Poll: Best advice

[Wendy]

Hold your body up with your core muscles (only they weren't called "core muscles" at the time), and you'll feel an obvious difference in the power going to your pedals.

[bcipam]

I've gotten lots of good advice over the years but most recently... to relax and take a rest while climbing up hills. OK what does that mean? It means use your low gears, start out slowly and comfortably and once you hit a nice cadence, pick it up slowly. Near the top you shuld have enough left to stand and dash (or on a mountain bike, pick up the cadence and push). I used to rush the hills and peter out towards the top. No more!!! I used to avoid hills and now I seek them out. I eat hills for breakfast!

[yellow]

Draw a circle with your toe.

I think about this when I'm in a particularly tough climb or otherwise feeling puny. I think it works because it forces me to really focus on that one image (and motion) and I find that I usually end up going a little faster without extra effort.

[amg]

road: learning about drafting

mtb: stand up and pedal in technical sections

Abarensfield7, if it's really wet and your mtbing on wet roots, letting a little bit of pressure out of your tires will give you more grip. Not enough to pinch flat, just enough to give you a little more tread on the roots.

[JanT]

Mountain Biking: When faced with a difficult part of a trail: Do, or Do Not. In other words, make a decision to ride it fully committed, or get off and walk it. It's when I am hesitant that I am likely to wreck.