things to know before trail riding

[Bohawg00]

I know when I first started riding trails my friend who was leading the way was way to fast for me to be following as a beginner. This cost me some bumps and bruises because I was way to proud to ask him to slow down. the forty dollars I spent on barkbusters was well worth it also, it really sucks riding very tight rocky washed out trails in the mts with no cluth or front brake levers.I lost several lol. What I'm saying is run a responsable pace slowing down in spots you know were difficult when you started.

 

[IamRyan]

I will slow down alot for him i know it was tuff for me in the begining but its hard to belive you were that slow sometimes like when you get behind someone on a trail and they are so cautious of every little bump and you know you used to do the same thing.

I was doing that practice drill of stoping without puting your feet down and its alot tuffer then i thought i can come to a complete stop but i dont think i could wait a whole stop light mabey a stop sign.

he is getting better i had him stop before a line i drew in the dirt but he kept going past it so i stood there and i knew he wouldnt hit me so he stoped that time i was just trying to make a point that you cant always go further than where u need to stop like if a little kid had fallen down or me (cuz that never happens...) you need to be able to stop that was something i wanted him to learn after he could take off every time because life is verry dificult if you cant get going and you cant stop.

 

[High Lord Gomer]

like if a little kid had fallen down or me (cuz that never happens...)

LOL! Rriiiiggghhhhttttt!!!

I'm thinking of getting me a big log for my back yard to learn to hop over it

In one of the classes I took, the instructor had us ride slowly up to a plastic 55 gallon drum and wheelie over it. Even considering the low experience level of some of the riders, I think everyone made it at least once.

 

[olderndirtmom]

LOL! Rriiiiggghhhhttttt!!!

In one of the classes I took, the instructor had us ride slowly up to a plastic 55 gallon drum and wheelie over it. Even considering the low experience level of some of the riders, I think everyone made it at least once.

Yikes.... hmmm.... well, at least I'd be in the backyard when the bike lands on top of me.....I was planning on holding off on trying a wheelie til I'd practiced on an even smaller bike....but if you say so, I'll give it a whirl... :rotfl:

Was the plastic drum empty or filled solid???

I'll start with the log for sure.... and the stopping sideways on a hill stuff certainly needs to be gotten down better... I've got a long ways to go here....

Thanks! :blah:

 

[mox69]

I've never coached before, but I took a motorcycle road course this past summer. The instructor had us do similar things. He spent most of his time with the totally new people, so I spent some time watching how he operated.

I've been riding in the woods behind my cabin since I was about 8 years old, so I've encountered just about every possible obstacle imaginable.


If you have a place to ride and want some free advice, I would love to give it :)

Ohh also, I live right in Minneapolis.

 

[76GMC1500]

The plastic drum was probably half burried. Don't go trying to ride over a drum sitting above ground until you get really good.

The kind of wheelie you need to do to get over obstacles isn't one where you point the front wheel for the sky. Start small. Just put the bike in first gear and cruise around really slowly. Roll on the throttle a little bit and bounce/shift your body weight to try to pop the front wheel in the air. A couple of inches is all you need to get over most obstacles.

 

[olderndirtmom]

The plastic drum was probably half burried. Don't go trying to ride over a drum sitting above ground until you get really good.

The kind of wheelie you need to do to get over obstacles isn't one where you point the front wheel for the sky. Start small. Just put the bike in first gear and cruise around really slowly. Roll on the throttle a little bit and bounce/shift your body weight to try to pop the front wheel in the air. A couple of inches is all you need to get over most obstacles.

Thanks... I will try it today or this weekend...

 

[olderndirtmom]

Mox69

If you have a place to ride and want some free advice, I would love to give it :)

Ohh also, I live right in Minneapolis.

I'd take that free advice!!!... Anything to shorten the curve.

I have not tried the trails in Wabasha yet as the class I took my daughter to rated them much harder than some of the stuff over here. I've been trying on sand... no speed, but still a little afraid to open up the throttle like I know is necessary...The Jackson Co trails don't open here for another 2 weeks. I like dirt better, at this point.

I took the road class last summer... We went over this teeny little board...Definitely not the same as going over a log on dirt, or a rock on dirt...heck... a teeny stick on dirt...

There is a dirtbike class down by Milwaukee in the next month, I think, which might offer more than what my daughter learned. I think I'm past what they had to offer her.

2 weeks out... Have bike, will travel. Let me know??

I'm really really green... Been on the road, but the road is NOT the dirt. I've got less than ten? hours in on the dirt/sand. Certainly less than 15.

