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I ride for fun now days , and I also ride because it's a great way to stay in shape. Actually.....I enjoy the cycling , running , lifting and everything else that I do to try and stay in shape for riding......and , the riding itself plays a big role in keeping me in shape.....they go hand in hand I guess you could say.
I think there are two other reasons why I keep riding as well......and that's the adrenalin rush I get from it.....God only knows what I may end up doing if I couldn't get it from riding my bike. But the other thing ( probably the most important )....are my riding buddies. I have a lot of them , and if it wasn't for them I probably wouldn't even be back in this sport.
I love this sport more than anything......and I have to have that little bit "fear / rush " to make me feel a little more alive. Just putting around and playing it safe does nothing for me. If it comes to the point to where that's all i'm doing......I'll probably just step away from the sport. Believe me....I'm sick of getting hurt.......I just had a rough year in 2012.....that's for sure.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
don't be fooled into thinking you need a full on rig for standard trail duties, if you are just getting into it a good quality hard tail or full susser with about 4 inch of travel will do most tasks well without the weight penalty.
go look at a specialised camber or similar - they will be very good value in the states (usa brand) and they are a damn good bike for someone new, hell for experienced riders as well in fact.
But then 15 yrs later I started riding again and found I still had it. Mind you I had kids, mortgage, and work. I don't really think the "fear" is there even now. I mean we all know what can happen, but if you don't put it to the back of your mind you probably shouldn't be riding. I know for me, I can't think when I'm racing, whether its about how i need to ride, my technique or even crashing because when I take my focus off what is happening that immediate second or the few right after it, thats when I make mistakes.
If I would say that I have moments of "fear" about it, its when I am completely away from the bike. Like maybe on the way to ride(practice not race for some odd reason). Or just when I reflect on racing in general. I would assume it is because that is when I allow myself to think about what can happen. I would say whether you want to call it fear or not you are only kidding yourself if you say that you don't think about the consequences at one point or another.
Wow that was long. Even I probably wouldn't read all of this!
if you are injured in sweden:
Max medical bill: about 50 bucks
Income loss from work 20-36%. the least you get is 64% if you cant fork for a few months. The first period you get 80%.
I raced my first MX in 5 years last weekend. I ran beginner and did a little better than expected (7th out of 10, I expected last place). I jumped most everything, but I didn't clear all of them. I had more fun than I've had in a long time.
My favorite sections were some of the turns and the straights, and the camelbacks that allowed me to maintain speed without losing much ground to the guys that jumped the whole distance.
If there were still an old school grass style track around here I'd be there every weekend. I love jumping, but I am 40something and way past needing to prove myself to others on the track.
I am lucky in that my local race series runs on tracks that are pretty natural and don't have many man made jumps,I ride a little 125 and just have a blast.
One of my friends has been riding pretty seriously since he was 4, he went out on town on a saturday night and was beaten up by a gang of lads with a metal bar on his way home. It's stuff like that which is why I can ride, because you don't know what is around the corner.
I rarely ever enter a race and mostly just ride tracks for fun. For me, getting out on a track with a bunch of teenagers riding over the head chasing a $10 plastic trophy is not worth it. I also try my best to ride within my limits, and never jump anything unless I am absolutely certain I can do it. I always tell some of my friends it's better to be wuss today and ride next week, than be off the bike for 6-weeks to 6-months. Along with listening to fear, I think it is also smart to keep yourself in check on days you feel absolutely great too, because those conditions can lead to riding over your head. The only thing I have to gain from riding are good times.
Pit Row
The tracks around ATL (Bremen and Monroe MX) have a lot of challenging man-made jumps for a spode like me. Last time I went to Bremen I didn't feel up to trying even the smaller jumps (doubles), and only caught a little air on the "MX" section, and a little on the big table. I still had fun because I respect the track and am aware of my riding limitations. I ride plenty fast *for me*.
No desire for any more $2 plastic trophies even though I have a half dozen or so in the shop. I love the starts of races.. that's what I miss most really. the rush of waiting for that gate to fall is something I'll never grow to miss.
I see so many awesome natural terrain type tracks on youtube ,and am jealous. We had one open for a few months back in 2006 up in Gainseville but it closed who knows why. They were packed every time I went. The tracks that stay open are geared for teenagers with no fear.
