I regularly switch between my road and mountain bike. I threw a leg over the mtb yesterday and went to the trails. As soon as I left the pavement all bets were off. I was skittish.  I couldn't handle the bike, it felt like I was going to kill myself. Then I realized something... I'm riding a Mountain bike, not a skinny tire Road bike. Ride it like a mountain bike, don't worry about all the dirt, rocks, and roots. Point it and go, it is made to go over just about anything in your way.


Riding on the road you are always looking for the smoothest lines devoid of potholes, glass, rocks, cracks, dirt, and gravel. People are always pointing out things to avoid, on the road it is straight out point to point speed. Railing turns on a two centimeter patch of rubber requires a tuned ride and skill on the part of the rider. It is fairly mindless work to ride the road, without too much bike-to-rider interface. Grip it and Rip it.

When you are accustomed to riding on the road and the handling characteristics of a road bike, switching to the mountain can sometimes be a shock to the system. MTbikes will eat just about anything you throw at them, they are perfectly capable machines. Sometimes the rider is the problem with why the bike will not do what it is told. I tried yesterday to ride my mtbike like a road bike, until I realized what I was doing. Once I got "right" with my bike everything worked itself out.

Picking lines is an art form, and sometimes the smoothest line is the roughest looking. I always say "flow" everything has to flow like water. Water is said to take the path of least resistance, tell that to class V rapids. In respect to rocks, water does not always go around them, sometimes it goes over them. Such is life on a mtbike, you can't always go around the rocks, and sometimes it is best to go over them.


So whenever you find yourself faced with rocks in life or out on the trail...just "flow".