Bicycling: Tips and Techniques

How to Hold a Straight Line on a Bicycle

Your ability to keep a line is mostly a psychological. If you do not believe you can keep a line in a tight pack or think you will hit an obstacle when trying to follow a line through rocks and roots, that is likely what will happen.

The ability to pick out a line is the result of lots of practice. The more you practice, the more types of lines you will be able to ride.

Road Bike: When riding in a pack (i.e. with friends) do not get "hypnotized" by the tire in front of you. If you do, you will become less observant of your surroundings and a crash is an almost certain result. Instead:

Keep looking ahead and to the sides.
Watch other riders and see how they are reacting to the terrain. You will not only learn a lot -- you will pick up on problems earlier and stay in the pack.
Look for hand signals. Talk with other riders before starting the ride and learn what the hand signals are. Use them yourself if you are riding point and see something worth noting.

Mountain bike: A good line on the trail saves energy and ensures a good ride. By not doubling back after bungled turns or trying to clear unnecessary obstacles, your ride may become something of a Zen experience. Riders often speak of how they dropped into the "Zone" -- a place where no move is wasted, when everything seems effortless and happens as if it were meant to be.

The scan method is the best way to pick out a good line.

Move your eyes from immediately in front of you to about 15 feet up the trail and back. Also look from one side of the trail to the other.
Get a look at the lay of the land. As you become experienced you will quickly note the rocks you can clear or the best approach to a wet root.
Focus on the line you have picked out and stay with it.
Do not look at obstacles. They should be a thought in the back of your mind and nothing more.
Concentrate on the line; determine to stay on it. Once you have cleared a tricky part of the line, start scanning for the next part.

Try This: Take a roll of kite string or yarn and lay it out on an open lot or wide, grassy field. As you lay it out, make broad turns and sharp turns and even switchbacks. Get a stopwatch and time yourself as you ride the course. The important thing is to stick to the line, not to ride fast. Now, try to reduce the time it takes you to ride the course by 20%, then 30%. See just how fast you can ride it.

For the next session, go to a favorite trail and pick out the best line over a tricky part of the trail. Now lay the string down over the line and practice as you did above. As you become more experienced, try more difficult lines. Do it when you are fresh, ready and alert, before you ride a whole trail. Master the good line and then you can work on endurance.

top of page