# What's the best piece of riding advice you've gotten this summer?



## connie (Mar 16, 2004)

I have a bunch. I did the Sugoi Dirt Series camp and learned several things that helped me a great deal, but for the season, I think the single best piece of advice (believe it or not  ) actually came from my husband.

I've improved my cornering a great deal this year, and when we're doing lift served riding, I can stay right on his wheel through those corners, but he was consistently dropping me in a couple sections where the trail got rough due to braking bumps or rocks. I wasn't braking that much in them as much as just getting bounced around and it was slowing me down. And I asked how he gets through them so smooth. "Look ahead for a smooth spot. Find a spot where you'll get traction and can turn. Aim for that, bank into it hard, and float over the rest." And wow does that work. Of course, it's the same old concept as "Look where you want to go, not at the obstacles", but for some reason I never applied it to sequences of little obstacles that you have to roll over. 

What good advice have you gotten this year?


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## CycleMainiac (Jan 12, 2004)

Shut up, quit thinking, and just ride it. 


mental blocks are so dumb sometimes


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## Sambolina (May 15, 2007)

Get off your brakes all the time and just the bike roll over it, it will roll!

And of course, ride, ride, and ride some more....


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## msrutzie (Nov 14, 2006)

This summer of riding was the first summer I really focused on riding and skills. As a newbie I learned so much:. The ones that really stick out are:

- That damn circus song from Gene Hamilton. It's a nice reminder to stay relaxed on the bike.

- "See your way through to victory" : It blends looking at where you want to go rather than focusing on where you don't, looking all the way up the hill, looking as far down the trail as possible.

- Trying one gear higher on a hill climb really helped me get up the hill that much faster. Sounds stupid but I always went into granny gear on most steep hills. My gf schooled me in Ketchum and I'm making almost all of the same hills in middle chain ring now. D'oh

- Speed is your friend : I learned this years ago when riding dirt bikes but it holds true for mtb too. 

I'm still working on that specialized seat dance to help me get up those steep, loose technical hill climbs.


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## verslowrdr (Mar 22, 2004)

The best advice of this season came from my stomach: one foil pouch of apple juice about 15 minutes before starting a ride = faster, stronger, and significantly less pain on the long hard climb out of town. Who the h3ll would have thought it would made such a difference?!? I'm still trying to figure that one out, but who am I to argue with improved performance....


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## shamus63 (Aug 18, 2007)

"Get a damn bike!"

Guess I couldn't argue that logic.


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## SuperKat (Mar 27, 2005)

"Send your fork back to SRAM. You can't ride it with oil leaking out of it like that."


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## MtbRN (Jun 8, 2006)

The biggest one for me has been "eat and drink even if you don't feel hungry or thirsty". Sometimes when I'm really working hard I just have no interest in food. I've made an effort this year to have a snack or a gel at almost every rest break, and keep hydrated, and it has made a world of difference. No bonking this year! It helps that I have developed a taste for the Vanilla Bean flavored Gu Gel, so I don't feel like I'm having to choke down something nasty just to fuel the machine (-:

Second is one from the boyfriend, who has an over-developed sense of competitiveness. "Even if you're hurting, you need to push harder". His opinion is that women riders tend to back off when things get painful (ie; on a long steep climb). I've tried to push my threshold of discomfort a bit this year, and I've been really surprised that I can still go faster or climb harder even if I feel like I'm already killing myself.


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## catzilla (Jan 31, 2004)

This actually came from last season, but whatever. It was advice that changed my riding, and it's the advice I love to pass on.

One finger on the front and rear brake. Not two. And definitely not three.

Since learning this, I've realized that nearly all women brake with two fingers because their brakes are set up wrong. They need their middle finger to reach the levers. Because they are often pulling at the bend in the brakes which is closest to the handlebar, they need both fingers for the power as this is the weakest part of the lever.

There is a 2mm allen screw on the inside of most levers. Adjusting this brings the lever in so that you can reach it with your forefinger. Next, move your shifters and brake levers in closer to the stem so that you can reach the outside of the lever. This is always a compromise as you want to be able to comfortably shift. 

