gullash

Member
Jul 23, 2006
1
0
I just arrived home from a training week, and there was a jump I didn’t dare to jump, even though it was a lot easier than some of the other jumps I jumped.

So my question is: How do you guys prepare mental for big jumps? What do think about?
 

HajiWasAPunk

Member
Aug 5, 2005
807
0
at times like these it helps to sit back and ask yourself "what would Mike Metzger do?" :nod:

Was it a gap jump? I get a feel for the face going fast enough to get some air but not fast enough to land in the face of the landing. Then I try and equate it in distance and steepness to another jump I've done. From there just try to recreate the same gear and throttle amount you would use on the jump you've already cleared. Go a little more than you think (landing long is better than short). If you haven't jumped a table of equal length and steepness, then I'd do that first. Some are more daring than me, but if I haven't jumped 75 feet then I don't want the first time I do it to be over a "do or die" type jump.
 

Masterphil

DRN's Resident Lunatic
Member
Aug 3, 2004
1,003
0
Jumping a new jump is a thing better done not thinking. If I think about it, I'll usually dog out on the approach. The more times you roll a jump, the harder it'll be to make yourself nut-up and do it. Rolling a jump sorta tells you what the face is like, but when it takes 3'rd gear tapped(or faster) to clear it, you're not going to replicate that kind of suspention load any other way. I used to not like following others over jumps the first time, but last weekend I went to Podium 1 and there was this 80ish foot camelhump tripple. I was coming out of the corner when a better rider comes up on the inside and I matched his speed, and added a little extra just to be sure, and cleared it. Sure, my balls were up in my throat, but damn did I feel more confident doing that jump with someone beside me who's done it few time more than myself.
 

High Lord Gomer

Poked with Sticks
Sep 26, 1999
11,790
34
If you're going to pace someone over a jump, make sure you know that *they* know what they're doing!

A month or two ago I went out for the first time in a long time on a track that looked rather tame with safe, rounded landings (Durhamtown Plantation). I pulled out onto the track behind three guys who were jumping everything so I just followed them over. About halfway through the first lap the lead guy started to pull away so I passed the other two to ride with him. The jumps are very safe and rounded, but many are blind. We hit one and I watched the guy I'm following case the triple. I was still in the air and already cussing him because I knew what *I* was going to do! I cased it, but didn't crash (he didn't either). I quit following him at that point.

Another thing to consider when following someone over a jump is that following directly behind them means if they crash, you probably will, too. I usually follow off to the side, but then you run the danger of the takeoff (and landing) being different on different ides of the jump.

On a related note: Once you start jumping somthing, jump it every lap (unless something goes wrong on the approach). If you only jump something half the time, *every* time you come up to it you will be hesitant and more likely to screw up by changing your mind at the last second. if you know you can do it, commit to it and you'll be much more likely to safely jump it. Obviously if you miss a gear or lose traction out of the preceding turn or something else goes wrong, it is better to not jump it under those circumstances, but being unsure and making a last second decision to abort will likely cause you more trouble than confidently committing to something.
 
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