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2.Steep banks or step faced obstacles and large logs
With winter and hardly any rainfall the timing is perfect to start trying out a few obstacles that you would normally battle to master...In the dry terrain you can try your hand on some obstacles that would normally be very difficult to attempt if they were wet and muddy. During the first half of the year I have being running through several basic techniques to prepare us to be able to ride over obstacles safely with maximum bike control. With basic technique, clutch and throttle control you may well be able to conquer obstacles that terrified you in the past. With clutch control you can attack any size log you may encounter during a race or trail ride. Start off on smaller logs and then move onto larger logs to avoid crashing and losing your confidence, make sure that the log is not lying at an angle when first attempting log riding. To teach riders I have an area where logs have being felled and I mark out a course filled with a variety of logs which is about one hundred meters in length. Firstly we all practice riding over a small log until we have mastered riding over the log safely and then we move onto larger logs. Once we have conquered all the logs on the course, we race against each other to make sure the riders remember how to ride logs at race pace. It is incredible to see how riders, who were puzzling to ride over one log at the start of the lesson progress to looking like pros. It is worthwhile spending time working on your weak points just the same as an MX rider spends time concentrating on different parts of a Mx –track. Often on a trail ride after I have ridden over a log I look behind to see how the other riders are going over the log and most riders ride around the log. It’s all very well going around the log but at sometime you are going to have to go over a log during a race. If you have limited training time, a mini-log section can give you a good work-out in just ten minutes. (ask the riders who rode the Enduro-cross) The following pictures will help you understand the art of “logging”. Make sure your front wheel is always aimed straight when approaching logs and while going over
Once you have mastered riding over small logs, you can move onto riding over logs that are angled in your path. Good luck with your log riding and remember to Relax and don’t tense up on your bike. You might want to fit a full Hyde bash plate/ exhaust guard or a metal exhaust cage like mine if you ride a two stroke.
Wild Will _____________________________________________________________________________
In the last issue of Enduro World Magazine we spoke about the ‘art of balance’ and explained how to keep your bike balanced by applying handle bar and foot peg pressure. We now move on to three different trials techniques which are used to get up or over an obstacle. You will find that the nature and size of obstacles in a technical race may vary but the techniques used to negotiate obstacles are the same. The weather or terrain will also play a role in how much traction is available and it is up to the rider to be proficient in the use of their throttle , brakes and clutch control when attacking very slippery off cambers like river banks and very slippery off cambers it is also important to develop the skill of “ unweighting” your bike in order to maintain maximum traction and control.
1.Basic Technique is used to ride up a bank that is not undercut.
Before you learn technique number two and three you need to know how to unweight the motorcycle.
Unweighting is the technique of jumping upwards as your rear wheel is near or strikes an obstacle when standing normally on the foot pegs most of your weight is placed on your foot pegs which is transferred directly through a bikes frame, then suspension and ends up at your bikes wheels. When you try and ride over a slippery angled log or root you can’t maintain your normal weight on your foot pegs or else your bike will shoot out from underneath you when you try and ride over the angled log. In a summary unweighting is to relieve the weight placed upon the motorcycle, in order that it may climb a obstacle free of it’s weight. ( your weight) There are two basic techniques of unweighting - You can totally unweight or unweight with pressure. Total unweighting can be used for bunny hops or the splatter techniques.
This technique is useful for jumping onto or over slippery obstacles or slippery logs.
2.Punch Technique The punch technique is when you punch your front wheel into a obstacle , which lifts the front end up and the back wheel drives over the obstacle. The punch technique is used on logs and undercut banks. This technique has two movements and is also known as a second blip technique.
The splatter technique is used for large undercut banks or steps, normally where you have a “ lifter “ ( small rock, bump or anything that can loft your front wheel up) in front of the obstacle.
Wild Will How to master steep wet up-hills and downhill’s. Down here in KZN all our favourite riding spots have once again become green and lush, with the black winter hills transformed and looking as though they are fresh off the MX Grandprix circuit. The pictures in this article are from the ‘Crinkle Cut” section in the Hilton area just outside Pietermaritzburg and in the summer they become a real challenge as they are clay hills which require technical riding skills during the rainy season. Before going out to attack steep up-hills and downhill’s, I suggest you fit some new tyres onto your bike. With it being summer try and fit softer compound tyres, go for sand tyres or intermediate compounds. You can look like a fool with your regular riding buddies, if you try and ride with worn-out hard compound tyres. Softer compound tyres still work well even if they are half worn-out as compared to hard compound tyres which battle in the wet once the sharp edge has worn off. Often at wet races I see experienced riders line-up at the start with hard compound tyres and I think to myself ‘they must be suffering from concussion.’ Personally I would rather wear denims, a rugby jersey and have soft compound tyres at a wet race instead of being all ‘blinged out’ and having the wrong tyres on my bike. In picture 1 the hill has only about a 5m run-up and starts in a dip. This particular steep clay hill is off-cambered and slippery. Here are a few pointers to help guide you up. * Make sure you are in a relaxed position on the way down to the approach of the uphill and scan ahead of you, choose your line before you arrive at the base of the hill. * Select the correct gear and have your hand on the cutch lever, ready to spread the bikes power delivery and maintain smooth control. * On this particular hill I chose the middle line because it has a lip and will loft you in the air like a step up jump on a MX track. * I hit the lip with my head over the bars and my weight balanced in the middle of the bike, with the power on. * As I hit the lip I unload my weight (relax your body) and I try not to be to stiff. –Basically it’s the same as being on a trampolien and it’s a similar stance to getting your body ready to avoid being double bounced. * If your weight is to far back you could flip and if you tap off too soon you will loose momentum and nose-dive uphill. The key is to keep the power smooth and accelerate until you are airborne. * once you have taken off up the hill, make sure you land with the power on up the hill and if the hill has an off-camber be sure to weight your foot peg on the side that the camber is running down. Eg. On this particular hill the off-camber runs down to the right so I weight the right hand foot peg from the time I land. It’s great to learn how to jump this type of uphill because if you get it wrong it’s not as fast as a downhill or MX jump. Make sure your arms are even (Re-Grip technique) or else you could be thrown sideways on the approach and you will battle to keep momentum up the hill once you have landed. Once you have learned how to “jump” uphill , you will wonder why you used to battle with up-hills. If you practice you can master this technique and save plenty of energy and pride. Picture 2,3 an 4 show the sequence of how to go down the hill. Going downhill can sometimes be more daunting than going up. If you are ever unsure of going downhill , rather switch your bike off and walk it down in first gear and release the clutch when you need to slow it down. Make sure you walk your bike down with your body on the lowest side to the hill; don’t go on the steeper side, or else if the bike or you slide you will end up in a heap at the bottom of the hill. *In picture no 2 I approach the downhill , next to the rut, in a downhill –mountain bike stance. *In picture no 3 my body weight is near the back of the seat and I put weight on my left foot peg to stop the bike sliding on the off-camber. *In picture no 4 I absorb the lip which I used to take-off up the hill and as the downhill is slippery clay , I try not to make sudden movements. *Try and stand while braking , that way if your bike slides you can keep control.(try not sitting down) * Near the bottom of the hill I accelerate smoothly and make sure I keep a straight line to avoid high-siding. Remember gravity can be your friend when using the correct techniques and plenty of practice. Wild Will
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