Okay, so today I decided to finally try and nail down a proper scrub on my dirt bike. I’ve watched tons of videos, read articles, but it was time to put it into practice. It’s way harder than it looks, let me tell you!
First, I geared up completely – helmet, goggles, boots, the whole nine yards. Safety first, always! Then I warmed up the bike with a few easy laps around my usual practice spot. It’s just a small field near my house with a couple of decent jumps I built myself.
Practice
I started by just getting a feel for leaning the bike over on the face of the jump. The first few attempts were pretty pathetic. I was barely getting the bike sideways, and I definitely wasn’t getting any lower. I felt stiff and awkward, like a robot trying to dance.
- Attempt 1-5: Barely leaned the bike, felt super awkward.
- Attempt 6-10: Started to lean a bit more, but still landing hard and upright.
- Attempt 11-15: Got a little lower, but felt like I was going to loop out a few times! Scary!
I kept at it, though. I remembered reading somewhere to really push down on the outside peg and turn my handlebars slightly into the jump. I tried to focus on that, and slowly, things started to click. I mean, I wasn’t exactly scrubbing like the pros, but I could feel the bike getting lower and absorbing more of the jump. I was using up most of the front and rear suspension for my landings.
Keep Trying
The key, I think, was committing to it. You can’t half-ass a scrub. You have to really lean the bike and trust that it’s going to come back under you. There were a few times I almost lost it, but I managed to save it. My heart was definitely pounding a few times there!
After about an hour of practice, I was starting to get the hang of it. I wasn’t perfect, but I was definitely getting lower and carrying more speed over the jumps. I even managed to get a few decent whips in there, just for fun.
By the end of the session, I was exhausted, but stoked. I’d made some real progress. I’ve still got a long way to go, but I’m definitely motivated to keep practicing. It’s such a cool feeling to get the bike sideways in the air and feel it absorb the jump. It will make the race much easier when I can absorb more of the jumps. Next time, I’m going to try and find a slightly bigger jump to practice on. Hopefully I can get a decent record and post it for show.
