Stupid bike tricks

Was just tinkering around on Saturday, and would have forgotten about riding till my wife asked me if I was going on a short ride like I said I was. Thank's for reminding me honey!!

Just tooled around on the mountain bike around the neighborhood for 1/2 an hour. Tried to do some wheelies. Over 15years of trying and I still can't do it. I need to pay some 8 year old to show me how to do it.

Then I practiced track stands. I used to do track stands and little miny trials moves for hours and hours. Never like the real trial riders, but little sideways hops or hops in place, one handed and no handed track stands. I could only do it with clipless pedals which can be the kiss of death if you fall the wrong direction or can't clip out. There are stairs a many office buildings that are like half the height of regular stairs in a house . These are great fun to sideways hop up.

Rule # 1, always fall to the uphill side!!!!

Definitely need to get back on the trails. Just to get my muscles used to the impulse power needed to work the bike. My lats are soar this morning. Sheesh. And there is just this inate timing that only comes from saddle time in the singletrack. Timing and awareness. When you follow someone who is really good, you see these subtle moves, small unweights, little mini bunny hops that put their rear wheel in a better position, or the slight rotation of the cranks so they clear a rock, etc.

The best guys know exactly where their pedal is and where their rear wheel is, and make mini adjustments in a blink of an eye. It is all about conservation of momentum. There is a skill I call the "Art of the little hop". It is tiny little bunny hop that you do to move your rear wheeel over or around dips, rocks, pebbles, etc. Or to turn slightly in mid air to prepare for an upcoming curve in the track.

Pretty small and insignificant in the moment, but when you add up the speed conservation over and over during the course of a ride it becomes significant. Sort of like training or parenting. It is never that one ride, or that one thing you said or did as a parent, it is the culmination of hundereds and thousands of discrete events that make the whole.