Ride Lite

Well here we are racing through the middle of January, the ground has finally thawed and is now so sodden the trails are starting to look like they have been ploughed!
Many years ago Chuck Bodfish enlightened me into the ways of riding lite in these conditions, it takes time and practice but the results can be amazing.

It is all about feeling whats going on with the bike and the ground you are travelling over. Try riding down a soggy trail in your normal way, then go back and look at the marks your left on the ground, those tyre marks will fill with water next time it rains, they then form channels as the rain water flows away, pretty soon deep gullies will form as the soil is eroded.

go back and ride it again, feel whats going on underneath the wheels, get yourself out of the saddle a little, let the bike sit loose and relax your grip on the bars. bring your body back slightly so there is just a little more wieght over the back wheel than there is over the front.
This way when you hit a soft piece of ground the front wheel does not dig in so much, you carry more speed and as long as you keep everything gentle and fluid you will find when you go back and look at your tyre marks this time they will be slightly shallower than before. There you just saved that trail for another day. Another day of riding without having to perform back breaking trail maintenance just to keep the errosion at bay.

Now try to ride everywhere in this style. you use less energy, can ride for longer, suffer less fatigue in your hands, wrists, knees and feel better and more relaxed at the end of the ride.

Ride Lite