30+ Year-old Beginners?

noob
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noob
Edited Date/Time 1/26/2012 11:12pm
I went to Piru yesterday, and happened to park next to a few dudes from Dirt Rider. They were really cool, giving me basic pointers that most of you probably learned when you were 6. It was awesome!

I got my first motocross bike when I was 30... which in "motocross years" turns out to equal around 65-70.

Anyone else start into moto late in life?
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noob
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noob 1/14/2010 1:16pm
1/14/2010 1:16pm
Outsider wrote:
You ride?
Most of the time, I'm just "along for the ride."

Hopefully soon, I'll be wearing the pants in the relationship; telling my bike what to do.
noob
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noob 1/14/2010 1:16pm
1/14/2010 1:16pm
txmxer wrote:
same here.
How old were you when you started, tx?

The Shop

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Outsider
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Outsider 1/14/2010 1:25pm
1/14/2010 1:25pm
I had a 125 when I was a teen that I bought and had to hide from parents... didn't pick it up again till much later in life. Raced offroad first, and then moved back to socal, were buddies forced me into moto... have had some great times.

For me, the worst part about starting later in life is sacking up for the bigger jumps... would have been much easier when younger.
cobra314
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cobra314 1/14/2010 1:31pm
1/14/2010 1:31pm Edited Date/Time 1/14/2010 1:31pm
I did some woods riding for about a year and a half when I was in high school and then my step dad got rid of my bike. I didn't get another bike until I was 32.
noob
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noob 1/14/2010 1:51pm
1/14/2010 1:51pm
Outsider wrote:
I had a 125 when I was a teen that I bought and had to hide from parents... didn't pick it up again till much later...
I had a 125 when I was a teen that I bought and had to hide from parents... didn't pick it up again till much later in life. Raced offroad first, and then moved back to socal, were buddies forced me into moto... have had some great times.

For me, the worst part about starting later in life is sacking up for the bigger jumps... would have been much easier when younger.
Sacking up for some of the smallest jumps is tough with a mortgage to pay.
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ThePipe
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ThePipe 1/14/2010 1:54pm
1/14/2010 1:54pm
Doesn't matter how long you've been riding.

Riding's a Blast anyway you look at it.

I've ridden non stop since 1978 and have as much fun now as then.
rallendude
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rallendude 1/14/2010 1:56pm
1/14/2010 1:56pm
Look at it this way. You have an advantage. You haven't broken as many bones as most 30 y/o motocrossers.
kawboy388
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kawboy388 1/14/2010 2:04pm
1/14/2010 2:04pm
Add to that...........your fastest days are ahead of you, most of us +30 racers fastest days are a distant memory.
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ThePipe
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ThePipe 1/14/2010 2:06pm
1/14/2010 2:06pm
kawboy388 wrote:
Add to that...........your fastest days are ahead of you, most of us +30 racers fastest days are a distant memory.
Very good point!
Hold It On
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Hold It On 1/14/2010 2:08pm
1/14/2010 2:08pm
rallendude wrote:
Look at it this way. You have an advantage. You haven't broken as many bones as most 30 y/o motocrossers.
Done some riding as a kid. Only got back into it at 31 when the kids started. 3 yrs and I've done medial ligament and miniscus in right knee, acl and miniscus left knee, cracked tibia left leg and damaged tendons left collarbone. Not to mention various abrasions and bruises as we all know is part of the game. Lol, just yesterday had some interaction with a barbed wire fence and it looks like a tiger tried mauling my back.

Not as many injuries for sure, but giving it a red hot go.

Gotta love riding, if anything, I give the kids a giggle and teach them how to pass.
mill2
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mill2 1/14/2010 2:16pm
1/14/2010 2:16pm
noob wrote:
Sacking up for some of the smallest jumps is tough with a mortgage to pay.
X2 I try to keep it in the woods, not the tracks. 30 rider here
Outsider
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Outsider 1/14/2010 2:18pm
1/14/2010 2:18pm
noob wrote:
Sacking up for some of the smallest jumps is tough with a mortgage to pay.
mill2 wrote:
X2 I try to keep it in the woods, not the tracks. 30 rider here
This is true... not a whole lot of sweet woods riding around these parts though. Cool
noob
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noob 1/14/2010 2:21pm
1/14/2010 2:21pm
Hold It On wrote:
Done some riding as a kid. Only got back into it at 31 when the kids started. 3 yrs and I've done medial ligament and miniscus...
Done some riding as a kid. Only got back into it at 31 when the kids started. 3 yrs and I've done medial ligament and miniscus in right knee, acl and miniscus left knee, cracked tibia left leg and damaged tendons left collarbone. Not to mention various abrasions and bruises as we all know is part of the game. Lol, just yesterday had some interaction with a barbed wire fence and it looks like a tiger tried mauling my back.

Not as many injuries for sure, but giving it a red hot go.

Gotta love riding, if anything, I give the kids a giggle and teach them how to pass.
I'm with you on that last point. My role at the track is to boost everyone else's ego!
Pdub
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Pdub 1/14/2010 2:28pm
1/14/2010 2:28pm
tell us about some of the pointers you got!
huck
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huck 1/14/2010 2:29pm
1/14/2010 2:29pm
I rode when I was younger...but nothing special.

At 24 I got back into it and started racing. I still remember being a lot more excited that first year or two. It was fun to "work up" to jumping 30 foot doubles.



At 36...it's almost like work to go out and ride. lol I get a lot more excited about a rutted up corner, than I do the jumps now.
JPT
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JPT 1/14/2010 2:41pm
1/14/2010 2:41pm
huck wrote:
I rode when I was younger...but nothing special. At 24 I got back into it and started racing. I still remember being a lot more excited...
I rode when I was younger...but nothing special.

