Hi. I am Terry Anna from Bikeskills. I am here today to show you how to ride slippery rocks and ready sections as well as water crossings. I am sure some of you have come across in nasty downhill sections or rocks sections and been a little bit intimidated. So today, I am going to show you some basic techniques that are going to help you conquer those sections.
If you come across a difficult descend and you are not sure you can handle it, stop and get off your bike and take a good look at it. Once you feel you are going to give it a shot, pick the line you are going to take. Before you get back on your bike, do not forget to lower your sit.
It is important to keep your head in a neutral position. Wherever you look is where your front tire is going to go. Remember to stay loose and keep your head up with your pedals level. You should be in a middle more neutral gear. By neutral gear, I mean middle chain ring in the front and around the middle gear in the rear. Make sure to keep someone minimal up. Always have one finger on the breaks at all times and feather them lightly.
As you start down your line, you have picked out, remember to breath, relax and to flow. Keep your weight slightly back and remember you can use your saddle to manipulate the direction of your bike. As you are moving down the section and you spot a large root or rock ahead, be prepared to pull up on your handlebars slightly and move your weight even further back and your momentum will carry you over the obstacle.
Once you have got into your rhythm and are riding down the roots or rocks. Keep looking ahead and once you have spotted your exit, let off your breaks and ride it out.
Finding the same train is slightly different. Normally you are coming out of it a little bit slower, getting into one to two gears harder so that you will have more leverage and would not spin your tires out on the slick staff. If you are uncomfortable with the harder gear, it is okay too. Stay in the gear you are comfortable with. It is best to stay sited because standing up can cause your rear wheel to slip over the rocks and Ritz as you are pedaling.
You want to maintain a relatively even body weight distribution on both the front and rear wheels with a slight lean towards the front of the bike. This will keep the front wheel planted, which will give you more stirring control. Keep your head up at all times to scan your route ahead of you. Shift a head of time so that you do not get caught in the wrong gear as you pedal up and over the roots. It is a fine line where you want to keep constant pressure on your pedals so that your tires script at all times.
My body is slightly leaning over my stem to keep some grip on the front tire. If you feel comfortable picking up your front wheel to clear a big rock or root, give about a half pedal of extra push while pulling up slightly on your handlebars. Your front wheels should pop over the rock or root. As your front wheel pops over the rock or root, your rear wheel will be quick to follow. Right after your front wheel touches the ground; you want to keep your body low and leaning over your stem and still sitting down. As you make your way to the top, keep your head up looking at your line and your body will follow.
When going through water crossing, you first want to see how deep it is and that you can make it through safely. I usually find a small rock near the crossing and possible to give me an idea of the depth. Once you have determined that you can ride through, take a good look at it and try to find the best spot to cross. As you ride up to the crossing, stay sited and change into one to two gears easier. Lowering gears can give you more power if you need to get over large rocks and other submerged obstacles you cannot always see. Stay loose, look ahead and pedal through.
Now let us see that piece together.
Those are the basic techniques used to get over slippery roots, rocks as well as water crossings. Watch for more indebt how to videos in the future from Bikeskills.
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