Doing a new trail yesterday and sectioned the mid point – Flowing steep singletrack through woods then you get to a narrow section with a big man high bolder on LHS and drop RHS and rock in the middle of the trail. It has a sharp bend right (tree on RHS) running into a steep chute between 2 rocks.

I tried it 10 times, managing to get to the top of the chute by doing a track stand and hopping the back wheel left to get myself aligned but for the life of me my hands would not come off the brakes – very frustrating! Mind can be good and bad 🙁

if you’re starting a club, i’m in.
it irritates me so much. thought i had a breakthrough the other week, but no. 👿

move the lever so you cant reach it……

Just keep saying to yourself – “SPEED IS MY FRIEND, SPEED IS MY FRIEND”

Trouble was I had to use them to approach the section & to jump the rear wheel sideways – wish it was that simple 🙁 I think I need to MTFU 🙁

I can sympathise. Recently tried one finger on the brakes – surprisingly hard to wimp out and led to better (if faster than intended) flow!!

thats ok it happens to us all.

i would suggest looking down the trail and focusing on your exit point rather that the pointy rocks beneath you.

this should help you to visualise your line and commit to the drop.

a

+1 for looking at something ahead.

Looking at an upcoming corner brake for it, once youre in the corner you should be looking at the next straight which doesn’t involve you brakeing.

I spend my time looking for a safe place to fall off onto.

It takes my mind off braking but I rarely land where I imagined I would.

I find in situations like this that my friends questioning my sexuality usually does the trick.

Or alternatiely if someone else manages to ride the section then you can see how easy it in fact is.

I employ a test rider to ride out in front of me, if they die i just walk that section and hire a new one.

Or alternatiely if someone else manages to ride the section then you can see how easy it in fact is.

Have to agree with this, the other week riding up at Laggan I bottled Air’s rock 😳 as I was riding on my own, 10 miles from where I was staying, with the car so Mrs J wouldn’t have known what had happened, BUT with my cycling buddies leading the way I’d have been taking air down it!!

It’s just the self-peservation thing in yer head.

Ditto for me there’s a steep rocky bit on Harden Moor which has sent me bonkers this year stalling on the brakes same old same old over and over again then last night I just forced myself to trust the bike and release the brakes and I got down it – it made my day.
I think a recent trip to Kirroughtree following a much better rider helped. She just floated over stuff like it wasn’t even there. I just copied her. Wish she could be in front of me always.

yup – agree with all that – I’m gonna try it again when I have pent up aggression – that usually does it – I was follOWing someone who did do it so I know how to ride it – just my brain stopping me 🙁

in fairness, the section that the op is on about takes both skill and guts, it’s not just a case of mtfu and it’s really not a case of speed is your friend as you have to virtually stop and hop in order to line up with the drop in.

it’s a really challenging obstacle.

Thanks TM 🙂

One thing that works for me is breaking down the section of trail and then being able to relate that to other obstacles that you have cleaned.
So if you have the last section of this obstacle to clear, the chute, is it simiar to other obstacles that you have cleaned in the past.
by this comparison, I have been clearing gaps and dropping bigger stuff than before as I can relate stuff.
If you have the technique, then its simply applying it to that obstacle.

Just keep saying to yourself – “SPEED IS MY FRIEND, SPEED IS MY FRIEND”

Tried that on one section, it certainly wasn’t as the off-camber wet roots spat me down the bank!!!

Agree Sancho – I find if I have cleared a double (not often) then a comparable double in my mind is clearable – I think this differs as its an unusual bit of natural trail?

find a similar obstacle to the one you’re having trouble with, but that has easy run in/out, ride it a few times to prove you can do that bit then go to your nemesis and go for it. Just a step on from sanchos “break it down into doable chunks”.

if only I could find some step down drops with easy run in/out, thinks of lee quarrys graduated step downs with added berm, shudders tries to think of somewhere else….

Ditto for me there’s a steep rocky bit on Harden Moor which has sent me bonkers this year stalling on the brakes same old same old over and over again then last night I just forced myself to trust the bike and release the brakes and I got down it – it made my day.

where was this?

trailmonkey – Member

it’s a really challenging obstacle.

True, but i’d rather ride that than the ‘chimp’ line next too it, leafy shute with head height badly cut branches 😉 into batcave-esque catapult exit through tight pedal width (minus 5cm) rocks.

😀

😆

yup, chimp line is quite exciting too.

where is this? is it the corner on bridge to far where I took a huge chunk out of my forks?

Right at the very top of the start of Nutcrackers proper (at the Tor stone) Jam bo 🙂

top of the techy section of the cracker (where everyone usually regroups after coming across the ridge), turn right onto obvious steep singlybob.

*fr beat me to it*

hmmm. only ridden it once and I think I was chasing sharki. god knows what line we took…

it’s a fairly recent addition, you might be thinking of the ravens tor trail ? i’m pretty certain you’d remember taking the drop on the monkey run and almost certain that there wouldn’t be any chasing going on. it’s a pretty unique feature up there.

fair enough. although I find I’ve ridden stuff on sight that I’ve never managed to clean again.

Jambo, that was Raven tor descent we did.

This new line is kinda dull other than the features FR is freezing on.
I’ve only been down the once following Si and i can understand how arse twitching it could be if you look anywhere other than where you should be going. Try to stop looking at the lip of the roll in, and look further down the trail where the bike will go. The fact the front wheel is virtually on the lip whilst your lining yourself up won’t help as you making sure it doesn’t roll off before you’ve hoiked the rear around.

Next time only try it twice and not ten times, it’s too much pressure on yourself. imho.

sharki – Member

I’ve only been down the once following Si and i can understand thats why[s]how[/s] it was arse twitching it could be

FTFY 😀

Agree completely on the dont keep attempting it, and the ride it blind theories though. We stopped to look at a bit of trail in the Alps which almost spooked me as i had time to look at it (it wasnt even that difficult). Rode blind into it later in the week thinking we were on a different trail and almost gapped the whole feature as that felt the most natural thing to do at the time.

😆

Yup I agree with that – too much thinking gives you time to tense up and have doubts 🙂

Chutney 13 asked a few posts back where on Harden Moor the steep rocky bit was?

It is on the outer section leading out of one of the quarries – you go round a bend and straight into it – a v short section steep with a bend in the middle with 3 rock slabs and rubble strewn.