Girlfriend won't do down hill, advice, tips please


JasonJ

Member
Jun 15, 2001
1,150
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My girlfriend has been "riding" a dirt bike for maybe 2 years. I taught her to ride in the back yard on a 70s style 2 stroke dirt bike. She picked it right up as she dirves stick just fine. I got her a 92 RT 100cc Yamaha last year for $100 and put about $100 into it to get it in great shape. She loves the little bike and has refused sevral offers from people to buy it for way more than I have into it but she will not have it. So I know she wants to ride, I never forced her or pushed her to ride dirt bikes, Im just not like that. So anyway, her confidence and speed are starting to pick up to the point I took her out of the kiddie trails where I had been riding with her out into the larger riding area. Right away I saw her strenghts and weeknesses.
She is great in the hard pack and rokey trails. She is good with the clutch and shifting.
She is still too slow. Too slow she is not carring enough speed to ride over obsticles, she is bouncing off of downed trees instead of rolling over them and last but worst.
She dose not want to go down hills! She started out not wanting to go up hills either but now she will climb most of what she has to, but when she gets to the top of a peaked type hill, like even a 6 ft "wall" type hill where you go up and right back down, she stops! Usally just before the front tire crest the hill, and then she falls over and slides down :( . I keep trying to tell her if your scared, stop at the top of the hill AFTER your front tire is over the crest and the bike is level on the top of the hill. Stop and put your feet down and take a look if you want, but she will not put that front tire over. She says she is scared becuase she cant see what is on the other side of the face of the hill. There are alot of these type of 6 to 25 foot hills in the riding area and getting her around them is almost impossible. I spent alot of time with her riding the same loop with a 4 ft, 6 ft, and maybe 8 ft berm type up and down hill right next to each other. (we use them as jumps) trying to get her to work up to the bigger hill. She dose the gradual 4 ft all day as she can see over it. She did the 6 ft once and ditched the 8 footer like twice before refusing to do it. Our last ride was the best yet, she did great and we were covering some ground, testing and adding to her skills. We rode to a rivene. In all honesty it was about a 30 high maybe 50 foot wide rivene but with flat tops on both sides, the trail was straight clear hard pack. Straight down and right up the other side. I knew the bike can do it but you really have to be aggressive with it in 2nd gear as its only a 100cc bike but itll climb a tree if you wind her up in 1st! Anyway she declined to do it, I was disappointed but did not have a problem going back. Latter in the ride we came to a 12 foot wall hill. It was tricky becuase you had to come up a rocky power line hill, turn hard right, up the hill and it corkscrewed down to the left around a gate, the down side was not steep at all though and I offered to take her bike up. She said she would try it. She took to short of a run on it and just did not give it enough gas and over she went. I had to go up and kill the bike for her. She was ok and not to shaken but we took a few minutes.
What do you think I can do to get her to be more aggressive on the hills?
There are silt hills there that are about like sand, I was thinking of having her just keep hitting one of them, they are like sand so its not to bad if you fall, you just kinda slide down in the sand. She has said she did not like riding the soft coal silt though.
Any ideas?
She has said she will not ride a group ride untill she feels she is a bit faster and won't be embarresed by a 5 year old on a PW 50 for not going up a small hill. I really want to take her on group rides as I think that is a very enjoyable aspect of the sport.
 

KDXgirl

Member
May 10, 2003
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It is just a confidence thing, in time she will be begging you to find her steep down hills. Everyone develops at their own pace, its not something you can push, you just have to keep providing opportunities for her to learn and give her lots of encouragement.

I know you said she doesnt like riding in groups but is there someone else you can take out who is riding at the same level or another girl perhaps? Usually when you see what someone else can achieve it makes you try harder. I owe my riding ability to a friend who everytime we go out we push each other hard cause neither of us want to lose! lol

You could also look at getting some professional coaching, do a weekend riding school or if she is not comfortable with that, go to the local mx track and get hour lessons and stuff, I know over here they are about $30 an hour for coaching by a pro so its not too bad!

