Pro Riding Secrets: Fastest Line Up a Rocky Hill with Barry Hawk - Dirt Rider Magazine

1. Here, Hawk sets the scene, pointing out the single rock and the spot on that rock that he'll use as a ramp in order to jump over to the left—and smoother—side of the trail on this particular climb. "As I come around the corner , I see there are two or three options up through there," Hawk begins. "Many would tend to look for what's easiest, but I look for a little lip on a rock.
2. "I carry my momentum—not too fast but not too slow—and I'm pretty far back on the bike. I kind of jump over and try to keep the front end light. If you hit it too fast, there's a pretty good sized rock here you could nose into, which would get you in trouble. This move sets you up a lot better on the trail because then you're on the high side of the rocks and not in the rough stuff where all the cobblestones are. You can carry a lot more momentum farther down the trail." And again, Hawk warns against going too fast in this situation: "If you carry too much speed, instead of jumping the rock you might land off to the side of it—it doesn't have a perfectly flat face. I'm not too worried about the front end; I'm worried about the rear getting into that spot." Note that he's not actually jumping from the rock all the way to the top of the ledge where the smoother trail is. Instead, he's just getting his front wheel onto it; the rear wheel will actually land below it, since he's not hitting it at a high speed. This will prevent the rear end from bucking or otherwise misbehaving.