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"driving techniques" lessons of Gary Semix " Chapter 3.
Terrain and conditions [Examples of what Mother Nature offers]
Chapter 3.
Terrain and conditions [Examples of what Mother Nature offers]
It is very likely that while riding, you will encounter different types of terrain You will drive on sand, clay, stones, mud, grass, water, reinforced concrete and soft ground, through fords, on tree roots and so on, plus all this at different angles at different speeds under all kinds of weather conditions.
Add to all of the above temperature, humidity, snow, rain, wind - everything that nature can bring down on you, and you will get an infinite number of obstacles.
The variety of terrain is exactly what makes riding so exciting; one of the most interesting activities is finding and conquering new obstacles
The general rule is: never drive beyond your capabilities, especially in unfamiliar terrain.
Motocross and supercross offer harsh man made obstacles, and nature is replete with natural traps that you will fall into if you drive faster than you really can.
Therefore, it is extremely important that you have enough space to stop if you see something ahead that can lead to injury.
Be especially careful when riding in a new place.
First, study it at a moderate speed, feel confident before you gas up.
Below are examples of what you may encounter.
Caked dirt
When a certain type of dirt dries up in the sun, a cracked crust forms on top.
And although it usually easily breaks into pieces and provides a normal grip, sometimes it can be quite slippery, especially when braking or turning.
It all depends on its thickness.
If it is large, then the caked pieces can slide on the ground under them.
Treat them with caution.
Caked dirt creates a good design, but it can be extremely dangerous.
From moderate pressure, it usually breaks, but sometimes it still withstands the weight of the motorcycle and begins to slide on the ground
Barbed wire
Where there is barbed wire, there is a danger of riding a motorcycle.
It can puncture a tire, get tangled in motorcycle parts, or knock you out of the saddle.
It is extremely difficult to notice it, so rely on your own feelings and pay attention to everything that can suggest that the barbed wire is nearby.
Pay attention to its fragments lying on the ground, be careful when riding near farms or other objects of private property.
A strip of fence posts is usually accompanied by barbed wire.
Always make sure that there is no barbed wire nearby.
It is almost invisible, even at low speed, and farmers and other owners of private property love to use it to mark borders
Bushes
Most bushes are harmless, but be careful.
They can hide a stone the size of a football or a pit.
Some bushes are strong enough to knock you out of the saddle when you try to drive through them.
Cacti
If your hands look like they've been in a cheese grater, then you've encountered a cactus.
In contrast to what is usually shown in the movies, cacti do not always look threatening.
In fact, at the time of flowering, most cacti look completely harmless.
But if you are planning to ride in a desert area, find out how these plants look and what they are before they make holes in you.
Lianas are notable for the fact that they can tear a rider off a motorcycle.
As a rule, they are difficult to notice, because they grow mainly in shaded places.
Beware of those that hang from the trees, and those that creep on the ground
Descents
Even when you are ready to descend, it is extremely difficult to control a motorcycle on it.
Braking is not so easy, and in the face of a twenty meter cliff, you can also get lost.
Everything will get worse if the descent becomes a surprise for you.
So, when riding in places with a height difference, be extremely careful.
Cliffs
This obstacle usually takes riders by surprise, because they do not follow the terrain closely enough.
If you donot see land in the distance, donot expect that it is necessarily there.
On the contrary, slow down to a safe speed and carefully approach the suspicious place.
Dust
If it's dusty, donot drive blindly.
Slow down or stop completely somewhere away from the track (staying in the middle of a dusty track is a great way to commit suicide).
If you are participating in a race, it may be wise to move off the main road (if it is safe), since dust often rises from under the wheels of another rider in a narrow corridor.
Fog
Treat fog the same way as you treat dust.
Slow down to a safe speed or, if necessary, stop completely.
Fog can reduce visibility to zero, creating some of the most dangerous conditions for skiing.
Grass
Being dry, the grass provides a good grip, but when wet, it becomes incredibly slippery.
Treat the wet grass like ice: stay relaxed, smoothly write turns, be ready for the breakdown of any of the wheels.
Larks, be careful: the morning dew significantly moisturizes the grass.
