It's called a "trackstand". Some call it "jockeying". And to the uninitiated, it is nothing short of amazing. Especially if they cling to the false belief that a bicycle gets all it's balance from the gyroscopic action of the spinning wheels. Which are certainly not spinning now!

In actuality, a trackstander is applying the same trick as the school kid who balances a ruler on-end. Here's how you can learn to do it with your bike and amaze your friends.

Track bikes can't coast. So if the rider pedals backwards, the bike will go backwards. Most of us, though, have bikes that do coast, so we have to find some other way to get the bike to roll backwards.

Usually this is done by finding a road, or part of a road, that slopes uphill. this doesn't have to be a real hill. It could be something as simple as a driveway or even a completely flat road with a good "crown". Anything which is uphill.

Before you attempt the trackstand, a word of advice. If your bike has toeclips, practice on the side without the clips. If your pedals are clipless, wear regular (uncleated) shoes. You want to be able to get your feet from the pedal to the ground in a hurry.

Get on your bike and ride it into position. The corect position is uphill, or any position which will allow you to turn your front wheel in an uphill direction.

Slow the bike to a standstill. As you come to a stop, stand and turn your front wheel uphill. the best position for your body, especially when learning, is to lean directly over the front wheel.

Now, remember that kid balancing the ruler? You are going to do the same thing with your bike. allow me to explain in detail.

Your front wheel is turned to the side about 45º (we'll assume you turned it to the left). When you pedal forwards, the bike is going to move to the left, because that's the way the wheel is turned. If you let up on the pedals, it's going to roll back to the right.

This is how you balance! As you feel yourself tipping to the left, pedal forwards slightly. Tipping to the right? Let the bike roll back to the right. Just slightly. You only have to move enough to keep the bike under you.

This is exactly what the ruler balancing schoolkid's doing, keeping the bottom of the ruler under the top of the ruler by moving his hand.

Don't be dissapointed if you find yourself putting your foot on the ground more than a few times. Like learning how to ride the bike, it takes practice to fine tune your palance to the point where you can make the small adjustments necessary to "keep the rubber side down".