Good luck!
 

cactusreid

Member
Jan 13, 2003
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teach her to "bulldog" down hills first ie:standing beside the bike with her hand on the frt brake, and the bike in gear.you can go down just about any hill safley useing this trick.as she gets good at this her confidence will build and she will hop on near the bottom. time and practice is all she needs. Good Luck!
 

JasonJ

Member
Jun 15, 2001
1,150
1
The problem with most of these hills is there is no where to get off at the top, they go up, and right back down making for a hairy get off. Ive been telling her to crest the hill, stop with the wheels stradeling the peak, put her feet down and take a look, then go. Thats the way I do it when I dont know what or who is on the other side of the hill.
Yeah KDXgirl, thats why I want her to do a kiddie group ride. So she can see everyone, kids and girls doing it and then she will just ride it. We are riding this weekend so I may take her out in the AM to get in the groove and se if we can jump in a group ride with kids in the noon. She keeps saying she just wants to go out with me, but I think it may be time for a nudge :). Thanks for the tips, will report on the ride then.
 

LoriKTM

Super Power AssClown
Oct 4, 1999
2,220
6
New Mexico
Jason,

Your G/F sounds a little like me when I started out.  I'm not the most aggressive rider, and I took things very slowly.  Still do. :confused:

Practice, practice, practice!  Get your G/F to go over the little hills that she can do easily several times.  Keep at it until she gets BORED!  Then start moving on to bigger things. 

You may try a little trick-- see if you can find a new small down hill that would be easy for her.  Don't TELL her it's a downhill.  (Tell her it goes down a *little* and then flattens out or something).   Let her try it without you telling her what it is.  I know when I was starting out, that my husband would tell me things like, "Ok, there's a rough section up ahead.  There's a few ruts and some mud, but I know you can make it."  This was actually worse for me-- his comments would psyche me out sometimes, and I would worry about an obstacle far more than I needed to.  If I just tried to ride through it and didn't think about it so much, then I usually did much better.

Is your g/f having trouble timing her braking so that she can straddle the peak of a hill?  It's a little more technical than it sounds-- keeping enough momentum to get up a hill, but yet being able to stop right at the top.  Start with small hills that are peaked-- even only a couple feet high.  (Like a whoop-de-do or something)

MAKE her stop at the peak, don't let her roll over, even if she can see the other side.  Then, make her stop at the bottom, and climb the peak with no run-up, and stop at the top again.  This will increase her throttle control and braking techniques.  Once she's mastered that, it may make her confident enough to try an "unknown" hill, as she knows she can stop at the top. 

Group riding is a great experience, as well.  For the first several years of riding, I only rode with my husband.  I was too scared/worried/nervous to ride with anyone else.  But once I did, it was a great experience!  A good trail group will encourage and help everyone along in the tough spots.  She'll be able to watch other people struggle (and succeed) and she'll realize that we all have our "moments" while riding.  Make the first one short-- 15 or 30 minutes-- and let her know that afterwards it can be just you two for a while.  Then go out with another small group later.  

Good luck!  And patience is the key. :thumb:
 

JasonJ

Member
Jun 15, 2001
1,150
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"Is your g/f having trouble timing her braking so that she can straddle the peak of a hill? It's a little more technical than it sounds-- keeping enough momentum to get up a hill, but yet being able to stop right at the top. Start with small hills that are peaked-- even only a couple feet high. (Like a whoop-de-do or something)"

