For the last four years, I have been a dedicated racer. Always willing to race regardless of time, distance, or cash requirements to make a race. Times haven’t always been easy, and things happened (notably jacking both arms and a wrist), but I’ve made it to adulthood with a pile of trophies and memories that I won’t forget. In other words, BMX has been a major part of my life for a very large part of it.
Today that changed for reasons I’m discovering as time goes by. It’s weird to think about it, but today I canned a race. I went to practice, I registered, but the whole time I knew I didn’t want to race. The reason this feeling struck me as odd was that I didn’t anticipate it. I drove to wednesday practice looking forward to the upcoming season, knowing that I’m stronger, faster, and a better rider then I’ve ever been. But the moment I got on the track something just wasn’t there anymore.
What is that thing that’s lacking? It’s the fun, it’s temporarily gone from racing. This is my own opinion of course, and it’s steerable. Wow, I said it, racing has lost its spark for me. I can promise you it’s not permanent because the fact stands that I still love riding my bike, and I love ripping it up on a track.
So why don’t I enjoy racing? Well, the first thing I noticed when I drove into practice was the new track layout. Yes, some of you knew this would come up, but it’s the truth. Riding a track at speed that has a 25 foot peaked double as the first jump is somewhat frightening. Not for some of you, but for me personally I have to admit it scares the bile out of me. As a rider who’s not good at jumping, I’m not turned on by the thought of buying the farm one more time. Sure, I can clear it, I’m one of the guys with good speed on the bike. But it’s not a question of whether I’m physically capable, it’s a question of why I should bother risking my own arse one more time.
I said one more time because I’ve been in this position before, but last time I deemed it more important to win then to restrain. Bad deal, I ended up with two broken arms and a broken wrist. So how do I get over the psychological barrier that has been set up for me? I went to hit this jump today and mashed the brakes five feet in front of the lip. Why would a four year rider act this way, I should be fine right?
So, I started watching the other riders at the track deal with this thing that was stuck on the first straight. What I noticed really didn’t surprise me. Out of a total group of around 200 riders I saw close to 10 of them who were able to safely clear the double. That’s not right, and I also couldn’t help noticing how many guys managed to case it. Lets review that again, the local track builders design a track for trail riders, and the only guys able to ride it are the ones who built the track. Wow, what a surprise. This wouldn’t matter to me, but it’s not the first time I’ve seen this happen. If memory serves right the only tracks I’ve been on in my entire career that weren’t over built were ABA sanctioned. That’s right, it was possible for anyone to go to the tracks in my local area and ride fast. No vices, no deadly trail sections that eat riders alive (has that changed in the last year?).
What’s my point? Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve come to notice that bmx racing in general is the trendiest sport in the world. Trails are cool, so the NBL builds all of its tracks to resemble a trail section with a starting gate. Clips are supposed to make riders fast, so riders run clips. Aluminum is supposed to be lighter, so riders use aluminum. Since when is that racing? Why is it that on the new tracks the riders ride around the track in a line in the same order they came off the gate? Is that supposed to be good competitive fun? Why aren’t riders passing on the straights, or better yet why aren’t they passing in the turns?
Luckily for me, I started riding before my home track had jumped on the bandwagon of sanctioned trails. I did get to experience what it’s like to race in a large group, to get booted in a turn, to pass anywhere on the track.
So here’s the deal, I want to make this column an interactive reader reply to writer setup. Anyone who reads this and has an opinion about what I say, write me. I want all the replies I can get to see how the rider population feels about recent trends in bmx. If you don’t like what I say, good. If you agree with me, even better.
Write to bmxman_69@hotmail.com. Also, include other opinions such as those about clipless pedals, aluminum bikes, and anything else that suits you.
Either way, it looks like my racing career has taken a somewhat relaxed attitude. I’m not inclined to quit racing, but I don’t want to be on the track every waking hour of my day either. Hopefully that will change for the better soon.
Take it easy guys, and give me all the mail you can send.