Brian Lopes - Mastering Mountain Bike Skills - 2nd Edition

second edition MasteringMOUNTAINBIKE Skills Brian Lopes Lee McCormack Human KineticsLibrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lopes, Brian. Mastering mountain bike skills / Brian Lopes, Lee McCormack. --2nd ed. p. cm. Includes index.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-8371-3 (soft cover) ISBN-10: 0-7360-8371-5 (soft cover) 1. Mountain biking--Training. I. McCormack, Lee. II. Title.

GV1056.L66 2010 796.6'3--dc22

ISBN-10: 0-7360-8371-5 (print) ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-8371-3 (print) Copyright 2010, 2005 by Brian Lopes and Lee McCormack All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. The Web addresses cited in this text were current as of January 2010, unless otherwise noted. Acquisitions Editor: Justin Klug; Developmental Editor: Anne Hall; Assistant Editor: Cory Weber; Copy-editor: Patsy Fortney; Indexer: Dan Connolly; Permission Manager: Martha Gullo; Graphic Designer: Bob Reuther; Graphic Artist: Tara Welsch; Cover Designer: Keith Blomberg; Photographer (cover): Manfred Stromberg; Photography (interior): all photos appear courtesy of Lee McCormacksee page 245 for individual credits; Photo Asset Manager: Laura Fitch; Visual Production Assistant: Joyce Brumfield; Photo Production Manager: Jason Allen; Art Manager: Kelly Hendren; Associate Art Manager: Alan L. Wilborn; Illustrator: Lee McCormack, unless otherwise noted; Printer: Premier Print Group Human Kinetics books are available at special discounts for bulk purchase. Special editions or book excerpts can also be created to specification.

For details, contact the Special Sales Manager at Human Kinetics. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Human Kinetics Web site: www.HumanKinetics.com United States: Human Kinetics Australia: Human Kinetics P.O. Box 5076 57A Price Avenue Champaign, IL 61825-5076 Lower Mitcham, South Australia 5062 800-747-4457 08 8372 0999 e-mail: humank@hkusa.com e-mail: info@hkaustralia.com Canada: Human Kinetics New Zealand: Human Kinetics 475 Devonshire Road Unit 100 P.O. Box 80 Windsor, ON N8Y 2L5 Torrens Park, South Australia 5062 800-465-7301 (in Canada only) 0800 222 062 e-mail: info@hkcanada.com e-mail: info@hknewzealand.com Europe: Human Kinetics 107 Bradford Road Stanningley Leeds LS28 6AT, United Kingdom +44 (0) 113 255 5665 e-mail: hk@hkeurope.com E4849 second edition MasteringMOUNTAINBIKE Skills Contents vvi Contents Contents viiviii Contents introduction Would you rather repeat old failures or create new successes? If youre satisfied with your riding, keep doing what youre doing. If you want to ride better/safer/ faster, you must consciously practice the skills that will get you there. One thing at a time. Whenever youre out riding, concentrate on one skill or component of a skill.

Look ahead in the corners, stay low over the jumps, weight your outside pedal, or whatever. Think about executing the move perfectly. Soon youl be doing it without thought, and then you can move on to the next thing. Dont let bad habits take over. Its OK to make some mistakes while youre learning. But when you keep making the same mistake, it becomes a bad habit. Research by Wendy Wood, a psychologist at Texas A&M University, provides some tips for overcoming bad habits.

Wood no doubt had habits like smoking and Xbox in mind, but these tips apply to bad bike habits as well. Lets say that as you do a big double jump, you stare into the gap and abort the mission. Make it difficult to continue the bad habit. You could attach a blinder to the mouthpiece of your full-face helmet, so you cant look down. If you tend to grab the brakes for no reason, wrap your fingers around the grips until theres a reason to brake. Change your environment.

After you stop on the lip a few times, you probably will not go for it. Come back later or try a similar jump elsewhere. When your mind gets caught in a rut, a new situation can shake it free. Enjoy the short-term rewards. When you finally get that double, or at least take off without staring into the gap, give yourself a Lemon Zest Luna Bar. Yummy.

For additional info, refer to www.duke.edu/~wwood/Ouellette.Wood.1998.pdf. Introduction Think about what you want to do rather than what youretrying to avoid. If you think dont stare into the hole, where do you think youll stare? Many coaches recommend repeating a positive mantra: I will fly over there. I will fly over there. Precision now, speed later. Dont make yourself a human missile and hope you learn something before you explode. When youre working on a new skill, do it slowly on easy terrain. We want to train effective habits here.

Going too fast will introduce errors and greatly increase the danger. Stick this to your refrigerator: Smoothness first. Speed later. Practice your attack position. See page 46. E4849/Lopes/author provided/I.3 attack position/r1 Consider Getting Some Coaching You will learn a lot from this book, but theres no substitute for a qualified skills instructor. By having a coach, you will be able to: Learn in your own style.

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