Things You'll Need:
- Mountain bike
- Helmet
- Knee pads (optional)
-
Step 1
If you are new to mountain biking, start on fairly easy trails, such as fire roads with gentle hills. These trails help you get used to the feeling of riding on dirt or rock. Practice shifting through the gears, so you'll know which way to shift when you're climbing a long, steep hill or trying to build speed going downhill.
-
Step 2
If you are using clipless pedals (i.e., the bicycle shoe attaches to the pedal), practice clipping in and out while pedaling on flat surfaces.
-
Step 3
To simulate some of the obstacles you will encounter while mountain biking, ride over the cement blocks found at the front of parking spaces. Be sure to have enough speed to get over them; lift your body slightly off the seat and push your hips back over the seat. Keep your body relaxed and use your legs as springs to minimize the impact.
-
Step 4
Ride your mountain bike down a set of stairs, if you can find stairs that are wide and not very steep. Sometimes parks will have wooden stairs that work well. (Only ride on stairs if it is not prohibited by park rules or other laws.) Any time you are riding downhill and the terrain is less than smooth, keep your pedals parallel to the ground to prevent hitting a pedal on the ground or on an obstacle.
-
Step 5
Always look where you want to go and not at what you want to avoid. You'll almost always ride right over the object you are looking at.
-
Step 6
To ride through a tight switchback, start wide and look beyond the bend as soon as possible. Looking far ahead will help to straighten out the bike and get you back onto the center of the trail.
