Trail Rider Magazine

on. Proper res make a huge difference! The New England favorite for riding rocks is the Bridgestone M59 front and the Pirelli MT-16 out back. The Vee Rubber VRM 300 and Dunlop AT 81 also do an excellent job. So if you are serious about riding in the rocks, spend the me and money necessary for proper suspension tuning and res. Without those two parts of the equaon in place, you've got a serious uphill bale ahead of you. Once you've got your suspension and re choice worked out, the third part of the equaon is to pracce proper technique. For starters, try and find a rock garden with a smooth entrance and exit. All rock gardens are different and will require you to shi posions on your bike, but it's best to start off by standing with your weight centered on the bike, or in the neutral posi- on. This means that you are not leaning too far over the bars or have your weigh too far back. When you are comfortable going through your pracce secon, work on maintaining an even throle posion, don't gun it or let off. Then, ride it repeatedly at different speeds and using different lines. Let your suspension do what it's supposed to. Stay loose, but not limp, as you are going to get knocked around no maer how good your suspension is. When you get comfortable, you can pick where you want to gas it and make up a lile me. As you gain more confidence, you will want to shi your weight slightly to the rear to keep the front end light. You need to be careful here - don't put too much weight over the back wheel because when the front end is bounc- ing around, you risk being knocked off balance and whiskey-throling the bike. So, stay somewhat neutral unl you are beer at reading the terrain and understanding where to posion yourself on the bike. Also, don't look right at the front wheel, but also don't let someone fool you in to telling you exactly how far to look ahead. Where you are looking varies with speed. As always, me and experience will be the best teachers. May/June 2014 23

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