Putting my newbie bunny hop and manual skills to use on the trails

On my recent MTB trip to northern Minnesota last week, my main goal was to put some of my beginner-level bunny hop and manual skills to use on the trails at Detroit Mountain Recreation Area, Cuyuna Lake Mountain Bike Trail System, and the vast network of COGGS MTB trails in Duluth.

I also wanted to A) experiment with cornering, primarily on bigger bermed corners since I’ll be instructing riders on those at Welch Village’s new MTB park in a few weeks; and B) ride lots of drops and gnarly stuff to see what it’s like on my new full-suspension Kona Process 134 Supreme from Michael’s Cycles.

Here are several videos from the trip, with some commentary on each:

Mission Creek Flyover drop:

Fast and slow off an upsloping wood drop

The new Flyover Country segment (one-way, black) on Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores – COGGS’ Mission Creek trail is amazeballs. The jumps are waaaaay beyond me for now 😉 but I can do the drops. This wood drop slopes upwards, making it a little more challenging for landing the transition.

I also found I could roll down it, trials style, but not without the bash guard on my chainring scuffing the lip just a tad. Maybe next time a slow wheelie drop?

Posted by Mountain Bike Skills Network on Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Mission Creek cornering:

Bermed corners, inside knee out

In Fluidride’s Simon Lawton’s cornering hip flexion video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U709k9sizAs , he also suggests extending the inside knee out in the direction of the turn, what Ryan K Leech calls “Knee Vee Balance” in his Cornering Continuum online course.

So yesterday I experimented doing this with some of the bermed corners at Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores – COGGS’ Mission Creek. I could do it with the outside pedal down and weighted and noticed an immediate improvement in stability and control. Not a little. A lot.

Posted by Mountain Bike Skills Network on Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Mission Creek manuals:

Two beginner-level manuals down a series of rollers

I’m getting a little more confident in my beginner-level manual skills. This short section of Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores – COGGS’s Mission Creek’s Upper Cathedral trail has a dozen or so rollers. On my third try down, I managed to manual twice.

How many years it will be before I can manual all of them? More than a few, so it’s a good thing I’m still young. 😉

Posted by Mountain Bike Skills Network on Monday, June 26, 2017

Hawk Ridge cornering:

Hip flexion in off-camber, flat, or slightly bermed corners

The morning rain closed the trails and chairlift service at Spirit Mountain yesterday. But the early afternoon wind and warm sun quickly dried out the Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores – COGGS’s Lester Park and Hawk Ridge trails so I rode there from 4-7.

Wherever I found off-camber, flat, or slightly bermed corners, I tried to use some hip flexion (head and torso rotation to the outside) for extra traction and stability. I also concentrated on getting into this position prior to the corners, kind of preparation mode instead of reactive mode.

I first learned this from watching Fluidride’s Simon Lawton’s videos. I just watched them again and noticed that I failed to extend my inside knee out. I’ll try experimenting more with that today.

Ryan K Leech goes into great detail on this adapted ready position in his Cornering Continuum course. I’ll be convening an online class to go through the course with me in early July. Find out more here in this temporary Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/learnaboutcourseoncornering/

Posted by Mountain Bike Skills Network on Monday, June 26, 2017

Hawk Ridge drop:

A slight lunge technique off a rock step drop

Now having a full suspension bike like my Kona Process 134 (Michael’s Cycles – Prior Lake, MN & The Kona Bicycle Co.) http://2016.konaworld.com/process_134_sup.cfm makes me more eager and confident to ride more challenging sections of trail like this rocky step drop along Hawk Ridge in Duluth, a Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores – COGGS trail. A slight lunge technique with just the right speed: Piece o’ cake!

Posted by Mountain Bike Skills Network on Monday, June 26, 2017

Cuyuna bunny hops & manuals:

Putting newbie skills to use on the trail

Applying my newbie skills yesterday on the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trails: bunny hops over a rock and a roller, a manual over a dip, a lunge off a rock drop, and a manual with a failed bunny hop up and over the same rock.

Posted by Mountain Bike Skills Network on Saturday, June 24, 2017