Quote:
Originally Posted by GMP
Those trails are very nice. Now, how would you handle them if they were tighter (I'm sure you have tight stuff), wet, muddy, leaves, and the real wrench in the works, studded with softball to basketball sized rocks? No clear line through the turn and maybe no smooth trail for a mile. Too rough and slick to just blast out WFO. You can't lean into it very far, as the first hit will break front traction and take you out, and there is no good place to fall. This is where you are somewhat forced to stay more vertical and kick the tail out to line things up, retain traction with the throttle/clutch and move out smooth. The NETRA guys know what I'm talking about. To be fast I think you just have to try and master a few styles and adapt to the terrain without thinking about it.
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Most of my trails are tight single track, but my wife was in a hurry so I didn't get any shots of that.
I was basically working on balance and sliding while standing, so when I get in the woods I can slide the rear with confidence without sitting down in every corner. I try not to brake slide, so I slide during acceleration when needed to make the corner a little faster. I find that riding slow, and working on balance/clutch/throttle control helps me when the pace picks up and the trails get more technical. I usually do some sort of slow riding or technical riding either before or after I make some hot laps in the trees.
Unfortunately, we don't have many rocks around here to practice on. On the the other hand there aren't many in the races I go to either. I have to admit hitting them at speed makes me a little nervous, since I don't have much time riding them.