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Weekly Cycle Tip - Watch Where You're Going

Brenda Carlton | Published on 6/5/2022

Weekly Cycle Tip: Watch Where You’re Going

While it is true that “you never forget how to ride a bike,”there are a lot of skills involved in riding, and many are perishable. Two perishable skills that need regularly refreshing are the “Edge Ride,” and the “Tight U-turn.”

The Edge Ride: This is riding along a road, path, or trail, while placing the bike at the extreme edge of the right of way. Sometimes we will find ourselves in situations where it is necessary to take up the absolute least amount of room on the road or trail and, we do not want to ride off the edge. The technique for this is simple.  The bike will go where you look. Do not look down.  Focus on the exact line you want to take and shift your vision to the farthest point ahead. Maintain speed because speed stabilizes the bike.

The U-Turn:  This takes a little more practice but, is just a variation of the “look where you want to go”.  We want to turn our head into the turn and focus on the track that we want to follow. The eyes should always be on the roadaheadof where the bike is now.


Mountain bikers have this adage: 

See the tree, look at the tree,hitthe tree.

See the rock, look at the rock,hitthe rock.

You’re going where you’re looking so, don’t look where you don’t want to go.