Read the trail like a pro
Learn how to pick the best lines with coach Olly Morris
There are two main aspects of learning to ride well. One is technical – how you move your body to make the bike work properly for you. The other is how you read the trail. Being able to pick a good line and look, brake and accelerate in the right places will make you faster without even feeling like you’re going quicker. Reading the trail can be tough to master, but once you do, everything seems easier and you find more flow. It’s all about looking and thinking ahead. Whether you’re familiar with the trail or not, there are four key considerations that’ll help you plan how to tackle it and react in time, improving your riding no end – and upping the fun factor, too!
01 Selecting lines
Choosing the correct line isn’t always easy – it’s often not the most obvious one and there’s frequently more than one option – but there are some key points to bear in mind. The first is to look for the smoothest line, because the bike will work better and you’ll be more relaxed. Secondly, try to find a wide line so you can open up the corners and carry more speed. When riding at a popular venue, a golden rule is to search for options other than the main rut – that’s where thousands of riders have ridden before, so it’s usually full of braking bumps. When I ride, I enjoy seeking out a line that’ll give me more flow. Also, try thinking about the line you’re riding towards, rather than the one you’re on.
02 Braking points
Arguably the most important part of reading a trail is judging where you need to brake. There’s such a fine line between scrubbing off speed too late and stalling in the turn, and braking too early, making the corner no fun. So how do you choose your braking points? This is definitely something that improves with experience. Generally, I’d advise you to look for smoother parts of the trail – where there’s more grip – to brake on, as the wheels will stick to the ground better, making braking more efficient.
03
Focal points
I’m sure you’ve heard the advice many times to ‘look up’. But look up at what? To read a trail you need to use focal points along the track to give yourself something to look at. These points can be in different places to suit different riding styles, but will generally be the next place you’ll change direction. Searching for these points of direction change will help with all aspects of reading the trail. The question is, when do you stop looking at one focal point and start looking for the next one? That depends entirely on the rider and the trail section, so experiment to find what works best for you.
04 Acceleration points
Finding places to help the bike accelerate is a slightly more advanced skill. It might be a matter of pre-hopping into the back of a stump or rock, or simply pumping down a slope on the trail. The acceleration point doesn’t have to be smooth, it just has to be something you can pump the bike into to help generate more speed and flow. I love finding these points because it means you don’t have to pedal as much to hold your speed, and it makes riding the trail more fun, too.