With one finger braking, you save the majority of your fingers for the handlebar. This gives you control. With multiple finger braking, you have the least amount of control (i.e. contact with your handlebar), when you need it the most.


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## connie (Mar 16, 2004)

catzilla said:


> This actually came from last season, but whatever. It was advice that changed my riding, and it's the advice I love to pass on.
> 
> One finger on the front and rear brake. Not two. And definitely not three.
> 
> ...


I totally agree - though I personally switch back and forth between using my index finger and my middle finger for braking. When you're doing a full day of downhilling, your brake fingers start to get tired, and when I start feeling weak with one, I switch to the other. I've talked to a few guys who do this too. It's probably less of an issue if you're just XC riding (you're just not braking as much), but it's probably good to have in the back of your head on a long descent that it's an option. And it's a WAY better option than trying to brake with 2 fingers. (And you also have to set up your brake levers so you can reach them with your index finger)


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## Luvz2Ridez (Sep 4, 2006)

Mine was bike body separation and to be fluid on my bike. It really helps when manuvering around corners and obstacles.


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## Faybie77 (May 6, 2007)

If you don't need to pedal, don't. Use this time to catch your breath/recover heart rate. It has helped me cut out rest breaks.


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## connie (Mar 16, 2004)

I know I posted these in my camp thread, but a couple of my other favorites from the Dirt Series camp were:

Inside foot forward on switchbacks - keep ratcheting it so it stays between 12 and 3 o'clock. This means that if you slow down and wobble all you have to do is push that foot forward and it will power you right around the corner. I never would have thought of that, but it makes a HUGE difference. I don't think I've bobbled a switchback since (well, I've run out of gas on the SS on a couple uphill ones, and I chickened out of one with a big drop but no dabs in the switchbacks anymore.)

And bike-body separation. I was leaning over with the bike when cornering and you don't get good traction that way. Keeping my body upright and leaning the bike over has made me SO much faster in corners. It's getting to the point where it's starting to be second nature, plus it just feels RIGHT. 

Oh - and stand up tall and get more forward on descents, unless you're dropping over something, etc . I was crouching down too much - if your elbows and knees are already bent (you dont' want them locked out, but not really bent either) then you have no where to go when you need to absorb something. And when I'm flying down gravel roads or fast singletrack, I keep my head over the front hub now. Which keeps the front tire weighted and you corner better too. We were flying down a rutted gravel road in Brianhead this weekend and suddenly it got soft and loose on a sharp corner - my rear end when flying to the outside, but my front tire held and I pulled it out. If my weight hadn't been forward I would have crashed hard. That's been a weird thing to learn - when you start you feel like weight forward means just statically letting the front wheel bash into things, and you don't want to endo, so you keep your weight back. Once you can get that whole "active" thing down where you can have your weight forward but unweight for obstacles, your speed and stability goes way up.


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## catzilla (Jan 31, 2004)

connie said:


> I totally agree - though I personally switch back and forth between using my index finger and my middle finger for braking. When you're doing a full day of downhilling, ...


Heh. I found that out too after doing some downhilling in Kamloops with my wee lil' XC bike.

"AHHH! My brakes aren't braking anymore!!!"

I needed _both_ my index and forefinger to get enough stopping power from my 6 inch discs, and realized that 8 inches in the front does have its benefits.

And with disc brakes, too.


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## EJP (Apr 30, 2007)

Save something for the last climb.

I will be taking that advice on Saturday.


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## gabrielle (Jan 2, 2005)

catzilla said:


> One finger on the front and rear brake. Not two. And definitely not three.


Interesting...I usually brake with my middle & ring fingers, for the reason you gave (can't reach the levers). Might try just the index.

gabrielle


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## rocknrollbarbie (Dec 12, 2005)

Thanks for reminding me of all three of those things! Especially the last one- positioning myself forward when descending.  I have been working on that for a while, but I still need to remind myself as it just doesn't feel intuitive like so much of biking does for me.