Her issue is she gets scared to put the front tire over the crest as at that point she is pointed up and can no longer see terra firma infront of her. She gets plenty of speed but she hits the brakes before her front tire goes over, its not really a timing problem, she is scared. She dose the same thing on mountain bikes and belive it or not, she dose the same thing off rode in her Toyota pick up truck. We were off roading in McAdoo with teh truck and she had about a 15 foot hill that went stragith up and right back down. I have riddin the trail on my dirt bike many times and I assured her it did not drop off the face of the earth, she rolled up the hill with plenty of mojo and just as her front tires started to crest the hill she stoped! right there, truck lights pointing up into the night. She freaked out and right there, on the top of that peak, she made ME get out of the truck, crawl into the bed, and get back in the driver side and go back down the hill. That hill was on top of about a 40 ft hill and on the platue, she GOT OUT of the truck and I had to drive the truck down, climb back up, and help her down the hill. On the top of the hill she was crying and yellling, by the time she got back in the truck at the bottom of the hill she was like, I cant belive my truck did that! did you see that? and totaly stoked. So its just a mental thing.
I like your small whoop training idea Lori. I think Ill set some time aside and just work her over those 3 hills back and forth working from the 3 foot one to the 8 footer. Making her stop and feet down at the peak of each one. Thanks for the idea, If my girlfriend can get to the level your at, Ill be a happy man! Ill tell you what, if she ever asks for a bigger bike I think I'll be so happy Ill cry :) .
 

altagirl

~SPONSOR~
Mar 17, 2003
169
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Just a thought, but since it seems to be more a fear of cresting hills than a riding technique thing - would she try it on a mountain bike or bmx bike or something like that? Just thinking maybe if she had something really non-threatening/lightweight to try it on maybe she could get the feel of going over something she can't see the other side of?

Other than that, all I can think of is practice, practice, practice - and maybe finding another girl to try riding with her and see if it helps.
 

CharbCRF230

Member
Jun 13, 2003
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I am like bbbom i didn't get scared until i am already into the hill!!! What my dad did was took me and my husband on a 30 mile trail ride and told me there were no big hillsjust some normal hills that were not too bad. So i went with him and about 20 miles into this trail we hit a hill that was straight freakin down!!! I about crapped my pants when i saw this hill!! They were all at the bottom and i just had to do it. My dad beleives in tough love!! LOL When i got to the bottom he said damn i am an a$$hole aren't I!? But it made me realize they aren't really as bad as i thought!! LOL I am not sugesting doing that cause it doesn't sound like she would just do it. My dad new that if he got me in that situation i would do it. I would just work with her like Laurie said and lots of practice. Maybe have her stop her bike at the bottom and go look over the top!! So that way she knows what is there.

Rachel
 

E-Ticket

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Dec 16, 2000
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This is a great thread and I have been laughing my butt off on some of the stories! :)

But as many have said....

Lot's and lot's of little rollers.... the more confident you get... the more you're willing to try. Once you get past a "little bit" bigger hill(s)... then the rest of the hills will look like, "...shoot, what was I worried about..??!"

And then it will snowball from there... :thumb:

And stay away from bigger hills!!! Even if it means altering your ride or course. It only takes one bad/tough experience to wipe out 7 good ones.

It was also a real good tip about riding with other ladies close to her ability or a bit better. That really cements that it *is* possible for a girl...and not for just some looney-bin guy with a death-wish. (Which, as we all know, is how we, er... occcasionally appear. :scream: )

One question: does she have a fear of heights? That could be a factor actually.... But I'm just guessing it's time and acclimitization.

Be patient... always be positive and supportive... and *never* belittle. And try to enjoy the process.

It will pay off! :yeehaw:

Cheers! E-Ticket (battle-scarred veteran who's had done this *many* times)
 

JasonJ

Member
Jun 15, 2001
1,150
1
No go on the MTB thing, I tried it, It took about 15 mins to get her to run down and back up a 3 foot ditch that a trail rolled through. Last week she took quite a tumble on the bike. I went ahead to scout and left her on the far side of a nice rolling 8 foot gorge a trail went through and told her I would be right back. I came back to find her well brused on the other side of the ditch. I asked what happend, same thing, she went down the hill on the brakes and had no speed to climb, didnt get out of the clipless pedals, fell over, and slid back down the hill backwards,,,,,,,, in shorts. At least on the dirt bike she is wearing all her gear and its not about muscel, its about skill and confidence. Plus she has the suspension and motor to get her out of jams she gets into by going to slow or taking a bad line.
 

