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Now that the Texas Nationals are here during March at Lake Whitney and Oakhill, I am always reminded of how many ruts the riders have to deal with on these two tracks, especially because I am constantly filling them in at Oakhill with the dozer.
It’s pretty common for riders to ask me for advice on how to deal with ruts. Ruts can show up in a variety of places, corners, straights, jump faces and even in front of the starting gate. Let’s start with ruts in front of the gate. The best defense is to choose a gate with a shallow and straight rut, but if you have a bad gate pick, you may be stuck with a deep and crooked rut. In either case, this isn’t the time to stress about it, so just get lined up with the rut properly i.e.: if it curves to the left, line up facing a bit left. I always recommend starting with both feet down in front of the pegs, as this technique will allow you to be balanced and take off straight, which is the key to getting through the rut quickly. If you take off crooked, you will catch one side of the rut and really struggle down the start straight. Also try to keep the front wheel as light as possible so you hook up with good traction, and don’t impact the bumps real hard in the rut.
As far as corner ruts go, they come in all shapes and sizes, but these tips will help you through most. First you must line them up properly, coming in to tight will place you off line with the radius of the rut, and force you to make serous adjustment to get aligned correctly, thus scrubbing your speed. If you line up the entrance properly, start to lean the bike over a bit BEFORE entering the rut, and allow the rut to “pick you up” a bit. Concentrate on leaning the bike over to the degree of the angle of the rut itself, slightly “dragging” the front brake all the way to the apex, and even beyond while transitioning from braking to acceleration. Also keep your outside elbow high and away from your side, and weight the outside peg (with the ball of the foot on the peg), and keep the inside leg way up and out by the front wheel, trying not to drag you foot on the ground. Run your vision (the rabbit) through the rut, and chase it with your bike (the greyhound) so you will stay balanced and react accordingly. Stay loose and “feel” your way through the corner, and be patient so you don’t get on the gas to hard or to early which may cause you to jump out of the rut. Overall, just commit to the lean, take plenty of speed in, and control the corner with your front brake and body position.
When the track is muddy , there can be monster ruts on the straights, and I see riders really struggle here. I feel the two most important things here are looking well out ahead, again running the rabbit quickly through your chosen line, and keeping your feet on the pegs. As soon as you take your leg off, you will lean to that side and hit the wall of the rut, causing you to loose control. Also keep your weight slightly back, and accelerate through them to lighten the front wheel and “drive” through the section.
Lastly the dreaded jump ruts. These can be pretty intimidating to many riders, and in reality, pretty dangerous. Once more, you must look ahead and choose a rut that is shallow and straight, and when you choose one, stay committed to it. Changing you mind at the last second can be harsh. Stay loose , keep the toe of your boots pointed slightly up so they don’t catch on the ground, and throttle through the entire rut. If you find your line choice bad, don’t hit the same rut the next lap, try to find one you can get through quickly, smoothly and confidently. Try to enjoy ruts so you don’t fear them!
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