Various Obstacles
Now to talk about more ways
of getting over obstacles, specifically larger obstacles.
As a mountain biker the idea is to stay in motion, keep up speed. With that
in mind, let's talk about obstacles that could be as large as two feet high
(perhaps more) such as a large fallen tree, boulder or even a sheer rise/wall.
Let's break this up into obstacles that are very short in length along the
trail (fallen trees) and obstacles as long as a mountain bike length (flat
boulders or a sharp change in the elevation of the trail).
If the obstacle has a length less than that of a bicycle your approach will
be very similar as we discussed in the previous Beginner article, which
is to get your front wheel into the air with a well timed pedal stroke and
upward pull on the handlebars, then planting your front tire ONTO the obstacle.
With a smaller obstacle you would simply ride forward and roll over the
obstacle, however with a larger obstacle this will not be possible. You
are going to learn what I call a bump-jump. Essentially, at the moment your
front tire hits the obstacle you will execute a bunny hop using the impact
of your front tire against the obstacle. The key is to maintain your own
balance while rocking your bicycle over the obstacle first with your back
wheel on the ground and your front wheel in the air to land on the obstacle
as you begin the bump-jump, then with your front tire moving towards the
ground and your back wheel in the air to land on the obstacle. The faster
you are going, the higher in the air your front wheel will probably be,
and this is good. From there you simply roll forward. It's important to
not use your brakes during such a maneuver. The entire maneuver should proceed
quite smoothly and with practice will not cause much loss in speed.
If the obstacle has a length equal to or longer than your mountain bike,
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