New to sport - is it the worst time of year to start??

Jallen90
Posts
3
Joined
10/13/2021
Location
GB
Hi All,

Being new to the sport I booked a full days session at lee Dunham’s track, loved it and I want to jump right in. Do all tracks close for the winter period (uk)? Looks like I’ve got to buy a bike as pretty much no availability on any tracks in the country for hiring kit until next may! any advice for a newb would be appreciated (spent the day on a 250cc seemed great).

Is it a case of if you have a bike you can just turn up and pay to ride on most tracks?

Any help or steering in the right direction would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
1
|
Teejay
Posts
641
Joined
7/3/2018
Location
Midlands, GB
10/13/2021 10:34am
Yeah a lot of tracks stay open during the winter, where abouts in the uk are you? There’s quite a few tracks use the gorace website/app which you can search for practice or race days on any given day. Don’t think there will be many hiring bikes but I could be wrong.

Generally just book in the right group and turn up and ride, even in the rain! Have fun 👍🏼
10/13/2021 10:54am
Another Noob....welcome.

Can't answer your questions as I'm in Africa but I'm pretty sure some of the UK Vitards will chime in...
1
Spudnut
Posts
1943
Joined
6/25/2018
Location
USA
10/13/2021 12:28pm
Get a Cr500 and smash sluts all winter to stay in shape
9
mxtech1
Posts
1968
Joined
7/21/2011
Location
Galesburg, IL, USA
10/13/2021 12:34pm
Honestly, heading into the off season is a great time to start. It gives you time to sort everything out and be ready to go in Spring.

Once you decide what bike to buy, you can then start buying all the other essentials like gear, maintenance chemicals and tools, spare parts, hard parts, etc. being able to spread out those costs over the winter months makes it easier to get what you need to startup without breaking the bank.
1

The Shop

Richy
Posts
3093
Joined
7/18/2020
Location
UK, GB
10/13/2021 2:15pm
Maybe the best time to start, will be some shitty conditions over here for sure, so you'll learn fast man.

You local to Bristol? Hampton and Rogers Hill aren't too far and are good practice tracks, Hampton is pretty flat but it's sloppy in the wet and super loose in the dry, so you will crash but you will learn a lot too.

Side note, nice one on booking some training at LDR, the Dunhams' place is mint and the family are top notch too. My GF did her first day on track at their North Nibley track (up the road from the usual LDR track) and Lee's Dad came over and gave her some support and pointers and his sister even came up from the house to tell her she was doing a good job and to stick with it, nicest folks you could meet and of course Lee is rapid and knows the sport inside out.
sandman768
Posts
8092
Joined
3/21/2014
Location
Saratoga Springs, NY, USA
10/13/2021 3:06pm
If you ride all winter on gnarly mx tracks, you could come to the USA and be a National champion right away👌
5
J2s
Posts
151
Joined
5/18/2012
Location
GB
10/13/2021 3:15pm
Only thing with the winter apart from the shit weather and cleaning wet sand out in the dark is
getting a place must tracks will be rammed now that most of the racing is done but at least you can save a place pre booking now since COVID came about
end of the summer is the best time for newbies
Dry tracks and not many riders
Wildtracks and mildenhall are prime examples
Loads of spaces empty ish pits late summer
Packed come January
if you make it through winter you have bug
Injoy
1
Jallen90
Posts
3
Joined
10/13/2021
Location
GB
10/14/2021 10:21am
Richy wrote:
Maybe the best time to start, will be some shitty conditions over here for sure, so you'll learn fast man. You local to Bristol? Hampton and...
Maybe the best time to start, will be some shitty conditions over here for sure, so you'll learn fast man.

You local to Bristol? Hampton and Rogers Hill aren't too far and are good practice tracks, Hampton is pretty flat but it's sloppy in the wet and super loose in the dry, so you will crash but you will learn a lot too.

Side note, nice one on booking some training at LDR, the Dunhams' place is mint and the family are top notch too. My GF did her first day on track at their North Nibley track (up the road from the usual LDR track) and Lee's Dad came over and gave her some support and pointers and his sister even came up from the house to tell her she was doing a good job and to stick with it, nicest folks you could meet and of course Lee is rapid and knows the sport inside out.
Yeah lee was cool and the track was in great condition. I’m Cheltenham based so not far from Bristol at all.

Space on tracks seems to be pretty rare atm, I guess it’s all a knock on from COVID, although one good thing is there seems to be loads of bikes for sale atm

Another question, anyone had any experience with hitch carriers (I’ve got a Ranger wild track). I’d rather not drive around with the tailgate down if I can help it.

Cheers for all your responses so far!
Radical
Posts
2882
Joined
10/20/2012
Location
San Diego, CA, USA
10/14/2021 10:35am
It's always a good time to start, no matter the track conditions or weather.
There's only one way to learn how to ride mud, and that's to ride in the mud.
There's only one way to learn how to ride ruts.
If the weather is too bad, and the tracks are closed, there's time to get your bike dialed in, and get in shape for when they open back up.

When my friends tell me it's supposed to rain, I tell them that if the track is open, I'm riding. I don't care what the weather is. Unfortunately, I might be the only one who thinks this way. The tracks around here close pretty quickly when there's rain.

Post a reply to: New to sport - is it the worst time of year to start??

The Latest