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Roots Rocks and Logs
If you must ride over a plant, make it this part! BUT! BEWARE! Wet roots can be slippier than Dura-Lube in a Bauer Pan!!
Roots can be a tough obstacle, and difficult to negotiate if they are large, off angle, or wet. The problem you can have is after you lift your front wheel over them, the rear wheel may slide along the front or top of the root and pitch the bike over sideways. As you approach the root, keep a 90 degree angle, speed up slightly, pull the front wheel up and over the root, and then lunge your upper body forward for added momentum to bring the rear wheel up and over. Be prepared for the rear tire to slide sideways a little as it goes over the root. Several roots in a row require concentration, good balance, and timing.
Logs
Logs are great fun, but they do have a downside...
Logs can be great fun and can occur singly, in a pile, or in succession. Any combination is possible. One key is to lift up the handlebars either before or during contact with the log. Frequently, your chainring will contact the log as you pedal over. A good one will not bend or be damaged. A rock ring may be used, but I prefer just using the large chainring. Teeth can be damaged on rocks or logs, so maximum ground clearance is important. Good mountainbikers know when they will hit the log with the chainring, and when they will clear it. Use the lift and lunge technique.
Water bars are intentionally placed on some trails for erosion control, and it is best not to go around them as you create a funnel for the water to follow. Hit logs as close to 90 degrees as possible, and if they are wet or slippery, be especially careful. Be prepared to put your foot down if necessary if you are not clipped in. If you are clipped in, you may be able to "hop" the logs to some degree and not even touch it. If a log looks to big to cross, either dismount or be prepared to just get the front of the bike over and then stick out your foot and push yourself across by placing your foot on the top of the log.
Big logs are certainly good candidates for doing and "endo", where your front wheel is too vertical after going over the log and the bike flips over and throws you off. It is important to look ahead on the trail coming off of a log, as this will help keep your weight back at the moment when your front tire contacts the ground after coming down the log. Be prepared for this on every big log you cross. Sometimes, a front fork can aggravate this problem and "dip under" and increase the likelyhood of flipping over. To avoid this, keep your weight WAY BACK after you crest the top of the logs and are coming down the other side. On logpiles (multiple logs) remember that a nice sloping pile to the top of the log in front doesn't mean you will have the same ramp on the downside! It might be a drop off; be careful unless you have ridden it or scouted it out..
Rocks
If you haven't ridden the rocks, then you haven't ridden.
Rock riding can easily get out of hand as the rocks get bigger and closer together. If you have full suspension, it can be a blessing and a curse in heavily rocky terrain. Sure the suspension smoothes out the ride, but it can also work against you if you are traveling slowly and the rocks are big. You hit a rock, and instead of rolling over it, your fork stops and compresses and you can go right over the handlebars. For this reason, it is good to keep up momentum and ride in a slightly higher gear. Pull up on the handlebars for every prominent rock you have to go over. You must also remember the rear tire may go over the same rock, and if you simultaneously hit another rock with the front tire, the bike may come to an abrupt halt.
Good ground clearance is a good thing to have if you ride rocks a lot. Your selection of "the line" is also critical. A good line thru the rocks may make the difference between satisfaction or demise. Don't expect to do a lot of turning either. A good visual scan thru each section ahead of time is important if you hope to make it thru.
Sometimes you can get carried away and end up in rocks that are really not rideable, so STOP if you need to rather than wiping out and going down (or more likely over the handlebars). After many years of rock riding, I have become quite adept at doing a "walkoff" when the bike stops and tries to flip over. Try to land on your feet, and make sure they clear the handlebar, which will probably be near the ground level at this point as the bike goes vertical and then flips over!
