Portaging

Look up the word "portage" in Webster's and you'll find it defined as: a) the labor of carrying or transporting, and b) the cost of carrying. In old England and France, "porterage" was used to describe the route that "porters" took when transferring a boat and its cargo past a rapids or across land to another body of water. In the world of American sports, boaters just about owned the term—referring to the carrying of their canoes or kayaks—until we mountain bikers came along. So what's the value of this etymology, you ask? Just this: The next time you're slogging over obstacles or through grass so tall there isn't room for you to ride or push your bike, reflect upon how much easier it is than hauling a canoe around on your head. It isn't the nicest thing about our species, but often just knowing some other poor slob is more miserable helps a lot.

Another thing that will help you feel better is knowing how to portage your bike correctly. Any way that doesn't hurt is "correct," of course, and most of us can haul an unloaded bike for short distances without pain by simply resting the frame's top tube (the tube running from seat post to handlebars) on a shoulder, reaching through the main triangle with hand and arm, and gripping the top tube. This feels very natural, especially if the triangle is large enough to admit the arm and shoulder, and if there's no water bottle and cage on the seat tube (the tube running from the saddle to the cranks) to eat into your back. Notice that the foreground rider in the photo has mounted his single bottle and cage to the third tube in the main triangle—the down tube (running from the handlebars to the cranks). Snugging the shoulder into the right angle created at the point where the top and seat tubes intersect allows one to raise and lower the front wheel easily, an element of importance when portaging over downed trees or through boulder fields. Some bikers attach padded "slings" to this spot, to ease shoulder strain. But if you're padless, like most of us, and if your hike is longer or the trail requires so many short portages that your shoulder begins to ache, it's best to know two alternative positions.

First, let's look at another technique ideal for when walking next to a fellow biker, or when you're by yourself but don't have much room to spare to the right or left. It's also more comfortable if you have a bottle and cage mounted to the seat tube. Back to the first photo, but this time concentrate on the cyclist in the background, the out-of-focus (sorry!) fellow with a specialized fixation. Note that his shoulder intersects the top tube roughly halfway between his saddle and handlebars, that the down tube rests in the crook of his arm (which supports the frame and thus eases shoulder strain somewhat), and that the arm winds back to a point in front of his chest. His hand grips the handlebar, thus providing excellent control of the front wheel elevation and direction. I don't find this arrangement as comfortable as the first, nor nearly so natural. But it's an option. And it looks neat.

Now look at the second photo for a portage technique excellent when making distance carries. This Utah rider began by using his foot to push the left-side pedal into the nine o'clock position. After hoisting the bike up by the top tube with his right hand, he reached through the main triangle with that hand and grabbed the handlebar, reaching up and back with his left hand for the saddle. Notice that the pedal is now tucked to the left side of the hip, that the crank arm rests comfortably against the small of the back (well, as comfortably as it can), and the top tube lies across the shoulders. You'll find that you can maneuver either wheel over obstacles very easily, through the control provided by your grip fore and aft on the bike.