Thoughts?

 

[JTROUBLE25]

I just started riding 2 months ago and this was my first dirt bike after having multiple street bikes. the one thing that threw me off the most riding trails and has taken getting used to riding in is the ruts.

 

[olderndirtmom]

I just started riding 2 months ago and this was my first dirt bike after having multiple street bikes. the one thing that threw me off the most riding trails and has taken getting used to riding in is the ruts.

I was going to mention the issue of ruts. I went riding with a friend and getting caught in a rut (very narrow washout) was the thing I was most ambivalent about yanking myself out of. I'm just not quite ready for that open throttle on the dirt thing....

I'm definitely getting some of those barkblasters... Definitely necessary for one of the places I go. (I'm all for those atv freeways while I get the hang of things though.)

I just went scouting logs in the forest here....(off the mountain bike trails...) I wonder how the kids and hubby will feel about carrying one out of there just before dark tonight?? I suppose if they aren't up for that I could just chainsaw one of the trees in our yard down?? :laugh:

 

[olderndirtmom]

kidding about "borrowing" logs... just kidding. Nobody get mad.

 

[JTROUBLE25]

This may have already been posted, but the other issue that got me the first time was getting stuck while going uphill, whether it was me that had fallen or just lost control and stopped. either way, i quickly found out that the front brake/tire of a dirt bike will NOT hold you on a steep incline if the front tire is pointed to the top of the hill.

I also learned the hard way that riding with the balls of your feet over the shift lever, instead of the pegs, allows you to very easily not the bike out of gear. not fun at all!

did anyone else convert from street to dirt?
I couldn't slow down on the highway and had to get rid of my bike. I find it so much more fun trying to ride hard and fast through the trails than riding fast on the highway. I should have bought this thing years ago!

 

[olderndirtmom]

[I should have bought this thing years ago![/QUOTE]


amen!!


I'll give it a go for the next 30 years or so though. Better later than neverer.

 

[High Lord Gomer]

The plastic drum was probably half burried. Don't go trying to ride over a drum sitting above ground until you get really good.

You're probably right. On second thought, it might have been a 5 gallon bucket...or maybe it was a 2 liter coke bottle. :whoa:

About the ruts...trying to yank yourself out of them (unless you're stuck and off the bike) is a bad idea. What I tell people learning is:

1. Avoid the ruts if possible
2. If not possible, try to cross them at as close to a 90 degree angle as possible.
3. If neither of those are possible, line yourself up for the rut and once you are lined up and committed, look past the rut while powering through with your weigh back a bit.

If you try to climb out of a rut the typical result is that the front will make it out (and maybe into a parallel rut), but the back will stay in throwing you sideways and eventually on the ground.

 

[76GMC1500]

Yeah, don't watch your front wheel in the rut. The rut will push and pull it every which way and if you're watching it, you will be fighting it. I did this once and had the bike pile drive me into the ground. It was about a 10 inch deep rut and I was running at least 25 mph when I dropped in. I continued to ride the rest of the day which probably wasn't a good idea. I couldn't work the rear brake anymore by half way through the day and then couldn't walk right for most of the next week.

Anyways, if you crash or get stuck a lot like I do, I have a very important skill for you to practice. "Riding the bike while not actually on the bike." I guess a good drill for this would be to try walking next to the bike with it running and in gear and using the clutch to control its speed. As you get better, try taking it over small obstacles like this log you're speaking of. When you really get advanced, try launching it up steeper, taller things like stairs. In the dirt, it's sometimes useful to be able to turn the bike around while you stand next to it. Lean the bike up against your side, give it some gas and some clutch to break the rear wheel loose and let it pivot around you. This is useful for getting out of mud holes. The technique of running next to the bike while using its own power has gotten me up many hillclimbs and over many obstacles I would not normally have been able to get over.

 

[olderndirtmom]

1. Avoid the ruts if possible
2. If not possible, try to cross them at as close to a 90 degree angle as possible.
3. If neither of those are possible, line yourself up for the rut and once you are lined up and committed, look past the rut while powering through with your weigh back a bit.

If you try to climb out of a rut the typical result is that the front will make it out (and maybe into a parallel rut), but the back will stay in throwing you sideways and eventually on the ground.

My fear exactly.

"Riding the bike while not actually on the bike." ... ....next to the bike while using its own power has gotten me up many hillclimbs and over many obstacles I would not normally have been able to get over.[/QUOTE]


This is really excellent stuff. I'm sure the kind of riding I have near me isn't on par with what you guys have out west but it is bluff country here. I encountered the narrow washed out ruts parallel to the trail after a turn right after the mudpuddle of unknown depth....and yes, dropped right in.

