LINE CHOICE
ROOTS
Generally the more that you do on the way into a corner, the less you have to do on the way out. In mountain biking this normally means setting up high and wide, being patient on the way in, then letting gravity accelerate you through the main part and out of the exit. If you rush up the middle or inside of a corner, as gravity starts to speed you up, you will run out of room and feel like the corner is getting tighter. Even more so on steep ground. Be patient and go wide. This will feel like you have time to spare initially, but as you tip it in and commit to the available traction, you will get shot out the other side without having to stress or even pedal.
As you start venturing away from dedicated trail centres, inevitably you’ll end up on more natural surfaces. It’s only a matter of time before you start to encounter every mountain biker’s nemesis: roots. In the dry this really isn’t a problem as the only thing you’ll notice is a slight bump as your wheel hits the rise, but in the wet it’s a whole different experience. Every one of those little roots poking out through the dirt will become a massive movement for your tyres as it slides the length of the exposed wood. If it’s a wellridden trail, then the chances are the bark has been scraped down to the shiny stuff. There are a few ways of dealing with this unwanted movement, though.