One of the first skills you will want to master as a new mountain biker is the Ready Position. We will give a brief overview of the ready position and some ways to help you learn and practice!
Breaking Down the Basics of the Ready Position
Level Pedals
Start with leveling your pedals and putting equal weight on both pedals as you lift yourself out of the saddle. Your bum doesn’t get to rest on the seat during the ready position. This will allow for more control, speed, efficiency, safety and range of motion.
Practice Your Neutral Position
Before assuming your true ready position, practice standing on your pedals (we will detail some ways to practice below). This is often referred to as the neutral position, which is great to use in conjunction with your ready position on the trail to give your legs a break. The neutral position is your higher stance, with your legs and arms more extended, just not locked out. You are still staying relaxed, you are just higher to save your legs. Reference the pictures below to understand the difference between your neutral and ready positions.
Bend Your Knees - Get Low
To truly find your ready position on the bike you will want to bend your knees and assume a squat-like position out of the saddle. This will allow the bike to move up and down underneath you and keep you balanced on the bike as you ride. Think of it as getting low and centered.
Finding Your Center
In the ready position it is important that you are centered on your bike. You don’t want to be too far forward where your body position is putting too much weight and pressure on the front end / handlebars of your bike. But you also don’t want to be too far back, leaving you with less control of your bike and hanging off your handlebars.
Bend Your Elbows
But what do you do with your arms? Bend those elbows! This gives you more control and leverage when maneuvering your bike, as well as keeps your upper body strong as you descend or ride technical terrain!
Loosen Your Grip
Keep your fingers wrapped around the bars with your pointer finger covering the brakes. You want to be holding onto the bars, but not gripping them. This is a great time to remember, “heavy feet, light hands”.
Look Up and Ahead
Your ready position is not complete until your head is up and you are looking ahead. Newer riders instinctively look at the ground below or trail beneath. Be mindful to look up and ahead. Your head should be level or parallel to the ground, not tilted down! You can learn more about your vision here.
Below are a few exercises to help you find your center on the bike, learn to level your pedals and practice that ready position.
Level Pedals and Finding Your Center
Find two small boards. We like to use 2x4’s cut down to a size similar to a bike pedal. This will allow you to practice finding your center and identify the correct placement your feet should take on your pedals when riding.
Once you have found the correct placement of your feet, practice bending your knees and lowering into the ready position. Low and centered is the goal. You can feel how unbalanced it feels to lean too far forward or too far back. Practicing this will help you learn your center as well as strengthen those legs! Stay tuned for a future Tech Tuesday where we will suggest exercises to help strengthen your muscles for a stronger ready position.
Lean Your Bike Against a Wall
Find a wall that you can lean your bike against, rest the end of your handlebars to be flush against the wall. While supporting your bike against the wall, get in the saddle. Engage your brakes to keep you in place. You can also lean your elbow against the wall to feel better supported. Practice leveling your pedals, by pedaling backwards (this won’t propel your bike forward). With your pedals level, brakes engaged go ahead and get out of the saddle to your ready position. You can start with standing on your pedals and then lowering yourself to your strong ready position. If you are feeling comfortable you can practice leaning too far forward or backwards to feel and find your true center on the bike!
Practice Riding from Your Neutral to Ready Position
The last great way to learn and master your ready position is to practice while riding, even just around the neighborhood or parking lot. Find an area you can coast comfortably on your bike, then get up out of your saddle into your ready position. You can practice going from your neutral position to your ready position. Remember to keep your head up, keep those elbows out and correctly place your hands on the handlebars and brake with only 1 finger!
To learn more and master your ready position sign up for one of our Fundamentals Clinics in Park City! You will leave ‘ready’ to tackle the trails in your low and centered ready position!