Cleaning Your Bladder

• Another Way to clean you hydration bladder is to put some baking soda and plain old rice in it. Shake it up real good and the rice and Baking soda will scrub that baby clean. Then bend a coat hanger straight up and down and shove it in the mouth of the bladder. That will speed up the drying process and stop mold from growing in your nice clean bladder.

Carrying all the Right Equipment

• When riding with a group not everyone needs to carry the same stuff,but make sure to have at least one back up for everything the group and ride should affect what is needed. You'll find a small group with some planning can get through almost anything.

Wheelies

• Key to riding wheelies Stay seated, in a moderately low gear, give a burst of power pedaling whal jerking up on your handlebars. Now that your front wheel is up, here come the real secret, how to keep it up. It's simple, and the key is the use of the back brake. Feathering it keeps you from falling back and coming down. Good Luck! One more essential is good balance, which your body can aquire from lots of practice.

Riding a Drop

• When going off a huge drop, dont just ride straight off. You have two options, you can either come really fast to it and do a tiny pop of of the edge. If you are going slow just whellie off (go up to it and do a whellie) On the landing on either of these techniches on the land ing you have to absorb the landing and bend your knees and arms.

Chainstay Slap

• I have found that handlebar tape works well on your bottom chainstay to prevent gauges from chain slap or other mishaps that might damage your frame. Make sure the stay is clean and thoroughly dry and just wrap the tape around it, making sure that it has a tight seal with the frame to prevent moisture from entering.

Want Sealed Cables?

• Ever want sealed cables? If you have a glue gun their yours. These work best on the exposed end, rear brake cablelike I have. You could still use them on others though. Simply put a genourous glob of the glue ALL around the part where it meets the housing or cable stop.

Twisty Grips

• When adding new grips to a pair of handlebars, use a little of your sister's hairspray on the inside of the grips before putting them on to make sure they are attached to the handlebars nice and secure. If you do a lot of riding in wet conditions or in the mud and find that the hairspray isn't doing the trick, use some spraypaint on the inside of the grips. First, completely clean and dry both the handlebars and the inside of the grips. Then spray paint the inside of the grips with your favorite color (to match the your handlebar color). Then slide the grips on the handlebars and there you have it! No more twisty grips!

 Fresh Breath & Fresh Water Bottles

• After your ride dump mouth wash in your water bottle. You won't have that musty old water taste next time you ride, and your friends will like you better with out your retched breath.

Adjusting the Brakes Perfectly

• To quickly adjust the toe-in on both new brake pads and when re-adjusting the pads already on your bike, place a penny between the front edge of the pad and the wheel, and a nickle between the rear edge of the pad and the wheel. Tighten down the pads and allow the coins to fall from between the pad and the wheel. Now you have great pad to wheel clearance as well as a properly adjusted toe-in.

Climbing in Loose Terrain

• When riding an uphill trail with lots of loose sand (yes, the stuff that makes your wheel spin while you are not moving), follow a straight line, avoid too much steering ( this will cause your front wheel to bite the sand and will leave you eating the dirt), and try to get as much leaves, branches and whatever comes your way under your tires to increase your grip.

Taking Care of Your Spokes

• I have a problem with breaking my spokes when riding on overgrown trails. It gets to be a real pain in the butt when they begin to flop around when I ride. What I do is wrap a small piece of safety wire around the spokes where they cross, in order to ke ep them from flopping around, and doing some serious damage. It also seems to keep the spokes from breaking as easy.

Keeping a Straight Line

• Having trouble following a straight line while climbing? If you swerve on climbs, you are probably looking down at your front wheel or in that vicinity. This is a no-no. This is the cause of your swerving. You must always look up the length of the tr ail and follow this long track of sight, which allows your bike to follow a long, straight line, instead of short lines of alternating directions. Also keep your arms and hands relaxed and they will follow your line of sight. this advice has been benefi cial to every biker I have shared it with. Always look up-trail when climbing!