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i got a hummer in the truck before riding Starwest one day, Weimer was there that day (amateur support Suzuki at the time) and i passed him like a wet fart. some dude in the truck next to me lopped his finger off in his disc the same day.
No idea 'how to do doubles' nowdays, other than the alcoholic varieties, seem to be ok at that. Mines a malt.
I guess also you got to be sort of comfortable on the bike, its probably no good attempting it, if you are too nervous. I think once one is sort of getting faster generally on other areas of the track also, then it may sort of come more naturally, rather than having to force it.
Don't know how these kids(pros) do it nowdays... credit to them and guess also the bikes have come far.
If you try to follow someone on a tricky jump out of a corner, by the time you realize how hard your buddy is accelerating to clear it you're already too late. You should have already been on the gas.
I just gradually built up my jumping skills on things like large tables, landing on top of them until I'd just be naturally comfortable enough to clear them. Eventually just sailing over them they ended up not feeling big.
Eventually I just got that comfortable in the air I was able to concentrate on so many other things other than the feeling/fear of being in the air, like better mid air bike control.
And then clearing bigger jumps just wast an issue I just spent that much time getting used to it and practicing it all felt second nature.
It took me about 2 years riding most weekends to be mostly comfortable but I didnt really feel any pressure I literally didnt give a shit about what other people thought. Nobody can tell you how to do it you just need to ride ride ride and it will come and going big while you are uncomfortable is a recipe for disaster...you'll only be a passenger with the takeoff and landing being the deciding factors.
Just stop worrying about other people is my advice and enjoy riding
I do this at all jumps I've conquered and that I'm contemplating. This provides the benchmark for a go or no go. Some jumps do not lend themselves to this method, So I just size them up and or compare them to past jumps.
I rode Hangtown for the first time last weekend. I walked the track and immediately took the table after the second turn off my list as it was farther than I've jumped comfortably. The step up at the 150 I was not able to get paced...... it did remind me of the uphill road jump at Washougal , so it went on went on my list as did several others.
That night I rode the track in my mind... something I've done since I raced in Germany. Saturday morning I told myself which jumps I was jumping on the first lap of practice. I accomplished my goal and nailed 4 big jumps on the first lap. Did them one more time and pulled off.
I worked on the others in the first moto. By Sunday I was jumping them all except the one that I took off my list. Just could not sack up for the one. Looking forward to riding Hangtown again
Pit Row
Anyhow, to the OP, IMO doing pretty much anything on a motocross track should be a matter of gradual progression. If there's a table or a step up (much less intimidating than doubles) then get used to hitting them. And practice slightly over and slightly under jumping them on purpose to get a really good feel for how the bike responds. Doing that will get you better able to react on the face of the jump to gauge how much throttle and if you need any extra seat bounce to get over the jump. Also, when you over or under jump anything I find you can soften the impact if you land rear wheel first - especially on the OJ. Then watch other guys on the same size bike as you hit the double and follow them into it, but back off at the last moment to get a feel for how fast they're going, where they're gassing it (hard out of the turn and into the jump or maybe they're actually rolling off at the lip to avoid OJing?). Then I would visualise the couple turns before and me attacking the face of the jump and confidently sailing over it and landing on the downside. By that time I've already cleared the jump in my mind and I'm confident in my ability to make it over it so I wait for a tow from a similar paced guy and follow him to once side and get a tow over it for the first time. IMO you should only go straight to the tow in if you're already confident about your ability, bike etc. You want to be focused on what you're doing and not focused on the negative consequences of messing it up - that's a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately, it takes time and gradual building to get to that stage. Good luck!
Cheers
Simon
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