to tell about it.

About the author

Gabriel Del Rossi wrote 10 articles on this blog.

Gabriel is a professional tour guide and ski instructor. He has mountain-biked most of the trails in the French/Italian Alps and in New England in the US. When not outside, Gabe can be found writing for various on-line publications.

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