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## Dwight Moody (Jan 10, 2004)

"I think you should go for a bike ride right now." - my partner.

Awesome biking advice, and it worked out great! I did go for a ride, and it was a ton of fun and I was a lot less cranky when I got home.


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## mes2003 (Jul 29, 2005)

I haven't had a lot of people to ride with this summer so most of my advice has come from here! 
The best thing I've read is not to climb in granny gear. I have been working on that all summer and am so amazed at the difference. I have always been a great climber but now I can just blow up hills. I am SO much stronger and more confident now that I know I still have another gear or two in case I can't pedal any more


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## cbharping (Mar 22, 2004)

Had several great pieces of advice this year - and will be spending all my future time trying to put them in use:

1.) keep elbows OUT
2.) let off the brakes BEFORE the turn and over the rough stuff
3.) lean the bike into the turn
4.) relax and enjoy!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

You have a good fork in front. Make it work for its living, don't just sit on the rear wheel.


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

MtbRN said:


> <snip>
> 
> Second is one from the boyfriend, who has an over-developed sense of competitiveness. "Even if you're hurting, you need to push harder". His opinion is that women riders tend to back off when things get painful (ie; on a long steep climb). I've tried to push my threshold of discomfort a bit this year, and I've been really surprised that I can still go faster or climb harder even if I feel like I'm already killing myself.


uh, yeah - this is what I need to be doing but haven't been...:nono: :nono: :nono: . time to get busy.


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## FoxOverFence (Apr 7, 2005)

Let's see, it kinda sounds like this thread is about what did I learn this year, not necessarily good advice that I got.... however, I did get some very good advice from a pro DH racer who we took a class from. Not on going big but just on cornering, something simple, yet deceptively hard when it comes to sharp, steep corners. In my riding I would start to freeze up upon coming to a tight, steep switchback and then find myself getting off and walking it or trying to do Angry Pirate up at Whistler and getting stuck on its couple of sharp, technical switchbacks. :nono: I'd finally decided I'd had enough.

What Simon taught me was to lean into the turn, rather than go with instinct and lean back away from the nastiness, turn down into it, cock the inner knee as a pointing tool and commit to it. I was amazed when this started working for me. And now Angry Pirate is a really fun trail for me to ride dab free.  

As for the biggest thing I learned this summer? The biggest thing I learned besides the cornering advice, was about how to go fast over the brake bumps until you don't feel them anymore. Once that happens, it is so much fun to go down Whistler's Heart of Darkness which is brake bump central and feel secure enough to actually not brake at all in places, trusting the bike! 

However, the summer ain't over yet and who knows, I may have some new discovery to report later on....


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## jewels (Mar 17, 2004)

"turn that commit button ON" was a great piece of advice I learned from an instructor. I just take deep breath, turn it on and go. And also to relax and try to be flowy.


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## FoxOverFence (Apr 7, 2005)

connie said:


> I've improved my cornering a great deal this year, and when we're doing lift served riding, I can stay right on his wheel through those corners, but he was consistently dropping me in a couple sections where the trail got rough due to braking bumps or rocks. I wasn't braking that much in them as much as just getting bounced around and it was slowing me down. And I asked how he gets through them so smooth. "Look ahead for a smooth spot. Find a spot where you'll get traction and can turn. Aim for that, bank into it hard, and float over the rest." And wow does that work. Of course, it's the same old concept as "Look where you want to go, not at the obstacles", but for some reason I never applied it to sequences of little obstacles that you have to roll over.


That's a good one I've also started doing. I'm now looking where I want to go and where the others don't. Finding smooth spots whether up on the top of the berm or cutting into it at the bottom. Actually I'm thinking this is in Brian Lopes' excellent book Mastering Mountain Bike Skills. I've also started looking for features, little rocks and kickers that I can get air off of and to skip some of the rough stuff, this also helps make my landing more secure or set up for the next corner.


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## utsnowgirl (Jun 26, 2005)

For me:

"You should come to Brian Head and demo a big bike."

So, I did. And bought a bigger bike the next day.


