How do you ride whoops?

[Crisis management]

Right, I need help....I was at the sandpit last friday running in a new piston so I was pottering around for a bit on the easy trails (yellow etc) rather than the single track stuff I usually play in and realised that I am crap at riding whoops. I also realised that trees hurt and you can rip the radiator shroud off if you try hard enough, quite spectacular if I do say so, luckily no one was around to record the event.

Anywho, to get vaguely back on topic...the open whoops like the green home trails and most of the yellow stuff (sand whoops about 0.5m high, 3 to 4 m between crests?) I ride aiming to accelerate/ semi-jump off the crest with the front airborne and the front landing just before or on the crest of the next whoop. This seems to work when I time it right but seems to rely a lot on carefull throttle application to get the front back down in the right place.

Is there a better way?? For example, if I went lots faster (need a gonad transplant first, mind) and aim to keep the front airborne the entire time with the rear skipping from crest to crest would this be better? Steering could be an issue here....

Next problem, those short sharp whoops about 1 to 2 metres apart, I don't seem to have any solution for yet, other than riding up and down like a pogoing noddy. I have the suspicion if I give it heaps and attack with speed there won't be a happy ending.

Any advice (useful advice would be good) welcome, I'm getting sick of welding up the plastic and the plastic welding guys almost have a standing order on mondays now.

Ta, in advance.

[vazza]

Go flat out and hold on tight!

[barty5]

Go flat out and hold on tight!

second that wont allways work youll get outa time sooner or latter then you just do your best to get back on it. keeping it in the middle may help avoiding the trees

[scott411]

you need to keep you weight well back, standing up is the only way, the faster the better to a certain extent, but keep the front wheel light just touching the top of each whoop, i tend to keep a couple of fingers on the clutch to keep the bike up in the rev's, or to take power out if you are going over the back,

[K6K]

bump...I would like to know this one too!
Up until recently I didn't like the sand at all ('cause I broke my back last year at the superbowl) but I have been loving it lately as I gain a bit of confidence. On my last trip I was flat out in third over the yellow/green whoops and loving it. The higher speed did make it easier but I also had a new set of Mich S12 xc's which were absolutely fantastic. The tyres boosted my confidence in the sand a huge amount.
I don't have a good technique on the steeper whoops (on the red/blue trails) and I would really like to know how to attack those too.

[Ktmboy]

Go to the old car park and practice the back section of whoops. No trees.

I aim to hold the throttle pretty well ON and shift weight to steer and to adjust the point of contact where the front wheel hits.

I also put my lard arse pretty well back so to keep the front end light.

Don't really worry about the back end too much as long as I try to either make the front wheel clear the next crest(if its only a short section) or hit every crest about 6 inches below the top whilst maintaining momentum.

Suspension set up has a major input.
Confused

[Rupe]

second that wont allways work youll get outa time sooner or latter then you just do your best to get back on it. keeping it in the middle may help avoiding the trees

sometimes the middle is not the smoothest/quickest route. I like to grip with my ankles (sort of). But yeah you just have to hang your balls out and open it it up.

[oldguy]

Go flat out and hold on tight!

as he said, stand up ass back, I try to run a gear higher for me, 3rd as I'm a fat bastard, so I,m working the 250 I love the real sandy woops, or anything with lots of soft sand love that place in summer.

[noobi]

lean make as much as is compfortable to keep the front end as light as possible so the front hits the tops of the woops not the bottom.
its a hard thing to get into your head to go faster but it really works, and as im on a 125, i ride a gear lower to keep the bike in the power as its easier to keep the front light that way
i think trying to build up speed before the woops makes them that much easier than trying to accelerate in the soft sand.

as for the little tiny ones like on the farm loop, i have no idea how to do those without needing a plastic welder...

[barty5]

sometimes the middle is not the smoothest/quickest route. I like to grip with my ankles (sort of). But yeah you just have to hang your balls out and open it it up.

i only said that cause he is worried bout the tree i go where ever the bike takes me hahaha im just there for the ride

[tommorth]

Go flat out and hold on tight!

I second this

when your skiming over the top of them everything is great can get very messey when the back starts going side to side though the bigger the gap the faster you need to go
my favorite set at sandpit is the straight going slightly uphill away from the superbowl towards the big dipper

[Ktmboy]

Ah, those little sharp buggers. They make you work and I'll never cut them out. No rthyme to them.
A good practice once you can tame a few is to jump into a whoop section. That means hitting the first one aiming to triple the next few.

Its hard but after a few goes you start to gain confidence, which really thats all its about.

[flyingcr250]

im a total passenger on the whoop train, i go were the bike takes me.

[Crisis management]

Thanks guys, sort of what I thought about the larger whoops, I'm running flat out in 3rd & 4th (I think), looks like I need to just hang on and stop whimpering then.

when your skiming over the top of them everything is great can get very messey when the back starts going side to side

I have got messy a few times, thats how I ended up saying hello to the tree and I suspect it needs better grip with my legs / ankles (thanks Rupe) to control the rear better. I assume it's a matter of weighting pegs to steer then?

Ah, those little sharp buggers.
A good practice once you can tame a few is to jump into a whoop section. That means hitting the first one aiming to triple the next few.

Yes, those little buggers on the convict extension. Ok, I'll pre order the ambulance when I'm there next and try jumping into it. I can see this working on the first 4 whoops, it's the next 4 that seriously concern me.
While we are talking about jumping (which I also suck at) where's a good place to practice that at the sandpit, I can't say as I know of anywhere??

[tommorth]

I have got messy a few times, thats how I ended up saying hello to the tree and I suspect it needs better grip with my legs / ankles (thanks Rupe) to control the rear better. I assume it's a matter of weighting pegs to steer then?

think some of this can be suspension setup I know very little about suspension set up but think it can also be caused by to much rebound damping in the rear causeing the rear to pack then kick . search may yeld some good results some informative posts about this stuff in the forums