Gravel
Mark the gravel for yourself, riding on it is similar to riding on marble.
He may look harmless, but do not underestimate his ability to ferry you from a motorcycle to the ground.
Again, stay relaxed and enter the turn a little more carefully.
Note that aggressive gas in the gravel is a good way to tear the edges of the checkers on your fresh rear tires.
Reinforced concrete ground
This type of terrain is usually characterized by a very poor grip, which makes acceleration, braking and cornering a little more difficult than usual.
It seems that there is nothing special that you should pay attention to, but always remember that you can always get injured, regardless of what you are doing and how safe the conditions seem.
On such a surface, tires can create a huge difference.
Special models for hard ground have larger side checkers, and their composition improves the grip and allows you to ride with more confidence.
Ice
Pay close attention to places where there is ice, because if you meet it, you will most likely find yourself on the ground.
Avoid not only ice on standing water, but also frozen ground, there is also a bad hook on it.
At a cold temperature, the earth freezes and turns into a rock hard surface, with almost no hook.
Trelleborg ice tires or our own tires with metal spikes give a surprisingly good grip on the ice, although they will also slip a little on the frozen ground.
Jumping
The flight may be unexpected, but always be sure that you know in advance what the landing zone is like.
Jumping in enduro can be especially treacherous, you can fly off a cliff or land in a giant pile of boulders.
Animals
Always be careful when riding near animals.
They are completely unpredictable and are a potential threat.
Loam
The soft, slightly moist earth, called loam, is one of the best surfaces known to off road racers.
The hook is good, the motorcycle will perfectly write trajectories and shoot out of turns.
These near ideal conditions can lead to overconfidence, so be careful (but have fun).
Logs
Logs on the trail are an obstacle that has passed through the centuries, appeared long before your parents were first visited about the birth of a child.
Techniques for passing logs are described in the chapter on enduro.
If the size of the log exceeds your skill, just stop and drag the motorcycle through it.
Mines
In some parts of the country, the mines brought considerable profit, today, however, many of them are abandoned.
If you are riding in places known for rich deposits of gold or other minerals, be prepared for an encounter with open pit mines.
A characteristic sign of their presence is a large mountain of land on an even place.
Mud
There is nothing more disgusting than dirt, its ability to cause trouble to riders is incredible.
Mud slows down the pace and spoils the equipment.
Dirt sticks to your motorcycle in a thick layer and increases its weight.
Dirt kills the stars, chain and brakes.
To ride on mud, make the suspension a little harder, reduce the gear ratio by one or two teeth.
And be a little more conservative in driving.
Dirt is the most unpleasant surface of all that you will encounter, and therefore requires special attention.
In addition to the preparation of glasses, which you learned from the first chapter, there are a number of other things that should be done to make the motorcycle survive
Rain
Rain creates a lot of all kinds of problems, but most of all off road racers are upset by the difficulties associated with the deterioration of the view.
Keep in mind that the rain quickly turns the ground into extremely slippery mud.
Rain ruts
Beware of rain ruts, they are always fraught with risk.
If the wheel gets into such a rut, it may be difficult to get it out of there.
If it is necessary to cross the rain track, try to do it at a right angle, and, if conditions allow, on the rear wheel.
This will allow you not to worry that the front wheel will get stuck somewhere in the depths of the track or that the track will knock you off the original direction.
In the mud, the brake pads are erased simply with amazing speed.
The most common way to deal with this is to use solid brake discs
Victims of the road
Pay attention to the dead animals lying like giant boulders on the road.
If you crash into such an animal, you can lose control of the controls or go through the steering wheel.
If a collision is unavoidable, pull back a little and give the gas to unload the front wheel.
Stones
The absolute density of the stones determines the need to try to avoid meeting with them.
It should be fairly obvious that if you hit a rock, it will cause huge damage to both you and your motorcycle.
If you need to cross a scattering of stones, make sure not to run over a sharp edge that can pierce your wheel.
Sand
The nature of the sand makes it difficult to set and maintain the pace, so you should treat sand trails with respect.
When possible, try to stay away from deep sand, as it can get stuck in it, besides, in such conditions, many engines overheat.
The sandy terrain is very interesting for many reasons.
