1. One-way Riding
Single track mountain biking requires the rider to stay on a prearranged route. No matter what kinds of obstacles have been place on the track, it is the only way you can go. Good, thick tires and a good arsenal of first aid materials are necessary to go on a single track bike trip, no matter how good of a rider you are.
2. Take Care of the Trail
No matter how narrow a trail becomes, you must stay on the track or you can damage the environment that it was built to protect. It is best to practice in narrow ravines and small riding trails before you attempt a single track mountain experience. Riding is typically slower on the narrowest of tracks. You must stay balanced. In deep rutted trails, you have to be careful not to let your pedals scrape along the sides of the trail.
3. Prevent Injury
When an obstacle like a big rock or a patch of small rocks suddenly loom in your path, it can set up the scene for a big fall. Prepare to hit the rocks first by slowing down. Then shift your weight to the back of the seat to take as much pressure off the collision as you can. Use the rear brakes more to lessen the effect on your slowing down. If you can't control the bike enough, then you may have to get off and walk through the tough terrain.
4. Train First
The most avid mountain bikers often say that the only way to train for hill riding is to ride as much as you can. However, most sports trainers insist on cross training for a number of reasons. Top athletes enjoy a variety of competitive and non-competitive activities because they love their sport enough to give it an occasional break. Spot training with weights and isometric exercises build muscle groups that may be weak and hold the rider back from an optimum performance. Also, some areas get little or no workout on the bike and need to be exercised. Finally, most mountain bikers cannot live in a climate that offers year-round perfect riding weather and so they must find indoor activities to keep in shape.
5. Popularity Is Growing
As with many outdoors sports, the more extreme you can make it, the more attention it gets and more people flock to the sport. Single track events go on all over the country now, with short tracks set up for time trials races. Manmade obstacles put the mountain bikers in competition with some real ingenuity. The higher wheelies you can pop and the faster you can get out a spin, the more you may enjoy short single track events.
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