What exercises will make me a better mountain biker?

— Sam Thompson, Bangor, Maine

There are exercises-a-plenty for off-road riders, some using your bike and others that require that you to dismount. Try these drills to improve your mountain bike skills-- all you'll need is a soccer field (and your bike, of course):

1. Slow riding: Ride in a straight line as slowly as possible, better yet, have a race with several friends to see who can ride 20-30 yards the slowest. This type of riding, if you can call it that, improves your balance and bike handling. With some practice you'll realize stopping doesn't mean having to put your foot down, and you'll look so cool at stoplights.

2. Front wheelie: As you ride along slowly in a moderate gear, push down fairly hard on one pedal while you lift the front wheel off the ground (move your weight back a little). Have your hand at the ready on the rear brake in case you need to slow your front wheel's upward arc and keep from landing on your butt. After some practice, you'll learn the balance point of the bike and no longer even need a front wheel.

3. Rear wheelie: This time cruise along on the grass, moderate speed with your butt off the saddle and your weight slightly forward, give the front brake a nice hard tug. Your rear wheel will come off the ground, if it starts to come up too high (you're about to bail), release the front brake and you'll come back to two wheels. Inevitably, you'll go over the handlebars, so learn to tuck and roll instead of sticking your hand out like it's a lawn dart. This one can be a real crowd pleaser.

4. Hopping: Now that you've mastered getting the front and rear wheel off the ground independently, put the two together and go airborne. Get some speed up, move off the saddle and bend both your knees and your elbows (think preload) slightly. Spring up by pulling up on your handlebars and pedals at the same time, timing is fairly important here, so try to coordinate the movement. As you get the hang of it, up the ante by trying to clear obstacles in the field, starting with something small (a pencil or maybe beer bottle) and gravitating toward meaningful objects, such as your girlfriend or boyfriend (just make sure you can make it).