Pre-Ride… Re-Ride… FreeRide
Pre-ride, Re-ride, Freeride…. you may have heard this grouping of words before. In the world of mountain biking these words can mean the difference between having the time of your life to having your life being threatened. These words focus on preparing yourself for what is ahead. Allowing for the best opportunity to have that time of your life feeling. Let’s break down this phase so we can fully understand how to use the words as tools for success.
Pre-ride
When we think Pre-ride our focus is to take caution as to what is coming ahead. Pre-riding has many benefits that come from it. You can Pre-ride by riding the trail at a much slower pace than you normally would so you have time to assess on coming features. At RideNWA, our preferred method is to park the bike and walk the trail. This keeps us out of the way of other cyclists that may be on trail.
Line choice is an important technique in mountain biking. Choosing the right line can be a make or break in how your ride feels. While pre-riding you will have the opportunity to apply your line choice to the terrain that you are going to traverse. Which leads us to the next step!
Re-ride
This step does not have to be wrapped up in one go. Re-riding importance is to solidify your comfort on what lies in front of you. This step can be a combination of Pre-riding and Re-riding the trail in segments. Ultimately, once you feel comfortable, the re-riding phase will be complete. Now for the really fun stuff!
Freeride
Here we are, back at the top of the trail getting ready for the full pull. The trail is fresh in mind and lines have been spotted. Even though we are now in Freeride mode we still want to consider the prior two steps. Take all the information from what you just experienced and let it ride!