Jumping with cross wind! Danger!! Danger!!

[Bastien]

Hey Everyone,

Thought I would come and ask my favorite crowd of riders for some advice. I'm having a really hard time down here in OZ as November and December are always really windy which is reaking havock on my jumping?

Problem is when I jump it feels like the wheels are being swept away from under me. My body stays upright but the bike say the top leans into the wind and the wheels get blown out from under me. I've nearly crashed a few time landing with the bike on a solid angle. feels like you are going to hit the deck shoulder first.

Any advice would be soooo apreciated. Its getting to the point I just cant jump if there is any wind

Thanks in advance guys

Cheers ?

[tye1138]

Few things, I live in the hub of motocross in the US. Last weekend there was a new track that opened, a whole shit-tun of AMA Pro's showed up to test it out, but after a few hours, it got windy... wanna know what they did? They simply stopped jumping the big stuff.

The best skill to have when its windy is learn how to whip the bike. When you throw a whip naturally, it puts the bike out of shape (just like the wind does) and as the rider, you need to bring it back on course. If you learn this skill and use it regularly, the wind won't bother you as much because you will be use to what the bike feels like in the air out of shape. The more straight up and down you try to jump in the wind, the more it will freak you out.

I'm not a great rider or anything, not much of a whip thrower either. I too don't like to ride when its windy, so I try not do. But when I'm at the track and it is windy, instead of packing it up and going home, I continue riding. Because I don't know how to throw big whips, I figure out which direction the wind is coming from first. If the wind is in front or behind, that's just a matter of throttle and its usually easy to compensate for. Its when the wind is coming from the left and right of the rider, thats where things get messy. So if the wind is coming from the right, you will wanna take the jump more towards the right and lean into the wind and tiny bit on take off. This way, when the bike is pushed left, you'll have plenty of places to land.

But in reality, the whip trick is the best way of doing it. Its also a good still to have generally speaking. I also think if it gets really windy and your uncomfortable, just take it easy. If the pro's were taking it easy, then you can too!?

[SOAB_465]

Being from alberta, I get the "opportunity" to practice in the wind a fair bit.

There's 2 things to know when it's really windy.

1. Anticipate the wind. generally it doesn't change direction, and only slightly changes intensity so you can plan before you leave the ground.

- In a head wind, you'll obviously need to hit the same jump harder than you usually do, but also, get over the bars... way over. It will tend to put you into a sky wheelie so try to be nose down more than usual

- In a cross wind, stay to the upwind side of the face, aim slightly off the track if you need to, and lean away from the wind. You feel like you should lean into it but it actually blows the bike more than it does your body.

2. Don't tense up. The best advice I ever got for jumping in a cross wind is to let go of the bike. Even if a big gust surprises you and starts pushing the bike out from under you, stay loose and just let it drift. It will stay upright, and you'll only be slightly off balance. Worst is if you death grip the bike, even with your legs, and it throws you off axis. your suspension won't work well on an angle, and you're way more likely to swap when you land.

Hopefully that helps you get riding ? but in all honesty, sometimes you need to find a new line if the wind gets too crazy. Maybe take more inside lines where you have to, and try to stay on the ground where you can. If you're uncomfortable jumping something in the wind, just save it for another day?

[Bastien]

Thanks so much guys. Looks like it's going to be windy here in Melbourne Australia on Friday so I'm going to try use the technices you have mentioned. Once again thanks for your help. I love this site!

Cheer

[temporarily_locked]

tye, elsinore? how big are the big jumps? that place used to be nuts.

to the op. You lean you body with the wind. If the wind is blowing from your right to you left, you would lean off the left side of the bike and whip the bike to the right into the wind. It comes back easily with the wind and it's not hard to bring it back past strait.There are times where i'll hit pretty far to one side of the face and get blown all the way to the other side of the landing setting up for a corner and when it gets really windy is something to take into consideration, especially if other people are around you.

[HyperGlow]

Good stuff to know, it's windy here in NZ at the moment, I think all the wind from OZ blows over here! I'm having the same trouble at the moment with the bike swapping. I got blown sideways off a step down jump and it felt like the bike swapped quite bad even though I don't think it was and I put my foot down on the landing (big no no) luckily I was unhurt except for a sore back and sole of my foot.

I will need to learn not to take my feet off the pegs when I get blown with the wind, hopefully some of the advice given here will help.