I help casual trail riders and beginners learn how to safely & confidently ride by choosing the right bike and using the proper techniques so that you don’t crash and get hurt.
Kelley Fager is a certified dirt bike coach through the United States Motorcycle Coaching Association on MotorcycleCoaching.org! He’s been buying, maintaining, riding, and coaching on bikes for 20+ years.
3 Mistakes Beginner Trail Riders Make When Getting Started
Want to skip all of the mistakes so many beginners make that kill your confidence on a dirt bike – especially if you’re a casual trail rider who just wants to have fun and ride with complete confidence?
These 3 mistakes slow down your progress, make it frustrating to ride, and leave you wondering why you started trail riding in the first place…
1. Choosing the WRONG bike
Buying a brand new dirt bike isn’t financially smart if you’re making less than $80,000, but choosing the wrong TYPE of dirt bike will suck the fun right out of learning how to ride off-road.
-Jimmy Steel
Many people buy a used “race bike”, maybe because it’s within their price range, their ego gets in the way because “everyone else has one”, or they don’t want to “outgrow a slow trail bike” in the first year.
What he or she doesn’t realize is that the extra power and suspension will make it harder to learn the proper techniques to ride with confidence and control on the trails.
2. Getting pressured to ride fast/challenging trails
It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and try riding faster than your skill level can safely control or ride a trail that’s too challenging, causing you to get stuck and frustrated or crash and break your bike or get hurt.
One of the biggest mistakes is “giving it more gas to increase your speed” when you haven’t mastered the basic techniques. More speed can give you the illusion that you have more balance, but this will put you on the ground faster than you can say “Ouch!”
3. Trying to teach yourself how to ride
Riding a dirt bike is so much different than riding a street bike, mountain bike, ATV, snowmobile, or any other machine because you never have 100% traction and it requires more balance with a completely different set of techniques.
If you just get on YouTube and watch people ride, then you don’t get that “Do this to practice for this”, and I like your step-by-step approach to it (VDB School).
–Laura Thayer (52) – Washington State
Is it possible to learn on your own or have a “buddy” teach you?
Yes, but you’re much more likely to form bad riding habits that will kill your confidence and will take a lot longer to “un-learn”.
Hey, what do you need help with?
I help casual trail riders and beginners learn how to safely & confidently ride by choosing the right bike and using the proper techniques so that you don’t crash and get hurt.
–Laura Thayer (52) – Washington State
