This past weekend, we were lucky enough to sneak in between the rain clouds and get in a ride at one of our local trails. It wasn’t the day we had planned on, but it was still a day out on the dirt and that beats any day in the office. Due to the impending weather, I brought out my Ventana El Terremoto just in case things got muddy. Typically, I do not like to ride review bikes in those kinds of conditions because I don’t want mud ruining components that aren’t mine.

The day started out less than perfect as I pulled up into the parking lot with rain. Luckily, the rain stopped pretty quickly and once we hit the trails…the dirt was in perfect shape. This was very surprising given the amount of rain we had seen in the days preceding and that morning. Everything felt great straight out of the gate as the bike just seemed to float along the trail on its own. Then it happened…

Half way through the first loop of the day, I hit a wall and a large one. All of the sudden, all of that flow I was enjoying on the first part of the lap was completely gone. Every rock and root in the trail started to feel like like it was 8 feet tall and my body was just not cooperating with the bike at all as it bounced uncontrollably over everything. At this point in time, the bike was riding me…I was not riding the bike.

After I pulled through the first lap, we headed back up to the parking lot (this trail is a multiple lap system) to pick up some of the late riders. After some minor adjustments to seat post height, rebound and rear shock compression, I headed out for another blast through the woods. While all of those changes seemed to help, 5 minutes in the same thing started happening. My heart rate started peaking and as the lap progressed…I got worse. At one point, I actually ended up going down on an incredibly easy section of trail because I didn’t have my weight on the bike correctly and the side knobs slipped out from under the bike.

After that lap was done…what did I do? Kept going! That’s right…I was going to beat this ride in whether it liked it or not! The third lap was hideous. Every climb felt like my heart was going to rip out of my chest and my super tread 2.4 tires couldn’t even gain traction. It was crazy…and just one of those days on the trail. Half way through that last lap, I decided to take it easy and play on the fun sections of trail to recover the fun back out of the ride. The plan worked and a friend of mine Kyle and I finished out the ride with at least some fun left out there on the trail.

So what do you do on one of these days?

Everyone gets one of these days every now and then. It is one of those days where you are convinced everything that could go wrong with your bike is going to when…in fact…its the motor that is holding you back. Here are some tips on how to get through one of these frustrating days that I should have listened to better on Sunday.

1. Calm Down – You are still out on the trail and that is better than doing yard work or being at the office. The calmer you stay…the better off you will be. The more you get frustrated and try to just push through it…the worse you are going to make it. Every bump in the trail will start to feel larger and larger with every increase in blood pressure. Take a break if you need to recompose and ride your own ride.
2. Slow Down – Its not a race…ride your own ride and slow down for awhile until you can get things back to normal again. If it is during a race…I feel for you…it’s going to be a long day on the bike.
3. Check Adjustments on the Bike – While it is most likely not the bike that is causing all of your issues, there are several adjustments that can drastically improve your circumstances if they are adjusted correctly. The first place I always check is seatpost height. If your seatpost is too low, you are robbing efficiency out of your legs on the climbs and just making things worse in the long haul. If you are feeling like the bike is bouncing off of every root and rock, slow down the rebound on your shock and see if that helps. After that, check all of your air pressures (tires and suspension) to make sure everything is set where it is supposed to be.
4. Watch Your Weight – No…I don’t mean to pass by the McDonald’s on the way home. How you center your weight on the bike determines how your bike rides on the trail. As you get tired and frustrated, you tend to forget this fact and ride stiff and heavy. Try to concentrate on riding lighter and bring back the flow by loosening up your body while riding.
5. Recover On Slower Sections – Instead of ripping up that next climb hoping that you will have the legs to finish, take it easy and control your heart rate. By taking it easy on sections of trail that have the least amount of fun factor, you are saving energy and patience for sections of trail that you really look forward to.

Simple little tricks like these can turn a long day on the trail back into a stoke filled hammer fest, but it takes stopping a second and analyzing what is happening to start from scratch. Even the best riders in the world have days on the  bike like this, so the most important thing is to remember not to let frustration and anger take over a ride that is supposed to help you get rid of  both.