Michelle

Sponsoring Member
Oct 26, 1999
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The "don't tell her what to expect" is a great pointer. You guys think you're being so helpful by telling us what to expect on a ride, but honestly, bugger off. I've been on rides thinking "that downhill should be coming soon", "I wonder if it was that one" and then it comes up. If you'd said nothing until I got to the bottom of it, it might make it easier. I've been put off riding by this same thing - I've just refused to get on my bike.

I know my TTR-riding buddy (10yo) is the same. I've been talking to her mum about where we're heading for a ride & mention something like "sand wash, or uphill" and she has turned around to me & told me to get stuffed, she's not coming with us. I've then had to explain to her it's something she's ridden 1000x & tell her what I meant when we get there - she then looks at me like I'm crazy & understands we're not making her do anything she's not capable of or done before (we'll get there with her, get her to be more adventurous).

I know with a lot of the guys I know, one mentions "uphill, downhill" & the others are "show me, show me, I wanna go play too". Maybe it's a male/female difference (i.e. no brain, no pain hehehe).

The only thing I can think of is show her on her own bike what to do. Get her to listen to the engine (maybe even with her helmet on so she's not fooled when she's riding it) - and do start with small hills.

Patience is the key and definitely see if you can find her a riding buddy, it really does make a huge difference.
Good luck & keep us updated as to how it goes (heck, see if she'll talk to us, it's sometimes easier to talk to "strangers" than your own partner).
Oh, with the MTB thing, how about not using clipless pedals & using the old-fashioned kind ;)
Michelle
 

E-Ticket

~SPONSOR~
Dec 16, 2000
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Absolutely what Michelle said on the clipless pedals on the MTB! Shoot! They're hard enough to deal with on a street bike.... and that's when you experienced and competent!

For learning on a MTB, the hot setup is to start with regular pedals and the indestructo-plastic toe clips... with the toe clips straps run as loose as you can make them.

That way, when she needs to pull her foot free to dab, or catch herself, or just rest... she won't feel locked in and stuck with that "commit or die..!" feeling.

As she gets better on the MTB, "she" can tighten up the toe clip straps a little at a time to give her a bit more control when she's pulling the pedals around. And then someday when she's really good (and it will happen... it's just time in the woods....) she can even try the clip-less pedals again. But for now, they're probably just making it a *lot* harder and scrarier for her.

Shoot - I'm a very advanced MTB'r... and my first ride with clip-less pedals was scary as hell... and with more than one tip-over/crash.

oof. "dang." oof again. <repeat throughout rest of ride>

And the reason for the indestructo-plastic, toe-clip cages is... in times of maximum stress/hurry... you can just mash down on the top of them and still get your foot pedaling on top of them. A life-saver at just the right moment!

".... patience, grass-hopper.... patience....."
"You may leave when your girlfriend snatches the race entry form from my hand.... "

<g> Cheers! - ET
 

LoriKTM

Super Power AssClown
Oct 4, 1999
2,220
6
New Mexico
Originally posted by Michelle
... You guys think you're being so helpful by telling us what to expect on a ride, but honestly, bugger off.&nbsp;

THAT'S IT exactly, Michelle!&nbsp;&nbsp; :thumb:

The fear of heights is a possible cause.&nbsp; I have a fear of heights, which has slowly tapered off with dirtbiking.&nbsp; It still gets me sometimes while skiing, though.&nbsp; Something aobut standing at the top of a mountain with a wide open hill going straight down in front of me makes my legs lock up and my bladder start twitching!&nbsp;

I thought of something else, Jason.&nbsp; Is your g/f sliding too far back when she's climbing the hills?&nbsp; Maybe she's feeling a bit out of control when gravity starts pulling her back.&nbsp; Have her scootch forward on the tank when&nbsp;starting an uphill.

