is vital in trials riding especially when riding near an edge.

Balance can be practised everyday, with simple exercises like trying to stay on the bike stand-still at red traffic lights (that is if you're not colour blind like me), or by turning the bike around between a few marks on the ground. In competition, every foot on the ground is a penalty, so you'd better learn how to keep yours on the bike. The more balance, the easier it is to ride along an edge in one straight line without wobbling the bars.

7 ways to improve your balance and to move your bike around.

Maybe the first thing you want to know is how to lift the front wheel for a wheeling or to start a few hops on the back wheel. Shifting your weight above the handlebars, you 'll get on the front wheel. To "turn around", you can use a combination of the front wheel and back wheel steps. You can hop sideways, either to stay balanced or to reposition the bike. If there is some gaps between the front wheel support and the rear wheel ground, or there is no convenient space for turning around progressively with a few hops, youŽll need to pull on the bars and "jump in one extension" to take off both wheels at the same time and land them directly on a new position. The wheeling is an absolute classic for kids. "Braking control" is essential, and one way of learning is to do a wheeling on a slope, without pedalling but only adjusting the speed by braking. Same can be done on the front wheel down a slope.

How to practice balance? Ride very slowly upwards a very smooth slope, and go slower until the bike actually stops without the brakes. Then try to maintain the bike on the same spot by adjusting the pressure on the driving pedal (right foot most of the time). When you feel that you are loosing balance, kick in the pedal to carry on or twist the handlebars to get extra balance. If you fall on the left, turn the bars on the left and shift your body on the right side of the bike. If you fall on the right side, turn the bars on the right and shift your body on the left side of the bike. The next step to understand balance better is to let the bike go backwards in the same slope, by decreasing the pressure in the pedals. This exercice is easier on a medium gear ratio.

Kenny on a rail. A good exercise is to follow some lines	Good brakes a must