ATV Riding Tips & Tricks
Going 'ouch' over the 'whoops'
For those who are beginner ATV riders, let us first explain what whoops are. Ever seen the little moulds of dirt and sand that are all lined up one after another that could potentially send you and your ATV head over heels on the trails? Yup…those are called ‘whoops' – and how appropriately named they are, right?
Even for experienced ATVers, going at the whoops at the wrong speed and angle could result in a tumble, so, we should never try to be too whacky when approaching whoops. With the right technique, you can actually overcome the whoops without losing the edge you have over the ATV rider behind you and still keep the wheels of your ATV on the ground.
In order to understand the proper way to ride over whoops, you'll first have to imagine yourself standing right in front of a lake. And you're trying to get to the other side and the only to do this is to step over the stones all lined up on the lake, right there in front of you. You would want to just skim the top of one whoop and move on to the next one without losing your sense of direction and balance. If you do…you're in for a rough and sometimes violent tumble. The secret of smoothly going over whoops is to keep the front end of your ATV light. How do you do this?
Well, for one thing, when approaching the first whoop, lift the front end of your ATV a little and give it a little bit of throttle. This will send the back tires spinning and the front up a little…and you're going over the first whoop in the series. When you're over the first whoop, do the same thing…lift, gas and go.
Once you get used to this, you'll be HOPPING from one whoop to another without losing your balance! But this takes quite a bit of practice.
To keep the ‘ouch' out of the whoop, remember not to approach the whoops with too much speed because if you do, you'll end up with a high-flying rear-end that could potentially topple you and your ATV headlong into the next whoop faster than you can say…'whoops!'