- (Woman) You know the feeling, you've picked a time to meet your buddy at the trailhead. You're going to head out on a sick lap, but they're late again. So instead of twiddling
your thumbs, cursing them in the back of your head, use this time wisely, brush up on some car park skills
'cause they're gonna be really helpful when you
finally do hit the trails. And if nothing else, you'll impress them with your insanely long wheelies and your super balanced track stamps. Lucky for me, Tom
Bradshaw is on time today, so while we wait for Jason
to finish doing his hair and meet us out here, let's
play around in the car park. - We've even got the flat pedals on today to keep us really honest. (mellow music) - First up, we've got
the front wheel lift. Now, most people can't
remember the last time they actually practiced a
front wheel lift in a car park. And why would you? Well, because they're actually
very helpful when it comes to on trail riding,
lifting your front wheel up and over obstacles like roots and rocks. It's going to make a huge difference if you actually practice. Now, once you've mastered this
little stick we've got here jumping over, maybe level up, take it to a speed bump or a curb. Things that help me when
I'm doing front wheel lifts is to keep your body
in a nice neutral position. Maybe just a little bit
forward with the body weight, compress into the fork, and
then lift up that front wheel. (mellow music) - All right, now you've
nailed the front wheel lift. Let's go for a rear wheel lift. Now out on trail, you're going to use this
on a technical climb. Maybe when you come to a
slippery rock or route, instead of pedaling up that feature, try and wait to get
that rear wheel over it. So here in the car park, you
can sit your body position, drop your heels, and hop on over like you
did with that front wheel. - Find a little pro tip, especially if you have flat
pedals, don't forget to scoop. Otherwise, you're literally just jumping up and down on the platforms. (mellow music) Moving on to the ever popular wheelie, it's a bit of a complementary move to that front wheel
lift we've already done, but this move is really important
when you're out on trail, you're seated, pedaling, and you got to get that front
wheel up and over an obstacle. Things that help when I'm practicing my wheelies are to remember to start in an easy gear, but not too easy. Keep those arms extended out in front of you and keep your chest nice and open. - Now I'm no wind master, but
I always have my rear brake on when I'm doing a wheelie. That allows me to control how far back and forward I'm going
and lets me shut it down if I'm going to loop out backwards. (mellow music) Possibly the safest thing to practice in the parking lot, skinnies. Someone's kindly painted a bunch of practice lines for us here. And if you're like me, and terrified of the high
wooden consequences on trail, here's a perfect place to start. - Now, if Tom's skinny is
just a little too skinny for you, a little intimidating, I've chosen this awesome
little speed bump here. It's quite a bit wider,
but with the round on top it's going to feel a bit more like you're on an elevated skinny. And what I actually do is
I drop my seat post just a tiny little bit, so
it's not fully extended, and that way you've got a
bit more room to move around. Oh god, eyes up. Ground is lava. Ground is lava. (mellow music) One skill I do actually
enjoy practicing a lot are track stands. This little technique comes in hand quite often out on the trail and is really helpful in
improving your balance. For example, if you're
coming up to a big rock roll and you just want to stop and pause at the top to check out your line choice, and then just nose on in. To keep your wheels from
rolling all around the car park, try locking your brakes up. It's going to keep the bike
in one stable position. Either both brakes, front or rear, doesn't really matter
but it is going to help. - (Tom) If you need some motivation to practice a track stand, just think about the next time
you're at the traffic lights and there's that pack of roadies there. Give them a run for their
money or turn it into a game. A bit of a game of foot
down, pick an area, find a mate, whoever puts
their foot down first loses. (mellow music) - Now what I always say
is practice your strengths and strengthen your weaknesses. For me personally, the stoppie's
a little bit of a weakness, but I could always use more
practice because I've been on tons of tracks with
really tight switchbacks, and there's nothing
that's going to get you around those besides getting your wheel off of the ground, repositioning it, and getting out of there. Stoppies are also an awesome opportunity to practice your front brake control and shifting the weight on the bike. All right, that was
looking a little bit easy for you there, Bradshaw. How can we make this harder? - Well, if you're feeling
okay on the stoppie, start bringing the rear around. Think about it like
going around the clock. 12, 11, 10, maybe put a
stick down, hop around that, make it relatable to the trail a bit. (mellow music) If you've been scrolling
around social media seeing a bunch of people
turning around cones on a grass slope and wondering what
the heck that's all about, well, they're practicing their cornering. And hot tip between you and me, you don't need the fancy cones. Bunch of sticks will do just fine. - How's that for a stick, Tom? - Put the sticks down as far or as close as you like to get it. You'll get a feel for it, but
practice leaning your bike, looking ahead and even try
swapping your feeder out. Just see how that feels. - Now, if you're still waiting on a mate and just went through all
those skills, here's a couple of party tricks to pull out
at your next post-ride sesh. (mellow music) Now hopefully those car
park skills don't tire you out so much that you can't go peddle when your buddy finally arrives. Now I'm a huge fan of marginal gains, and I know a little practice
session goes a long way in leveling up your riding. And if nothing else, it
reminds you to stay fun, move around on the bike, and don't take yourself so seriously. - (Tom) Thanks for watching them, make sure you subscribe for all our new releases
that are coming out soon. (melodic music)