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## cattv (Sep 19, 2007)

when you need to get started in the middle of a steep uphill, angle your bike diagonally across the trail, instead of directly uphill. depending on how wide the trail is, you'll have a little more room (and time) to get your cranks spinning and your momentum going.

thx for the descending & switchback (inner knee as pointer = brilliant!) advice ladies!


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## connie (Mar 16, 2004)

utsnowgirl said:


> For me:
> 
> "You should come to Brian Head and demo a big bike."
> 
> So, I did. And bought a bigger bike the next day.


It's absolutely amazing how much you've progressed this summer! Very fun to see!

And the latest thing that UTSG and I both learned:

Remember to breathe while riding skinnies.

We were up in Big Sky and there was this long, and I mean LONG woodwork section - hundreds of feet long. It just kept going and going and going... and when I bobbled off of it, I sucked in this enormous breath and realized I'd apparently been holding my breath the entire time. I guess I must do that all the time on skinnies, but they're usually so short I wouldn't even notice.


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## weimie (Apr 21, 2006)

catzilla said:


> This actually came from last season, but whatever. It was advice that changed my riding, and it's the advice I love to pass on.
> 
> One finger on the front and rear brake. Not two. And definitely not three.
> 
> ...


I've been trying the 1 finger braking all season this year because my hands get soooo tired after a full day of DH. I've been meaning to change the position of my brake levers because I feel that I can't reach my levers properly and can't get enough stopping power from 1 finger so I alternate between 2 fingers and 1 fingers. I usually do 1 finger in fast open sections and switch to 2 fingers in technical sections where I want better breaking power.

But now I'm going to change the position of my brakes and take your advice :thumbsup: So I guess your advice was my best piece of riding advice this season! Thanks


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## MichauxYeti (Nov 10, 2005)

Advice courtesy of Kona pro Barry Wicks heckling his buddies at the ToC.


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## Bluebug32 (Jan 13, 2006)

I finally learned how to really climb this year (thanks to bits of info from my riding group and tips on here). One of the biggest things that made me able to do it was just positive talk and reinforcement. It's all in how you view things and the messages you give yourself. 

Oh, and I learned one other thing:

"Don't throw your bike"


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## xtremewriter (May 21, 2007)

Bluebug32 said:


> Oh, and I learned one other thing:
> 
> "Don't throw your bike"


hahahahaha...there's got to be a story behind that one. :lol:

But I think I've almost done that a few times myself...especially when I got tired of falling rock gardens.:madman: Just want to toss it off a cliff!!!


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## Bluebug32 (Jan 13, 2006)

xtremewriter said:


> hahahahaha...there's got to be a story behind that one. :lol:


There's a video too...didn't realize that until after, of course.


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## utsnowgirl (Jun 26, 2005)

connie said:


> It's absolutely amazing how much you've progressed this summer! Very fun to see!


Thank you! I've had so much fun riding this summer & I don't really want it to stop! This is one of the first years that I haven't wanted the snow to fall - I guess it's time to head south - Moab this weekend???


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## lynseyf (May 1, 2007)

look further ahead and where you want to go, NOT at obstacles you want to miss


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## grungePoodle (Jul 3, 2007)

Know your proper sag.


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## Christine (Feb 11, 2004)

Lower tire pressure in order to go faster.

Made zero sense, but while doing the VT50 last weekend and bouncing all over the trail for the first half, realized I'd have to go against instinct and common sense, and let some air out. Didn't let out much, but I seemed to get much better traction from that point on. 

Haven't ridden much this season, so I can't think of much else........oh, during the race, I practiced what somebody suggested the night before: Moving butt in opposite direction of a fast turn. Can't quite get it right, though. And still need to practice cornering in general.


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## kmoodymz3 (Feb 8, 2006)

In MTB "there is no TRY only DO" My mantra of late and it helps.


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

Bluebug32 said:


> There's a video too...didn't realize that until after, of course.


link?


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## PennyRich (Jul 13, 2003)

Not from this Summer, but very good advice for a newbie:

1. Have faith in yourself
2. Have faith in your bike

I still remind myself of #1 from time to time.


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