Trials Biking Session: Balance and Control Basics

For yesterday’s trials biking session, I rode at home to focus on basics of balance and control. For most of the session I practiced basic rear wheel hops onto rocks that are lumpy and/or off-camber and somewhat squishy truck tires, trying to remain in control on the features and then gap or drop off. Different camera angles and closeups of the same lines provide a feel for what I was trying to do and what the obstacle surfaces look like. I love seeing how the tires distort so severely to wrap around surface irregularities and provide grip (or conversely, push you off balance). Some of these lines are deceptively and annoyingly difficult, but that is the whole point. Repeatedly hitting them over and over in a given session and doing that week after week builds basic balance and control skills.

I also threw in a few drops off a very sketchy stack of pallets at the end of the session. After one miraculous save that somehow kept me from dropping or falling sideways off the pallets, I realized that I was exhausted and getting too sloppy, so I figured I’d call it quits before hurting myself.