Every mountain biker has felt this sensation and they’re a liar if they tell you otherwise. You come barreling down towards the lip of a jump. The faster the better… you tell yourself. If I’m going quicker then logically it’ll make it easier to clear the landing… you tell yourself.

One foot on the pedal, the other on the ground. A deep breath. You mount and immediately sprint as fast as you can. Hands make fists on the bars as you flick down to hardest gear on your 11 speed cassette. Heart pumping. Eyesight blurring. Breath shaking. Look down. Look ahead. Pedal. Pedal. Pedal faster. Both wheels hit the take off. You’re in the air…

There it is. That feeling. Tipping either to the left, right, forwards or backwards uncontrollably. You try and lean the other direction to balance out… but of course, you’re in the air… no longer the pilot, now the passenger… out of control… doom.

You hit the landing. Either nose or rear wheel heavy — or even worse with 2 wheels and a foot on the deck to maintain your balance — or worst case of all you don’t land on any wheels but use your arse as a friction brake. If you’re lucky you’ll freewheel down the rest of the landing with your stomach in your mouth as you narrowly miss taking a few layers of skin off your arms and legs… to the amusement of your riding pals.

How do we solve this?

This is a question I’ve been asking myself for the last 6 years as it’s one of the most memorable sensations I’ve felt, and a recurring one almost every time I approached a new jump. Many get lucky and discover the secret by trial-and-error through pure practice in their youth and I envy those that do. The bad news is, I’ll unlikely ever be as fluent in the air as those that have… but I think I’ve recently found the answer as to why The Dead Sailor happens. My discovery has lead me to feeling this sensation less & less of as of late with rapid improvements in my technique. I’m now at the stage where I rarely think about it anymore — yet it comes back to haunt me as I step upto the lip of a new, big, 15ft booter. Not today, i’ll tell myself. Tomrrow, I tell my friends with a grin, in the knowledge that I’m not riding tomorrow.

I discovered why it happens not by watching tutorial YouTube videos, and oddly not by riding my bike either. I discovered why the Dead Sailor happens by jumping on a trampoline.