Mountain Biking - Riding Techniques

Last ride was awful in the dismounting/falling category. Any advice on the following situations to ride them better.
1) A creek, 10 cm water, sand (not mud), and a few rocks which can't be seen.
2) A 2m uphill, very steep, large roots
3) A downed log in the trail, followed by a smaller log just the right distance to stick your front wheel and endo

Thanks
-Panoram Jazzman

Ride faster!

Really, a lot of these obstacles can be easily overcome by riding through them with more speed. The faster you travel the more forward momentum you carry. This is usually enough to keep you going up and over even through obstacles.

Climbing is a special technique unto itself. Especially with a quick verticle little root infested climb.

Too tired to detail that tonight.

L8R

The uphill is definitely a momentum thing. However, unweighting is also effective on roots. On streams, I go slow and rely on balance which I practice. Suggest you get Ned Overend's book and/or his video (Amazon). Very well done, very readable instructional material and covers your issues. I have both, but the book is more detailed and a better value.

Al

On technical uphill let the bike bounce around under you while maintaining your pedal stroke. Also don't be fooled into throwing into too easy a gear. The more torque you can maintain the better.

Otherwise obstacles are all about moving your body around and weighting and unweighting at the right time.No real way to explain. This is a practice type situation. The more speed the easier it will be.

practice,practice,practice.I hate the tree thing.the only way I have ever gotten over that situation is speed ,lean back on the rear wheel so the front end can go over and not the rider over the bars,then lean normal once the front wheel is clear.creeks are a matter of depending on the bottom.you said it was sand covering rocks?speed and practice again here too.climbing is all about balance.too far forward you lose traction and end up walking,too far back and you do a wheelie and maybe end up on your butt.I have found this to be the best way to see if my bike fits me(climb a steep hill)as well as practice here too.tires can make a difference on your climb also.what pressure do you run?

Not knowing what's immediately ahead on the trail is part of the fun of riding IMO. Once you "learn" every root, and name all the rocks it becomes boring very quickly. I try to ride my local trails backwards, tied together with constantly changing order. That way the dozen or so trails that I usually ride seem to stay fairly new to me, even after many years.

I do not know where you reside xtreme but here in va. the last couple of years the trails seem to have new obstacles each day due to storms,hurricanes,ice storms etc.on the 2nd run thru my ride today my backpack nearly got pulled off by a tree that was not there on my first run thru.knocked the crap out of my water filter.

I love knowing the trail. Thats when you try to go really fast. I like new trails but I love what I know...

I love knowing the trail. Thats when you try to go really fast. I like new trails but I love what I know...
I agree. I love to watch my progression from the first time I rode at a trail to now. It's amazing how much faster I can go, and how much easier I can clear the obstacles.

Last ride was awful in the dismounting/falling category. Any advice on the following situations to ride them better.
2) A 2m uphill, very steep, large roots

Thanks
-Panoram Jazzman

Before riding it, make sure it's ridable! Watch others do it, to see how they hit it, position their bodies, and their speed. Usually, speed helps, as others have stated. If the roots are too big, you don't want to be pedalling if your pedals will hit the roots. If that's the case, go in using a mid-to mid-high gear and stutter-pedal if necessary. I find myself staying off the saddle and light as I hit the root (if there's one) then shifting my weight forward somewhat as my back tire clears it. I don't look down at the obstacle after I commit- it scares me! I look ahead to what I'm going to have to deal with next, which also helps me maintain my balance.