There's a great scene in the film "An Officer and a Gentleman"
where the drill instructor is screaming at the hero of the story,
"Why'd you come here, you blankety-blank so-and-so,"
or something like that, to which the hero responds,
"Sir, I want to fly jets, sir." The drill instructor
looks at him like he's just stepped off a spaceship from Mars
and sneers,
"You want to fly jets? My grandmother wants to fly jets!"
The idea, of course, is that although everybody wants to fly jets,
not everyone has what it takes to do so. The Pro and Super classes
in BMX are like "flying jets" in that every kid in the
NBL wants to be in the Pro class, but very few will make it there.
What if you really want to be a Pro, so badly that it's all you
think about, but you're not even winning your Novice-class races
now? Does this mean you'll never have a chance to drop a gate
with Leveque, Purse, and the rest of the big boys? Most people
would say, "Forget about it," but I, Jim Boswell, can
guarantee you a spot in at least Superclass if you follow the
steps listed below. You may be slow now, and you may be destined
to always be slow, but that doesn't have to stop you.
"Sound's good, Jim," you say, "but I want proof,
not just a bunch of promises." No problem. Just stop by my
house (during daylight hours, please) and ask Mrs. Boswell for
The Picture. What's The Picture, you ask? It is a 4x5 photo of
a Superclass moto at the 1992 Grands. Lane eight has a younger
Jeff Dein, now a top pro for Dingo and a fine BMX Today author,
blasting out in the form that would eventually catch the eye of
factories everywhere. Lane seven has...can it be?...Jim Boswell,
just a hair (okay, a foot) behind.
I ran a full season of Superclass in 1991-1992 with the goal of
not finishing last in my motos, a goal which I was able to fulfill
without too much difficulty until the "pro sections"
started getting really big and my Six Hundred Dollar Knee absolutely
refused to take the landings necessary from jumps of that size.
I didn't win any money, but I fulfilled a dream I'd had for eight
years. Let's face it-most of us will never have the talent necessary
to make a Pro main, but if all you need to do is make it to the
(semi) pro class, I can help you out.
We'll assume that you are a 14 Novice who is finishing mid-pack
at Nationals. Your goal is to ride a season of Super at the age
of twenty, like I did. That gives you six years, which seems like
a long time but will actually pass faster than you realize.
You will have four major areas to work on in those years-Gates,
Power, Turns, and Jumps, not necessarily in order importance.
You don't have to be spectacular at any of those to make Super,
but you have to be competent at all of them. To stack the deck
a little further, we'll assume you're usually short on cash and
can't afford a full National program in any of the six years ahead.
Riders ready? Watch the lights:
A pro rider needs a consistent gate. His start may not be as good
as, say, Steve Veltman's, but he has to know approximately where
his start will place him in each race, so he can plan his strategy.
To develop a consistent gate, start slow. Pick a particular light
or sound to launch at each time, and take at least ten gates in
a row at that light or sound before changing, even if you are
unhappy with the results. Most of us change our gate strategy
nearly every practice lap, and as a result often confuse luck
with skill, or vice versa.
I think most of us, myself included, have bad gate starts because
we are not willing to be consistent. The minute we have a bad
gate, we throw everything away and start fresh, which is a great
way to confuse your body.
Develop a relaxed gate technique that you can do every time. If
it doesn't put you out in front, make small changes in timing
and take enough gates with those changes to decide whether it
helps or hurts.
You can afford a less-than-perfect gate if you have good power.
The easiest and cheapest way to get power is to ride as often
as possible, sprint as much as you can during those rides, and
use a gear a little bit "too high" during the week.
To build pro-level flexibility and leg size, take long street
rides and sprint the hills. A day of sprinting hills, unpleasant
though it may be, is another day closer to a Superclass gate.
As a Super rider, I could always count on making up ground between
jumps, just because I spent a lot more time on the road during
the week than most of my comp.
Good power will put you in a good position for Turns. Turn strategy
is much more important in Super and Pro than it is in Novice or
Expert. You also need to become a strong physical rider in turns.
Most Pro riders can, and do , put two hundred pounds
of pressure through their elbows in turns. If you can't bump-and-thump,
you're going to suffer big-time. I've written quite a bit on turns,
and it's all available on my web-site.
Of course, you've still got to make the Jumps. "Pro sections"
were my Achilles' heel as a Superclasser, but they don't have
to be yours if you get into the habit of jumping now. You don't
have to be a trails superstar to make Pro jumps; in fact, too
much "pop-up" on a Pro section will ruin your hopes
of making it out of your motos. Learn to pull up and tuck over
big doubles, keeping your body and bike close together until right
before the landing. While you're at it, learn to ride
Pro jumps. Sounds silly, right? After a wreck in the turn before
the section, when you have a chance of making it out if you can
just ride through without bailing, it won't. Bunnyhop the lips
and point your bikes nose down the backside for best results.
Now that you know what you have to work on physically, consider
something even more important-your mental fitness to race Super
or Pro. If you cry and whine every time you lose a race, stick
in Novice or Expert. If you aren't willing to do your best every
time, even if you know that your best isn't as good as the other
guys', forget about racing Super of Pro. A good "moto filler"
Pro shows up fit, prepared, and ready to take advantage of other
riders' mistakes. I have ruined the racing day of many a racer
with far more talent than I possess just by keeping my pedals
moving and my eyes open.
Last but not least, create a "season" and stay with
it. Pick four of five Nationals every year, if possible. Watch
as many riders as possible between your motos. You might learn
something. When you can't afford Nationals, hit as many locals
as you can. When you can't afford locals, sprint hills and work
on your balance by doing bunnyhops and "manuals". I
believe that it is mentally and physically damaging to race continually,
year-round, so pick an "off-month" or two and spend
it doing non-cycling activities. Not only will your body recover
a bit, you'll be eager to race again, instead of having that hamster-on-a-wheel
feeling I see in so many young riders' faces.
If you can do what I've listed above, you will be able to at least
respectably fill out a Superclass moto. And what will that be
worth in a world of "champions" and big ad budgets?
For me, it was paying a debt to the 14 Novice in my heart. I did
the year. I did it with a bad knee, fractured neck, lousy gate,
and an empty wallet, but I did it. No matter what happens, I had
my shot-and the picture to prove it!