Gap Jump: The fear

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Gap Jump: The fear
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flag benjii19
Posted: Oct 20, 2014 at 15:03 Quote
I'm after some words of wisdom if that is Ok with you lot. A few weeks ago I went on a flow course which helped my confidence and start to get my wheels off the ground. Something I had always been petrified of.

Fast forward to yesterday when i cleared my first gap, first off i had to fill it in just so i could roll it. Then i slowly started jumping and landing in what would have been the gap. After a few attempts i started chopping away at the jump, after I'd realized i was clearing it. These were little baby steps, but it felt good.

This was as far as I got, I was hitting it with no brakes and clearing a little more but I didn't fancy chopping anymore back in case i freaked myself out too much.

Today, after work I decided to go back and have a go. Something felt different though I was a bag of nerves. I hit it about 6 times but kept braking on the way in...which I know could have ended badly (one of my biggest worries, especially when on you're on your own in the middle of the woods) I was only just clearing it as i kept freaking out with the take off.

http://youtu.be/iasBLkVD5rQ

Any tips on calming myself down and just going for it... i can't figure out how things changed from one day to the next. Do i need to shrink it back or just take a few days off. I have found it to be at the forefront of my mind most of the day.
flag KaylinGray
Posted: Oct 21, 2014 at 7:23 Quote
confidence, handling, confidence. handling. it takes time! sometimes a lot of time Smile not everyone has it straight away so keep at it!

you are doing absolutely fine, honestly, dont worry about doing it good once and not the next. just keep going back and taking it steady. it might take hundreds of attempts but atleast you will get more confident handling your bike.
its great that you record yourself too!!

you are worried about the take off cos as your suspension compresses, it throws you off balance. you and your bike need to be as one. small gaps/jumps (like the one your doing) are fine to just let your bike roll over but as it gets bigger you have to make sure you have absolute control over your bike. imagine being glued to your bars and pedals. riding to it, riding up the ramp and when your in the air and landing. if you and your bike are not as one then you will go one way and your bike the other. when you feel you have better confidence/handling you can eventually use your feet to nudge the back end to straighten up, also tucking the bike under you. having good shoes/pedals will help with the handling/confidence. suspension can play all sorts of mind games when doing gaps/jumps so stiffen it up a bit more for the small ones so it doesnt throw you about so much

keep going back and keep recording vids!

 


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