If nothing else, have her stop and WALK up to the top of the hill you want her to ride.&nbsp; Then she can see what the other side looks like before she tries it on the bike.&nbsp;

Myself, I like stopping on the peaked hills.&nbsp; Gives me a chance to sit on my bike flat-footed, for once! :)
 

altagirl

~SPONSOR~
Mar 17, 2003
169
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Originally posted by E-Ticket
It was also a real good tip about riding with other ladies close to her ability or a bit better. That really cements that it *is* possible for a girl...and not for just some looney-bin guy with a death-wish. (Which, as we all know, is how we, er... occcasionally appear. :scream: )

A lot of it is perception. I learned to ride on the same day as one of my friends who I also mountain bike with. She's fairly timid and doesn't like downhills, speed, heights, etc. As much as I try "Look how easy this (hill, sand, rock garden...) is - I can do it" type of thing, she has a preconcieved notion that I'm completely insane (might have something to do with having accompanied me to the ER a few times...) so I'm not much help. Not that she thinks I'm lying to her - just that she knows we have different perspectives. But if she's with our other friend Joan, who's just a LITTLE less afraid than she is on a bike, they can encourage one another to try new things (a little bit at a time.) So I think finding the right riding buddy has a lot to do with a shared perception of danger and comfort levels (probably even more so than skill level).

Oh and with the mountain bike I'd say to just go with flat (platform) pedals until she's comfortable with it. (But I can see where it's different and might not help overall - just thought it was worth a shot!)
 

JasonJ

Member
Jun 15, 2001
1,150
1
Thaks for all the tips guys, errrr uhhhh, girls :) .
With the MTB the reason she has the SPD pedals is becuase she was having problmes with her knees running on a tred mill, the pedals were for her to clip in on the bike and start building the knees up low impact style. That being said, since she has had them I think she has ridden the bike maybe 5 times and she has fallen down maybe as many times. I usally keep her on the flat trails and gravel paths with the MTB but we were in some technical trails last week looking for our duck,,,,, (dont ask unless you want a long story) . She just dose not have the saddle time in the new pedals or on the dirtbike.
Im going to try to get her to do a group ride Sunday after we do our warm up, the problm is, bing a female, it takes so dam long for her to get her S#@T together to ride, 1-2 HOURS, NO KIDDIN!!!!! we can usally only get one ride in but Im gonna get her butt out there and get some riding time in this weekend, Wake up, Drop that Dounut magget, this aint coffe time! Get on that bike! Chop Chop!
What? I didnt say we were going to ride big hills right :) .
 

Fe_princess

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Sep 7, 2001
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You can try to create a formula to get her to climb/descend, but ultimately it's going to her decision alone. A little well timed push in that direction will take all of your attention, but too much could result in the opposite desire...
Just my 2 cents.
 

bbbom

~SPONSOR~
Aug 13, 1999
2,094
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Originally posted by JasonJ
bing a female, it takes so dam long for her to get her S#@T together to ride, 1-2 HOURS, NO KIDDIN!!!!!

Bad thing to say in the Women's forum bud, there's plenty of us that have our S#@T together from the beginning! From what you have been saying, maybe she just isn't cut out to ride? Just a thought, I've met plenty of women AND men that just shouldn't be on anything more than their own two feet and that is even questionable!
 

Fe_princess

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Sep 7, 2001
519
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Originally posted by bbbom


Bad thing to say in the Women's forum bud, there's plenty of us that have our S#@T together from the beginning! From what you have been saying, maybe she just isn't cut out to ride? Just a thought, I've met plenty of women AND men that just shouldn't be on anything more than their own two feet and that is even questionable!

Don't get on bbbom's bad side. She is a plethora of info and humor!