That being said, about three quarters of my thoughts involve scenarios where I get on the bike and am all of the sudden blazingly fast. The other 25% is about how damn scary the sport is, and all the different close calls I've had, or could have. Gotta be the only sport where a split second mistake could have some serious medical bills to follow. Yes, I definitely have a fear of riding. That's why I'll never be blazingly fast... haha. All the fast riders from my local track I can think of are dumber than snot!
Quitting: I have quit a few times for various reasons, and always managed to come back. Never because I was afraid, more like I was just out of money or was at a point in life where I thought I was ready to "grow up." That one happened when I was 29, the surpreme irony is that since coming back in my 30s I've had more fun than ever. I hardly worry about vet class -- we all tend to ride our pace and let things sort themselves out.
Getting Landed on/landing on somebody: I too worry more about practice and whatever mix of skilled rider the promoter happens to throw out there on the track at the same time. Because there's a big difference between my +40 "B" and a 18 year old kid in 250 "B" as far as how many chances we are going to take. The Canard/Morais crash last year goes through my head every time I'm out on the track in an open practice.
Risk vs Reward: Amen.
I also noticed that many no longer race, but before you write it off, you might be pleasantly surprised at the mentality in the vet classes if you gave it a try. A lot more camaraderie, and it seems like most of us are just happy to still be out there.
Rationally I could/should dial it down a notch, drop a class, run mid-pack or worse. But I have an uber-competitive streak in me. I just can't stand to concede a top 5 spot if I have the skill to be up there and I usually do on most days. But that extra push stretches the margin and sends the risk factor to the edge. After struggling with the whole thing, I just decided it was best all the way around to avoid my bike on race days.
But I still wheel it out to blast around the woods. Once I get my knee fixed, I'm thinking of trying an enduro.
How fast were you years ago when you quit? How serious into the racing scene were you?
Me personally......I started riding when i was about 7-8yrs old. I had my very first race when I was 13.....and all the way up until I was about 18...it was hit and miss. Only a few times a year and when my dad could afford to take me. I mowed lawns . picked strawberries and bucked hay....whatever I could do to put gas in my bike and parts to fix it.
When I turned about 21.....I starred racing every week ( most of the time it was twice a week ). I tried my ass off for about 4yrs to go pro. ( I still have the AMA membership papers here some where. But every time I started doing better , I always broke something ( myself ). I finally gave up on the pro thing and just decided to stay INT and race +25 and years later +30 as well.
I can't speak for everyone.....but for ME....I have a lapse of reason thing happen in my brain. If I am not pushing myself up to....or slightly beyond my limits....I get bored...real quick.
It's a never ending vicious circle with me. I get in shape....ride hard....then wreck. I get in better shape....ride harder ....I wreck worse.
If I'm not steadily improving my fitness and speed.....it probably because I'm hurt.
Understand what I'm saying? Some people ( like me ) have a hard time judging what I'm capable of....and I pay for it every now and then. I can't help it....my brain is just wired that way. If I can't ride the way in which I want to , and push myself to the point of almost shitting my pants......There isn't much fun in it for me any more.
BTW.... a lot of serious "Racers from the past " will probably tell you the same thing. Some of them decided it would be just safer to step away completely......then back it down to a Non-fun type riding.
I now have 4 kids and need to work. We also now have the net and read what seems like weekly about yet another tragedy. So that awareness is always there. I still absolutely love to ride. However the older I get the more I think about getting hurt. It's been nearly 9 years since my last bad one. But I usually have fear a few days before leading up, then as I am gearing up. But once I get out on the track (just practice days now) I feel myself saying, " Yeah I still know how to do this" and then I settle in and really start to have fun.
I consider hanging it up all the time. But then I think, "Hey I could die on my way to work just as easy if not easier?" So I end up with a " You know what? I am gonna keep doing what I love and just try and be smart."
i cant really do the cruise around having a nice sunday ride thing, only got two speeds go and stop
i do agree with the whole mixed class practice thing too it gets really sketchy out there when everyones mixed....one of our local tracks runs a beginner, inter, expert system which works quite well
But sometimes after a long day of riding and your feeling good on the bike and going really fast, you are just so tired that when the little unexpected kicker gives you a close call because you just dont have the strenght anymore, that is when I usually call it a day before I hurt myself
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