First is to use what people are calling 'hitchhiker rings'. These are bearings (usually sealed bearings like the ones in the bottom bracket of good 3-piece cranks) that let the bars keep moving even if they are pressed flat against the pavement. If you are wondering why you would use such a thing look at the Jason Brown video on this site and see what happens at the very end when he goes into the hitchhiker… Bars end up flat against the pavement and he is forced to step down out of the trick.

With 'hitchhiker rings' on your bike you can find a small hill and push yourself along and learn to actually balance and roll hitchhikers. This is a good thing to know how to do since then you will just need to learn riding in and riding out of the trick.

About 5 or 6 years ago there were not a bunch of combinations that could be done into or out of hitchhikers. That is NOT the case anymore. Boomerangs, fire-hydrants, hang-5's, whiplashes, and other tricks can all be combined into and out of the hitchhiker. Chad Degroot hit the first darkside (hitchhiker to bike flip to backpacker) a few years ago and things have REALLY gotten out of control with this trick.

Spend the time to learn this trick- it is one of the ones that the pros are using at every contest within their runs!

• Here is a classic way to ride into and out of hitchhikers. Begin by doing a elbow glide on the left side with the bars backwards. (SEE INSTRUCTIONS)
• When you are under control bring your right foot onto the right peg and LET GO of the handlebars. Immediately reach for and grab the back wheel (or peg). This is one of the most difficult parts to learn.
• The bike actually has to be falling forwards so that the handlebars will go to the ground and the back end will come up. If you lean to far forward then you will either go over the bars or as soon as you let go the bike will just drop into the ground.
• If you lean to far back then you will only get your right foot on the peg for a second before you are falling backwards and pulling both feet off of the pegs. This is one of the parts that makes hitchhikers so difficult.
• When you have ridden in then you must balance the bike with your body to keep the handlebars off of the ground and to keep the bike from flipping backwards. If you have 'hitchhiker rings' on your bike (see top) then you can learn to balance hitchhikers before you even learn to ride in or out.
• To do a 'real' hitchhiker you will want to bring the bike up the opposite side then the side that you rode in on. Grab your left rear peg with your LEFT hand and start to pull the back end of the bike to your right side and behind you.
• Reach forward with your RIGHT hand and grab the seat. As soon as you grab the seat take your left hand off of the peg. You are now balancing in a half-hiker (a hitchhiker holding the seat).
• Continue to pull the bike backwards and grab the handlebars with your left hand. As soon as your hand touches the bars pull your right foot off of the peg and put it on the top tube of your frame or the left rear peg.
• Jump back to the pedals and ride away- Congratulations, you are now three months older then when you began learning them!

This is one of those tricks that just takes time to learn. At first it will seem that there is no way to actually roll one of these forever let alone ride in OR ride out. Then you will be able to roll them along with no problem. You will learn to ride in after bashing your bars against the ground a million times but it WILL happen eventually. Finally you will drive yourself nuts when learning to ride out because as you bring the back wheel to the ground and pull your foot off of the peg you will constantly tap your foot to the ground. Eventually it will all stop happening that way and you will actually ride all the way in and out of the trick- be patient this one takes a LONG time!