Hey Jason, why don't you help her get herself together in the morning and be part of her experience. She'll thank you and have clear head when she gets on her bike. Dirt riding is supposed to be FUN! :flame:
 

CJ Rider

~SPONSOR~
Apr 3, 2000
699
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Originally posted by Fe_princess
... Dirt riding is supposed to be FUN!
EXACTLY as Fe_Princess says!!! I'm also a huge subscriber to the "bugger off" comment from Michelle! If your g/f wants to try downhills, then she eventually will on her own terms; otherwise, she won't and that's totally OK too!!! Understand that, and you've got women all figured out, eh?! ;)
 

zero_it

~SPONSOR~
May 20, 2000
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OK Jason...you obviously have a lot to say about this subject, but I couldn't handle reading through every detail of every ride you two have taken. The parts I did manage to read through make me think that you've put your girlfriend on a piece of crap motorcycle and now want her to go out and ride with you and like to do everything that you like. Ain't gonna happen! If she has the interest and neccessary skills to step it up to the next level, then try getting her a decent bike to start with. Would you nose it off a hill with those brakes and that suspension?? Probably not. Once you get past that whole issue try finding out what she really wants to do. There are lots of riders out there, both male and female, who don't want to do Warp 5 through the trees or bust berms on a MX track. Some are perfectly content and actually smiling at the end of a day of riding fire roads. (Not me, but perhaps your girlfriend would be.)
 

LoriKTM

Super Power AssClown
Oct 4, 1999
2,220
6
New Mexico
In Jason's defense, his girlfriend really LIKES the RT100 that she's riding.&nbsp; (POS or not!)&nbsp;&nbsp; Even an RT100 is capable of climbing/nosing over an 8 ft hill.

While a better bike may help with the obstacles,&nbsp;she might be even more intimidated by it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I think the issue is not so much the bike, but&nbsp;her reluctance to ride over the top of&nbsp;a hill&nbsp;she can't see the backside of.&nbsp;&nbsp;(She wouldn't do it in their&nbsp;truck while off-roading, and also has trouble using a Mountain Bike in the same situation).&nbsp;&nbsp;

And if she needs an extra 1-2 hours getting ready in the morning,&nbsp;you just have to get her up&nbsp;a little earlier if you want to be out riding by 10am! :confused:

&nbsp;
 

JasonJ

Member
Jun 15, 2001
1,150
1
LOL, easy gals easy, just a little humor in my last post, no reason to circle the wagons.
Lori is %100 right. The reason she likes, no LOVES the RT is the low seat hight. She feels safer knowing she can just kinda stand up and get off the bike. I have ridden that very bike on rips just for fun and I have given the bike to buds as a loner on rides when someones quad blows up, the bike is very capable and can even climb some sand hills a few Banshee quads could not make. I would love to put her on a TTR 125L (stopped and got some info on one for sale yeasterday) but every time she rides the RT she just says how much she loves it. The TTR has about the same seat hight as her last bike, a 74 TS 185 that she was fine with on the road but even more skitish with off rode.
Im really not pushing her to ride dirt bikes, I even did the unthinkable and recomended she ride,,, gulp,,,, a quad, she did very well riding one and was faster on it. She would roll the quad up the little hills and back off right at the top too, but she would just roll down backwards instead of falling as she dose on the bike. But God bless her heart, she WANTS to ride a two wheeler :) . So we are going to work it out.
Im not trying to make her climb hills because I think its cool, the issue is that she NEEDS to climb these 8 - 15 foot hills to navigate the riding area before she can join a group ride, as these types of hills are just all over the place up there.
 

CJ Rider

~SPONSOR~
Apr 3, 2000
699
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Originally posted by bbbom
How about a dozer? :yeehaw:
:laugh:
But seriously, Jason... Do you know any other women who ride that might like to hang out on the hills with your g/f for a day or two? 'Might be all that's needed!
 


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