I seem to be learning new things at a slower rate now. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I've raced five times this year and only have a handful of new tips.

1. Leave room for adjustment in your brake setup. If you've got barrel adjusters (and you should have them somewhere) make sure you start the race with the barrel set in the middle. This way you'll be able to make small adjustments while you ride. If the brakes start rubbing from mud build up, you can let them out a little.

2. If your brake clamps down during a race, check your lever position. This will probably never happen to anyone but me. I started a race with one brake lever slightly loose. After hitting a few bumps while leaning on the hoods, the brake lever slid down the bars and pulled enough cable to apply the brakes. It was awful because the more I struggled, the more I leaned on the hoods. I didn't know what the problem was until after the race.

3. Don't brake in the turns. Thinking that you're going to fast to make the turn is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you brake after entering a turn, especially with the front brake, the bike will have a tendency to drift to the outside of the turn. The more you brake, the less likely you are to make the turn cleanly, until you reach a near stop. Do all of your braking before you enter the turn.

4. Brake hard in the turns. The one exception to the above rule is that you can often get away with using the rear brake in really tight turns if you do it just right. If you're going fast enough and have enough weight on the front wheel, you can often get your rear wheel to break loose and slide around the turn. With some practice you can control this. However, if the rear wheel doesn't slide, it can often result in the drifting to the outside described above.

5. Gravel is like really coarse sand. The rules for riding in sand apply to loose gravel. Keep turning the pedals. Let the bike pick its own line. Unlike sand, there's usually a line on any gravel road where the gravel has been pushed aside and the bare dirt is showing. If you can get that line, obviously take it. If not, you just need to let the bike float. Keep cranking the pedals and focus on staying upright. Try not to turn any more than you have to. Don't try to pick good lines through the gravel if it's piled deep everywhere.

6. Carry more speed into the barriers. You'll hear people say that barriers are all about being efficient, not about being fast, and that's true, but slowing down isn't efficient. Practicing barriers isn't just about dismounting and remounting. You need to get used to the step over and figure out how fast you can do it. You may be surprised to see how fast that is. Practice barriers on a downhill. It will encourage you to go faster. Have you ever run downhill and found yourself going so fast you can't keep your legs coordinated? Ideally, you should go into the barriers just a little slower than that. Go in so fast you can barely keep up with the bike once you're off. If, once you're off the bike, you can accelerate and run faster, you came in too slow. If you hit the barrier and fall on your face, you came in too fast. Muscle memory is critical to this, so practice, practice, practice.