What are you good at and why?

[stainlesscycle]

i'm bad at right downhill turns. in fact all my right turns suck. i'm hoping left hand rear brake improves this. i've been practicing a hillside tight 's' turn/switchback setup i have in my front yard (3 right turns downhill, 3 left turn at tops) i think i'm not sliding forward enough on the right turns. just can't commit as well to the right turns..left turns are no problem...

i also suck in the sand and extremely soft dirt (mx style dirt.... )

i excel at extremely difficult rocky (softball size to boulder size rocks) trails. west virgina riding and riding trials bikes fast has made me very fast at this..

i'm also pretty good at wrecking and breaking stuff on bike and body.

on trials, i suck at entering the section at the right location. i can't relax enough until i'm 10' into the section and already at a bad line.. even taking a deep breath before launch and i still blow it half the time. makes easy sections very difficult.. i think i push off too much with my feet when i settle into the pegs..

[Cruiser]

Now that I'm back on the bike,, well a big DS,, I'm finding I'm very good at dropping the bike when stopped.. You know,, at the trail head.. helmet stops.. I put my feet down and on occasion cant feel my feet(neck issues? nerves pinched?) and down I go.. Makes it worse that I can jusy reach the ground on this bike and I should lower it.. But I am getting much better at taking it slower and smoother.. thinking about it and letting the bike do the work..
Its interesting on a fourstroker..especially a big one...
(note; this was while out on my 03 625sxc.. now on a 04 450 exc,, slightly smaller..still drop it.. but not as much)

[flybars]

Steep downhill switchbacks with right turns are very intimidating to me. Usually there is a shear drop off to help me tighten up too much. Can't use the rear brake, so I will sometimes use my front brake and walk the bike around the corner with my right foot on the up hill side. Usually the trail is too narrow to get off the bike and bull dog it around. I am getting better with the easier right hand corners tho. Good practice.
I think I do best in picking lines thru the rocks. If there is not a scary drop off next to my line, I can fly thru the nasty stuff with alot of confidence. Up or down hill.

[stainlesscycle]

Originally Posted by flybars

Steep downhill switchbacks with right turns are very intimidating to me. Usually there is a shear drop off to help me tighten up too much. Can't use the rear brake

this is what the lhrb is 'supposed' to help me do...

[T.Low]

Originally Posted by flybars

Steep downhill switchbacks with right turns are very intimidating to me. Usually there is a shear drop off to help me tighten up too much. Can't use the rear brake, so I will sometimes use my front brake and walk the bike around the corner with my right foot on the up hill side. Usually the trail is too narrow to get off the bike and bull dog it around. I am getting better with the easier right hand corners tho. Good practice.
I think I do best in picking lines thru the rocks. If there is not a scary drop off next to my line, I can fly thru the nasty stuff with alot of confidence. Up or down hill.

Where are you riding that gives you this issue? I've paddled white water all over the state and 4wheeled the Forest Service roads, but have only been riding since August.

[stainlesscycle]

Originally Posted by T.Low

Where are you riding that gives you this issue? I've paddled white water all over the state and 4wheeled the Forest Service roads, but have only been riding since August.

steep downhill switchbacks are commonly used in enduro and hare scramble routing..... usually placed to torment me.

[flybars]

T.Low, I'm over here in Cashmere, Wa. I ride mostly the local trail systems and fire roads to connect. I ride the Devil's Gulch, Mission Ridge, Sand Creek trail systems which are about a 15 minute ride to the same trailheads from home. These trail are single track and very steep terrain. LOt's of switchbacks. We have many more trail system around here besides these. I would say 50% even more challenging. (read Jostby's Devil's Backbone report) and Pebs too. Maybe next year after my shoulder heals, I can show U some.

[flybars]

Stainless, I've also been interested in the LHRB for some time. It's gotta help alot for those steep downhill right hand switchbacks. They seem to be always right on the edge with a sheer drop off. I know there is the right technique, so if anyone can help, I'd be all ears.

[roostafish]

I love reading all these, it's great. I'm really good at cleaning my bike.

Interestingly enough, I'd say I'm "good" at riding in slick, horrifying conditions. I grew up riding on red clay, it's dry and slick with dust on top in the summer, and in the winter, it's like greased glass. I didn't realize I was any good at riding slick stuff 'till I rode my first season of enduros back in 1996 with my brother in law. Fortunately it rained all summer long, and every race was a sloppy, horrible mudfest. I actually felt miserable most of the time, and mistakenly thought I was a good rider since I was winning. That all changed when we did a race in the desert. It was open and fast, and it scared the crizzzapp out of me, I didn't even know my bike had a fourth gear, much less 5th, and my cocky little self was shamed when I got 19th out of 43 in my class, and who knows where overall (my brother in law ended up winning the 200 B class that day (on a brand new, stock right down to the air in the tires KDX 200), by a looong way, he's from SoCal). I ended up winning the championship that year in the Open B class, bumped up to A, and then reality set in. The only races I have ever won in the A class have been on those most horrible of days, usually with impassable sections of trail that end up getting thrown out after I already made them (grrrrrr).

Why? I think balance has something to do with it. I also think carrying momentum, and not grabbing fistfuls of brake or throttle helps.

[stainlesscycle]

hah, i rode in georgia a few times this year. red clay + rain is the most unnerving riding i've ever done... like ice, but less predictable.

fistfull of throttle has saved my ass many a times in the rocks and roots of wv..