Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but Premium users receive great benefits. Premium benefits include:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
Makes sense. But you're also watching the top 1% in the world. I'm sure you tense up a little watching some of the helmet cams from Stew back in the day too! 😉
From my perspective that’s part of the issue with off-road though, a lot of situations with open areas or long straights where I can potentially be going as fast as the top guys without near the skill or experience because of bike speeds. In MX unless you are riding like an absolute idiot you can’t jump the big stuff if you can’t get through the turn quick enough so in most cases the track conditions limit speed capability. Of course there are always exceptions. I could roll around in the forest and not fall over but I would be bored out of my brain.
I'm surprised as well...As a desert guy, I'm kind of scared of trees too though...I wonder how those dudes that are afraid of trees would feel about a bomb run at a hare and hound?
If the rider goes fast enough, will he miss the forest for the trees?
The Shop
Free shipping: VITALMX
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
i didn’t know people don’t like AJ, I think he has a good way of explaining technique.
AJ I think is a good teacher. But he comes across as arogant to me a bit. Like the expert on everything. How the world works is you need accomplishments to back it up. He was a good racer, won some amateur titles I think. But he isn't the authority. He also says silly stuff, but sometimes it is taken out of context. He also posted a video saying he jumped 200 ft or something, and it looked like, at best, 100 ft (can't remember the specifics).
To answer his claim, I think it depends on your level of skill. Motocross has a fairly predictable track lap after lap. I think that is what AJ is getting at. Woods racing is more variable, especially when you get into hard enduro. I would say though, for most people, the chance of serious injury is highest in motocross. With trails, you may come off and dump the bike, but you're far less likely to do a femur, spine, neck etc.
I don't think it matters if its a jump, a tree or a minivan, moto is just inherently dangerous.
And that's why its awesome.
I broke my back during an enduro, and shattered my ankle racing motocross. Anything can happen in a dangerous sport, which is motorcycling in general.
They feed you to the Bears
If there is no one there to hear it and the rider is concussed, then no. If his buddy is there he hears the "Oh Shit" loud and clear just before impact LOL
I know this - I'm a 35 yr moto guy from A to Vet.........LOVE IT. I tried a few off road races ! ! ! yah, those are feeking mad, skilled and crazy AF. We Moto boys are princess's. Truth hurts.
I’d say there’s definitely more variables in the woods and things to bounce your head and body off of but big jumps on a moto track are pretty dangerous also, so they are probably at the same level of danger in my opinion. However I will say desert racing is far more dangerous than moto. High speeds, no idea what is coming up next, and you’re putting your life in the hands of volunteer club members who hopefully marked all of the dangers you’re coming up on. I’ve seen way more life flights out of a desert race than I have at a moto track. Shit I’ve ridden some stuff in southern Utah where if you make a mistake and go 12” on way or another, best case scenario you pick up the pile of metal and plastic that used to be your bike at the bottom of the 1000’ cliff, worst case someone picks the mush that used to be you up at the bottom of the cliff. Never had to worry about that on a moto track
Well Lung , after breaking up my 65 yo body on some of those trees, I am not ashamed to admit that yes I’m afraid of them. Those fuckers do not move !! Not matter how hard you hit them !!
However, that’s racing at A class speeds. Just trail riding is a completely different animal, no scary business there
I mostly ride MX but have done some woods stuff and he's not wrong . If you try to go fast in the woods it's just as dangerous as MX if not more , trees don't move lol
I used to legit enjoy watching AJ's video. Just an interesting few minutes of content but lately he is seemingly going off the deepest end for some weird reason.
Hes building a great deal I admit, but the outlandish hot takes seem forced
I started out in MX but raced woods most my adult life and I only actually hit a tree hard a few times. I think it must be the level of concentration you instinctively adopt dodging them. I had more serious injuries racing a few years in MX than decades in woods.
It's not about the terrain of which type of riding is more dangerous. tt's how hard a person is pushing their limits and how fast they are going. Riding on a vet track at half speed playing around with buddies is not much different than putt putting through the woods or desert with buddies. But balls out racing a MX track, pushing the limits and pace with bigger obstacles at a faster pace and the risk goes way up. Same for going faster through the woods or desert. There's a reason why life insurance companies will cover a rider if they die in a practice crash, but the same life insurance policy is not covered if racing. Both are risky, but that risk goes up with riding intensity.
Late to the party but was going to post something similar. I can’t speak to woods RACING as the closest I’ve come to that was Hannegan’s 45 min Thursday night hare scrambles that were about 75% moto with some trails thrown in (I miss those).
However, public trail riding is insane. I wouldn’t necessarily say there are more injuries than moto, but I would say that most moto injuries are self-inflicted, while many at public areas involve some drunk/stoned/stupid dipshit on a quad or in a UTV hitting you through no fault of your own.
I grew up riding at Exit 202 on I-5 (aka 116th, Donna’s, etc in Marysville, WA)…even back in the 90s, smart moto folks got in and out early before the drunks and dopers woke from the night before. The amount of stupidity in that place was amazing.
Pit Row
Just feel flattered that being a woods rider makes you kind of gnarly in his eyes I guess?
Hard enduro probs the safest even though the obstacles can be gnarly. It’s low speed. Bikes take most of the beating
I grew up near Vancouver. I remember racing a harescramble at hannegans in 86. Ya it was moto mixed with flowy trails. Great for a moto guy.
As someone who raced nothing but moto as a kid and now as a +50 guy races mostly Hare Scrambles I can tell you that off road is so much more gnarly. MX tracks are fairly constant and predictable, you know the things that scare you and the obstacles you'll probably crash on. When I'm racing off road everything is going great and in the blink of an eye I'm on my head. You don't see a root and you are on the ground. Hit something wrong and you are headed towards a tree and internal bleeding.
Just heard Kellen Brauer say on a Podcast that he was at a Vet MX Race in Arizona this weekend and some of the motos on Sunday were cancelled since they were running so far behind due to medical emergencies.
A Vet Race…..
Made me think of this thread.
Yes some guy had a heart attack I believe. Nothing happened on the track. He pulled off and died in the pits. They retired his number i think he said.
I thought the guy who had a heart attack was from a previous race, I doubt they'd have something put together to retire someones number if they died that weekend.
I took it as so many people got hurt they didn't have time to run the last motos. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure I'm not.
Desert Racing is also extremely dangerous, when you crash you are out there for HOURS potentially badly injured and the speeds are very high even if the jumps are Moto sized.
It’s all dangerous and we all do it anyways.
I've raced about every form of off road you can on two wheels. From what I've seen and experienced trials is by far the safest, then woods (East Coast enduro stuff -- real woods), then MX, then desert. The dez is super sketchy because it is so fast and races are really long. GNCC is kinda all over the place since they run in many different locations and terrains. They tend to be pretty high speed races, and can certainly be quite dangerous. I don't think of that as woods racing, but maybe AJ does.
Who's Catanzaro? Never heard of him.
Post a reply to: Another horrible take from Catanzaro