When the sand is dry, it is difficult to find a hook on traditional tires, but when it is wet, it is easy
Snow
And although a snow blanket may look harmless, many dangerous obstacles can hide under it, such as rocks, roots, logs, branches.
Be careful, as it is very difficult to turn, accelerate and brake in the snow, especially when it is more than half a foot deep.
Keep in mind that there may be ice under the snow.
Professionals advise
Guy Cooper " Put burdocks on the steering wheel to keep the handles clean.
You may be surprised how much dirt flies out from under the wheels of other racers"
Tommy Norton "In the mud, I usually wear tires for driving on sand, it seems that they work best"
Ty Davis " Dirt easily wears out the chain and the stars, so make sure that the chain is properly configured.
For this very reason, I recommend using a chain with an O ring"
Rick Souma "Keep an eye on the chain lock.
They donot live in the mud for a long time"
Guy Cooper "Occasionally take a look so that there is not too much dirt on the radiators, otherwise the motorcycle will overheat"
Rick Souma " Treat all electronic contacts with a water repellent spray, and the ignition with silicone to avoid water getting inside.
It is a good idea to insulate the base of the candle cap"
Ty Davis "When it's really wet, and you're driving on rocks, then beware of flat wheels.
Too much of a wet rear wheel axle can easily lead to a problem, so I usually use thickened cameras"
Rick Souma "I treat the lower part of the wings with silicone so that dirt does not stick there"
Trees
When driving near trees, for obvious reasons, meetings with them should be avoided.
Remember that most of the trees will not budge.
Tree roots
The rigid nature of tree roots makes them a very difficult obstacle, especially if they are hidden.
When riding near trees, keep track of the roots sticking out of the ground, as they can cause confusion in the management and deprive you of control of the motorcycle.
Many leading racers use highly porous foam rubber to cover everything where dirt can clog.
The idea is to prevent dirt from increasing the weight of the motorcycle.
According to Fred Bramblett, a mechanic at Scott Summers, if you do not take the right actions, dirt can add more than 20 kg to the weight of a motorcycle
Ascents
Most climbs are not dangerous, but difficulties may arise due to changing the surface, especially when driving on soft ground.
Take, for example, sand.
If you have the gas open to the end, the rear wheel is fairly skidding, and you suddenly go out on a rocky area, then you can have serious trouble as soon as the wheel finds a hook.
Lianas
Maybe you will happen to meet lianas, and maybe not – it all depends on where you drive.
Regardless of this, keep in mind that they tend to tear the rider off the motorcycle by the legs, by the arms, by the neck depending on what they can catch on to.
Some vines can be easily torn, others will be strong (like a steel cable) and will punish you if you do not take them seriously.
Water barriers
When it is necessary to overcome a water barrier, look for the smallest and narrowest place for this.
As a basic rule: it is not recommended to cross any section of water if you do not see the bottom, or someone who would cross it, or if there is no absolute certainty that the attempt will be successful.
Remember that water can be extremely harmful to your motorcycle, especially if it gets sucked into the engine.
For more information, see chapter 11 of this book.
Perhaps one of the most significant actions when setting up a motorcycle is to make sure that the air filter chamber is sufficiently isolated.
If water gets into your engine, it will create a big bunch of problems there
Wind
The dust never raised brought joy to either motocross athletes or endurists.
The wind makes it extremely difficult to control the motorcycle, you will notice that you will constantly make too strong compensating movements, especially with powerful gusts of wind.
You will not be able to avoid the wind, and in most cases you will have to slow down or risk being knocked out of the saddle by something invisible.
Terrain and conditions
1.
Never drive beyond your capabilities
2.
Always look ahead for impending obstacles and signs that portend danger
3.
Always be sure that the speed is safe enough so that you can safely slow down if there is an error in the assessment of the terrain
4.
Obstacles are not only rocks, trampolines, trees, cacti, water, and so on.
There are also other racers, cars, animals (alive and dead), barbed wire, evil landowners – everything that can harm you
09 Jan 2006 23: 15
"driving techniques" lessons of Gary Semix " Chapter 3.
Terrain and conditions [Examples of what Mother Nature offers]
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