I was a little shy about getting out on my own and was riding with someone who was experienced and a gentleman who got it out. (Not exactly the kind of skill a person can put in their back pocket and depend on, but humbly accepted on this occasion.)

These are exactly the kinds of tips I'm looking for. I want to be self sufficient, and want to be able to get to a point where I can feel comfortable in those situations.


Thanks everyone.

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Was the plastic drum empty or filled solid???

Empty.

After doing it a few times this weekend, it was a little trickier than I remembered. Out of 5 times, I only made it cleanly 3. One time I wheelied too high and pushed the barrel out of the way and one time I went too slow and almost fell over once I got the front wheel over. I did get one of the kids to hold the camera for my last attempt.

http://themxtrack.com/Barrel.wmv

I think Ike used to have us do goofy stuff to show us that our limits were farther out there than we thought. One time he even lined up some of the concrete barriers to be ridden across. I was the first to try, but I wasn't stupid...I did it on his bike. I think he was the only other person to do it and he then removed them because it could have been ugly if someone screwed up.

http://themxtrack.com/Whoops2a.jpg

 

[76GMC1500]

That's a little bit more advanced of a trail riding school than I thought.

 

[olderndirtmom]

Empty.

After doing it a few times this weekend, it was a little trickier than I remembered. Out of 5 times, I only made it cleanly 3. One time I wheelied too high and pushed the barrel out of the way and one time I went too slow and almost fell over once I got the front wheel over. I did get one of the kids to hold the camera for my last attempt.

http://themxtrack.com/Barrel.wmv

I think Ike used to have us do goofy stuff to show us that our limits were farther out there than we thought. One time he even lined up some of the concrete barriers to be ridden across. I was the first to try, but I wasn't stupid...I did it on his bike. I think he was the only other person to do it and he then removed them because it could have been ugly if someone screwed up.

http://themxtrack.com/Whoops2a.jpg

Yeow!!! So, are ya saying I should set up a course like THAT in my back yard???? :whoa:

I've got a neighbor who promised to shoot me if he ever caught me out there at 2:00 a.m.... (I consider it part of my living will...)

I hope he'll feel free to bring out the revolver if he catches me doing the second one in the backyard. Lol. :rotfl:

 

[olderndirtmom]

Empty.

After doing it a few times this weekend, it was a little trickier than I remembered. Out of 5 times, I only made it cleanly 3. One time I wheelied too high and pushed the barrel out of the way and one time I went too slow and almost fell over once I got the front wheel over. I did get one of the kids to hold the camera for my last attempt.

http://themxtrack.com/Barrel.wmv

I think Ike used to have us do goofy stuff to show us that our limits were farther out there than we thought. One time he even lined up some of the concrete barriers to be ridden across. I was the first to try, but I wasn't stupid...I did it on his bike. I think he was the only other person to do it and he then removed them because it could have been ugly if someone screwed up.

http://themxtrack.com/Whoops2a.jpg

No, in all sincerity, thanks! Cool tricks.

I had been thinking about resurrecting this thread. I am happy to report that I got the TTR onto the dirt for the first time since the county trails closed last Oct. 15. I was however, on the same more advanced trails on private land as my original post. This time, instead of ruts and large mud puddles I was treated to fern (& hidden debris) covered trails, and yes... LOGS! Lots of them. Enough for me to say I passed that lesson... Had anyone been handing out certificates of achievements.

Had I practiced as recommended, kindly in this thread? No. Of course not. In fact, given my lazy attitude, I deserved a little bit of humbling.

Why? Because, In fact, I could have practiced. For two or three weeks I have had a very smelly log in my back yard, confiscated from some guy who chopped a tree down. (After a week of smelling the stench, I completely understand why).

Despite that... I am happy to report that I popped my bike over every downed log- even the times I had to work getting traction on the back wheel. I "walked" my bike uphill around obstacles, as recommended, at one point.

I was able to sit on my back tire when needed very easily. The bike felt so managible and for the most part, pretty zen like.

Was it saddle time on the road? The words from ya'all? Not sure. But, it felt good. YEEHA!

 

[olderndirtmom]

p.s. I even refused help... except getting it started the first time. ;) After that, I was 100% self sufficient.

I'll have to find some other way to act needy.

 

[High Lord Gomer]

The bike felt so managible and for the most part, pretty zen like.

Isn''t that so cool?!? :cool: