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    The Secret to Switchbacks

    When you’re first starting out mountain biking, there are the basics to learn—to look ahead, body position, braking—and then there’s the biggest, but most rewarding, headache of them all: Switchbacks. Here are some basics, plus a switchback primer, to get you rolling that singletrack with confidence.

    Las Nuevas Chicas Lo Saben Hacer

    El Secreto de Switchbacks

    Switchbacks – Tambien conocidos como giros de más de 90 grados. Cuando te topas con uno por primera vez, su sola visión puede dar un vuelco a tu cerebro y retorcer tu confianza como un trapo mojado lleno de sudor nervioso. Arriba o abajo, pueden ser una de las cosas más desalentadoras cuando eres nuevo en el ciclismo de montaña. Puede que sientas cierto temor ante la posibilidad de meter la pata, pero como decimos en el Manifiesto Worth It: "Reconoce pero no consientas los miedos". Así que sí, miedo, te vemos, pero aceptamos el reto del switchback, ¡así que pongamos nuestros cerebros y cuerpos en marcha y hagámoslo!

    "En caso de duda, dale una oportunidad."

    Kate Courtney

    Pre-ride checklist:

    1. Are you trail ready?
      Do you have everything you need for an awesome time on the bike? Flat kit? Snacks and hydration? A friend? While the impulse is high to go out and ride solo just so no-one sees you make mistakes, a ride buddy can be the ultimate encouragement for a beginner. Not only can they help you out if you get stuck—you can learn from each other.

    2. Got that "look ahead" mantra?
      If there’s one key thing to train your eyes to do, it’s look ahead, not down at your front wheel, as you ride. This can be a hard habit to break when you’re new, but remember that your brain is a super smart hunk of matter, and it can fill in the gaps between where you’re looking and what’s passing beneath you. You can also see, and prepare for, obstacles well in advance when you look ahead.

    3. Is "Fun" your middle name?
      This goes without saying, but just in case you’ve forgotten, this should be fun. You can’t have a blast without igniting your good vibes boosters, so make having fun the order of the day.

    "El aprendizaje comienza en 3, 2, 1...."

    Habilidad No.1:

    Descenso En Una Curva

    En el vídeo que encabeza este artículo, la ciclista profesional de montaña Kate Courtney se centra principalmente en el switchback cuesta abajo, pero cuesta arriba utiliza los mismos principios con un par de detalles añadidos. Pero primero, el descenso. En primer lugar, adopta la "posición de ataque" (que se explica a continuación) cuando te aproximes al zigzag cuesta abajo y recuerda: algunos de los pasos de esta lista se darán al mismo tiempo.

    Frena Pronto

    Cuando te acerques, observa bien la curva y controla la velocidad antes de tomarla. La velocidad es la clave: no conviene entrar demasiado rápido. Cuando hayas pasado el punto más cerrado de la curva, suelta los frenos y mantén la velocidad.

    Lead with Your Shoulders

    Lean the bike into the corner and point your shoulders towards where you want to go—let them lead the way.

    Look Where You Want to Go

    Look where you want your wheels to go, not where you’re afraid they’re going to end up. As you enter the turn, look "through" it and to the exit of the switchback. Where the eyes lead, the bike and body follows. Remember: You control your bike—it doesn’t control you—and in this case, your eyes lead the way.

    Stay Loose

    You want to be loose in the upper body and keep your hands "light" to give you more freedom to move around on your bike and maintain your position above it as you tackle the corner. See Attack Position below.

    "TÉRMINO TRAIL: SESIÓN El acto de recorrer el mismo sendero una y otra vez con el fin de superarlo con confianza y perfeccionar tus habilidades."

    What About an Uphill Switchback?

    A lot of the above tips are still relevant, such as Stay Loose, Lead with your Shoulders, Take a Wide Line, and Look Where You Want to Go. But let’s add “Maintain Your Momentum” and two other tips.

    1. Shift Early
      Observe the corner as you’re coming towards it. Hmm, what sort of gear will get you up that? You want to go all Goldilocks on this one: Not too hard that you’ll stall and have to put your foot down, and not too easy or you’ll spin like a maniac. You want jusssst right.

    2. Lean Forward
      You’ll want to lean forward and hold your chest closer to the bar—how close will depend on the steepness. It shifts your weight forward to increase traction.

    Last words: As with all things mountain biking, practice makes perfect, so if you find a good switchback that doesn’t have a high penalty for messing it up, “Session” it until you’ve nailed it.

    Habilidad No.2:

    Adoptar la Posición de Ataque

    irás hablar mucho a los ciclistas de montaña sobre la posición de ataque, y no es lo que piensas. La posición de ataque es una posición corporal fundamental, fuera del sillín, en el ciclismo de montaña. Hagamos una comparación. Cuando estás sentado y pedaleando, tienes mucha estabilidad, pero cuando estás de pie, lo que sacrificas en estabilidad lo compensas con creces en maniobrabilidad. La mayoría de las posiciones del cuerpo fuera del sillín tienen su piedra angular en la posición de ataque, por lo que es una habilidad clave que hay que aprender. Aquí está Kate Courtney con una demostración rápida, y hemos añadido algunos consejos rápidos a continuación para ayudarte a asumir la Posición de Ataque.

    Attack Positon sounds aggressive, but as you can see in this video, it actually makes a whole lotta sense. When cats are ready to pounce, they’re light on their feet, nimble, and ready for anything—and that pretty much sums up this body position. It doesn’t matter if you’re Kate Courtney charging down the trail in an XC race or a weekend warrior out to have a blast, everyone uses this body positon. Do as Kate does in this video and practice it on some sloping trail with gentle corners to experiment with balancing and moving your body around your bike.

    Quick Tips:

    1. Cowgirl Up
      Keep your knees bent, relaxed, and wide, which will give you room to move the bike between them as you make turns. Of course, this is also called the "cowboy position," but it doesn’t matter—either way we’re riding this thing.

    2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Ninja
      Get out of the saddle with your weight in your feet. This goes hand-in-hand with the Cowgirl stance, and it makes carving a corner as simple as leaning the bike and shifting weight from one foot to the other (dropping the outside pedal and inside bar—see 3).

    3. ‘Bows Out, Hands Light
      Don’t strangle your grips—keep your hands light and easy—and your elbows bent and relaxed. Your arms and hands are the captains of your handlebars, leaning your bike this way and that with mind-blowing dexterity. Can you feel it?

    4. Focus
      When you’re in this positon, you’re in high alert. You’re absolutely ready for whatever’s coming up ahead on that trail, whether it be a swooping corner and sharp switchback, you’re on it.

    Got Your Switches Brew Badge Yet?

    Worth It Will Do

    Nailing switchbacks—both up and down—is a triumph. The more you practice, the better you get, and pretty soon, you'll be whizzing around corners and controlling your bike as magically as a witch on her broomstick. That’s why we make the Switches Brew Badge as part of our Worth It Will Do bucket list—a list of 35 skills and goals to master throughout the year.

    Go get yours, and download the full list, plus corresponding badges, here. We’ve even made some animated gifs of these badges for your Instagram stories, which you can read about here.