Just A Bump In The Road
You may be feeling pretty proud of yourself
since you’ve got your riding technique down pat. You can fly around the track like superman, through deadly turns and
the monster whoops. The embarrassing crash and burn episodes are almost non-existent. But just because your physical therapist
has forgotten your name, it just means that the learning curve isn’t quite as steep as it was.
You must now delve in a bit deeper
to keep putting the razor to lap times. Read on and improve your game!
Fine Tune your Body English
Body English –
it’s not just for playing pool. Your riding form absolutely demands it. For instance, imagine that you’re approaching
the top of a hill and preparing to go airborne. What’s your body English? Do you tend to lean back a bit? If so, wrong
move! It’s very important to assume a forward position; focus on putting your weight over your bike’s handlebars.
To prepare for
touchdown, every jump is configured a bit differently, of course. But there is one general concept to keep in mind here: your
side to side position has a great effect on your stability when you hit the dirt. Keep your weight on the outside of both
your saddle and peg. This will set you up for a major traction bite and this is what you want to get your forward momentum
going. This is a prime spot to go on the attack and you need every advantage.
The Take on Brakes
One
mistake that rookies tend to make as they ride up a jump is release their brakes too late. What’s wrong with this approach?
Your suspension will rebound when you let up on your brakes and you don’t want this to happen at lift off. Instead,
concentrate on doing your braking before you start up the hill and have almost all of it done at the halfway point. Finish
off with a feathering at the crest. This takes a bit of practice to perfect because it takes so much forethought. But if you
focus on it, every hill, every time, until you get it down pat. Then it will come naturally and you can put the focus on other
aspects of your technique.
Dealing with Mid-Corner Jumps
Mid-corner jumps
or bumps are a special challenge when it comes to keeping your momentum going. Air time will cost you plenty here and it raises
the possibility of taking a spill. You can minimize air time by getting your butt off the seat right before the jump; think
of how a jockey posts in the saddle. Just say no to seat bounce effect!