At 24 I got back into it and started racing. I still remember being a lot more excited that first year or two. It was fun to "work up" to jumping 30 foot doubles.



At 36...it's almost like work to go out and ride. lol I get a lot more excited about a rutted up corner, than I do the jumps now.
I haven't raced for a bunch of years, but when I think about it, I remember the turns not the jumps.

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huck
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huck 1/14/2010 2:44pm
1/14/2010 2:44pm
huck wrote:
I rode when I was younger...but nothing special. At 24 I got back into it and started racing. I still remember being a lot more excited...
I rode when I was younger...but nothing special.

At 24 I got back into it and started racing. I still remember being a lot more excited that first year or two. It was fun to "work up" to jumping 30 foot doubles.



At 36...it's almost like work to go out and ride. lol I get a lot more excited about a rutted up corner, than I do the jumps now.
JPT wrote:
I haven't raced for a bunch of years, but when I think about it, I remember the turns not the jumps.
They say memory is the first thing to go...
Outsider
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Outsider 1/14/2010 2:48pm
1/14/2010 2:48pm
Honestly I think the most fun I've had riding is carving up a tight, virgin sand wash after a rain... almost like.. well, you know.
Rocket Launcher 1/14/2010 2:48pm
1/14/2010 2:48pm
I started when I was 42 and my son was 10. He is 14 now and I am 47.

We still love to get out and ride together a few times a month. I hope he sticks with it until he goes off to college. But if he decides to just drive a car and chase girls when he is 16, I will still ride MX!
russerbe
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russerbe 1/14/2010 2:51pm
1/14/2010 2:51pm Edited Date/Time 1/14/2010 2:51pm
I rode as a kid and then a short stint in my low 20's. Just this year at 35, I had shoulder surgery which allowed me to start riding again. I recently got an 09 KX450. I love it, but it kills me that I don't have half the sack to hit jumps like I did when I was young. I live in West Texas and our tracks are only open maybe 1 day a month unless there is a series going on. So, I don't get any seat time to get better. It's frustrating as hell. When it warms up, I'm going to start going to Dallas for the weekend to ride. They have so many great tracks that are open damn near every day. Maybe then, I'll get fast enough that I won't roll the braking bumps! Hahahaha
swizcore
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swizcore 1/14/2010 2:51pm
1/14/2010 2:51pm
Dont care what anyone says. No One on Vital rides.
sec114
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sec114 1/14/2010 2:56pm
1/14/2010 2:56pm
noob wrote:
I'm with you on that last point. My role at the track is to boost everyone else's ego!
you are probably not as slow as you think you are; just dont worry about the jumps you are not comfortable with. Concentrate on cornering as fast as you can. When you can come out of a corner with pretty good momentum the jumps soon afterwards will be a lot more realistic to you. Just stay on 2 wheels and put in your time and things will come to you. Have fun and stay safe; as it is always good to add to the number of mx riders out there.
Psycho Myko82 1/14/2010 3:18pm
1/14/2010 3:18pm
I'm 32 now, 25 when I got my first bike, 30 when I started racing. I really don't care about racing, I only do a few races a year. I'm all about riding. Even after a broken foot and fractued hip from coming up short on a jump. I wouldn't trade it for the world, motocross gave me a whole new lease on life. And now that I have a bike again after a year without one I'm looking forward to the summer bigtime!
Kinetic1
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Kinetic1 1/14/2010 3:19pm
1/14/2010 3:19pm
I started when I was 3 and rode non stop until I was 15. I still was not fast. I didn't ride off pavement again until I bought a Suzuki DR350 when I was in my twenties. I went through boat loads of bikes over about a five year span. Then didn't ride again until I turned 31. I have been riding every year since. I am faster now than I was as a kid but not as fast as I was three years ago. The bigger jumps make me nervous now. Anything over 65 feet on a table and about 50 feet on a double is off limits to me now. My corner speed keeps getting better though. As long as I can financially swing it I will ride until I can't swing my leg over the bike anymore.
txmxer
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txmxer 1/14/2010 3:52pm
1/14/2010 3:52pm Edited Date/Time 4/17/2016 8:02pm
txmxer wrote:
same here.
noob wrote:
How old were you when you started, tx?
1st race was in '97, so I guess I've been riding off and on for 12 years or so.


Had several times where I was off the bike for work or injury for a year or more in that time. Really sucks. Every time I get jacked up it seems like I'm starting over. And I never seem to get back to where I was (in my mind).

Oh, I'm 42 now, so I guess I was ~30 when I bought the RM 250.



txmxer
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txmxer 1/14/2010 4:00pm
1/14/2010 4:00pm
russerbe wrote:
I rode as a kid and then a short stint in my low 20's. Just this year at 35, I had shoulder surgery which allowed me...
I rode as a kid and then a short stint in my low 20's. Just this year at 35, I had shoulder surgery which allowed me to start riding again. I recently got an 09 KX450. I love it, but it kills me that I don't have half the sack to hit jumps like I did when I was young. I live in West Texas and our tracks are only open maybe 1 day a month unless there is a series going on. So, I don't get any seat time to get better. It's frustrating as hell. When it warms up, I'm going to start going to Dallas for the weekend to ride. They have so many great tracks that are open damn near every day. Maybe then, I'll get fast enough that I won't roll the braking bumps! Hahahaha
drop a line when you are coming this way. We can head out to the local tracks and form a road block...

Where do you ride in Lubbock? When I was there, Abilene and Amarillo, there wasn't much. I think it's MX 211 in Idalou? And a track opened up south of Lubbock 10 years ago, never heard if it made it. I know they had one big event after they opened.

I rode the track in Amarillo and 420 in Borger a few times (think 420 is closed).

Really started in Abilene and rode quite a bit there. It's not bad for a night track and a beginner/novice level rider last I was there.



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