Rock gardens, jumps, and Hero-Dirt!
Every rider chases that feeling when everything just flows. You glide through a rock garden, float off a jump, and carve corners like the trail was built just for you. Progressing your mountain biking isn’t about fearlessness, it’s about technique, confidence, and time in the saddle.
At Finch Hatton, we’ve seen riders of all levels find their groove, and we’ve picked up a few tricks along the way.
Let’s start with rock gardens.
They can look gnarly, but they’re more about finesse than force. The trick is to stay loose and let the bike move beneath you. Keep your eyes up and scan ahead to read the terrain before you roll in. Relax your grip and let your arms and legs do the work, acting as natural suspension. Stay centred over the bike, keep your weight balanced, and focus on being smooth rather than fast. If a big rock pops up, lift your front wheel and unweight slightly to glide over it.
Try out our newest trail KOOKIE if you are up for the challenge. KOOKIE has rock gardens, rock rolls and even some drops and log rides. But remember, smooth riders are fast riders. Confidence comes from letting the bike dance rather than trying to muscle through.
Next up, jumps.
Every rider wants to nail that perfect take off and landing, but it takes practice and progression. Start small and get comfortable with the motion before you go bigger. As you approach the lip, look ahead to where you want to land, stay relaxed, and let the bike come up with you.
In the air, stay calm and centred. If you’re working on improving control and stability mid air, check out our earlier blog on Quark Knuckles. It explores mastering body position and bike handling when the ground drops away beneath you.
When you land, bend your knees and elbows to absorb the impact. The goal is to make it look and feel effortless, and that comes with repetition and control. For someone wanting to do some repeat lines to get better at jumps, try TINNY. This trail is perfect for repeat runs and sits amongst the cluster of airflow jump lines, so it is perfect for perfecting your jump technique!
And if you want to increase the difficulty, hit up OFF THE RAILS and BIG BICKIES. These are a lot more advanced trails that offer a range of skill dependant jump lines and incrementally intensifying obstacles, each with multiple line choices.
Then there’s the holy grail of trail conditions, hero dirt.
This is when the trail is grippy, tacky, and fast, that perfect mix that makes you feel unstoppable. Hero dirt happens after just the right amount of rain, when the dust has settled and the soil packs perfectly beneath your tyres. Every turn feels like it’s pulling you in, and you can trust your traction completely. It’s the best time to work on cornering and body positioning. Keep your pedals level, weight evenly distributed, and your body low and centred. Push into the corners instead of turning the bars, and let the grip carry you through.
When you’re on hero dirt, it’s the ultimate confidence booster because you can experiment, push your limits, and find your flow.
