Mountain Bike Skills - Log Ride 101- Riding skinnies & fatties

1 - Wear a helmet & protective gear, ride at your level.  Start small on a wide flattened log that is on the ground.

2 - Before attempting log rides that are higher off the ground you should be VERY comfortable wheelie dropping off the log height.

3 - Gear selection depends on your riding style, and weather the log is flat, uphill or downhill..  For baseline, flat log use middle one, uphill might be granny 2 or 3, downhill middle 2..  If you try and ride a downhill log in granny 2, your wheelie off option will not work so well!!

4 - There are many techniques to log riding, but regardless of the style you choose, you will be fighting the log at some point.. The whole idea is to stay on the log and off the ground.  If you feel your about to veer off the log, either pedal, brake, lean, tighten your abs, do something, just don't do NOTHING!!

5 - LOOK AHEAD!!  Don't look straight down, you will tend to fall..

6 - Some find that pedaling against the brake helps for balance

-Speed is your friend method - Some find that speed helps them to stay on the log, and looking at my physics book, I see that rotational inertia is good, but the high speed also makes for more carnage on log rides gone bad.. 

-Crapper method - Just sit on the seat and stay on the seat the whole way, your relaxed, looks like you just hit the pipe.. 

-Hover method - Keep your ass just above the seat, as you balance you can shift your weight easily..

-Side Kick - Doesn't work for me but Im guessing its a little better if you have flats..

Summary - Our litmus test of log rides cedar 166 shows that a successful run can be accomplished using a variety of techniques, gear ratio's and bikes.  From OBD's hardtail pride monster T in middle 4 to My skinny ass in granny 3..  Relax, start small and build your skills, log riding is addictive and fun..

Frequent Mistakes of first time Log Riders

SAMPLE#1

SAMPLE#2

SAMPLE#3

WHEELIE DROPS GONE BAD.

SAMPLE #1

Dismounting Techniques

1 - Step Off (low log rides only!)

2 - Wheelie off

3 - Ice Pick (my signature bail!)

4 - Jump & twist (flat pedals only)

5 - Pole grab to stripper 360.

Advanced

-FWO to log ride

-Log ride to drop

-Log ride seesaw

-Rear Wheel tracking

-Mandatory Side Hop