like title says, im going for it as its about time. im 32 and been riding since i was in my teens. i live in western pa and a friend wants me to try the CRA series set mostly in eastern ohio. i rode a decent amount with him and he said ill be fine, i just need to work on being less polite! any tips for a new racer?
prep your bike for bullet proof worry free ride, prep self and go have fun...you aint getting paid for it, its a glorified trail ride, but like your buddy said don't be so polite it is a race not really a trail ride, look for outs and safe passing opportunities always in case you get stuck behind someone or a group. Racing is just focused trail riding. remember you are not going to win in the first few corners (like a lot of guys think/do) go the distance pace yourself and keep moving forward---never give up, even if tired keep moving forward. Go for it have fun!!
Treat your first race as a learning experience, and try to set a pace that's manageable. If you don't, you might get tired early and end up crashing.
from the videos i have watched you guys are right, going like hell the first ten minutes and then getting fatigued doesnt sound like a recipe for success. i will try my best to have fun. my main bike ill be using will be my 360. everything is serviced and set up other than the suspension which i just got back from WER, but i have time to set that up. i like the thought about racing being focused trail riding, thats probably a good way to look at it.
i guess there are many different types of riders, we probably all ride 250s really well and some like bigger and some ride smaller. i still want to try a smallbore....extra power seems to help me more than it hurts. if you cant get out of a tough jam on the 360 then you might as well turn around. its a very comforting bike to me, altho i may take my trusty swede 88 250 out some to a race or two. ive had it forever and im very familiar with it, but im hoping with drews revalving and respringing i can get the 360 to surpass it for me..the damping was all jacked up...im really excited to get out there this spring. i need to get some gear as well. ive never worn proper upper body protection..
My advice: 1st don't let testosterone take over at first. Cause you will burn yourself out. 2nd get yourself in your own shall I say race pace. Then improve yourself each lap. 3rd look for numbers in your class. Pick them off one by one. 4th if faster rider comes up behind you let him pass. That is polite! Also point where you want him to pass if it is tight section. 5th drink lots water night before and almost up to time your starting line leaves. Keeps those cramps away! 6 stretch good before. 7 don't hold your bars like your hanging from 10 story building. Relax so you don't get arm pump up. 8 you can buy all the fast stuff in world, but your money is better spent on working out and getting lots of cardio in. Like riding mountain bike 3 times week etc...... 9 yellow lenses in your goggles magnifies your sight. Always keep your eyes ahead, not down at front wheel rut your in. 10 pick your lines. Keep telling my kid, easier to jump over the muddy creek than get stuck in it. If you crash or stall, there goes your energy. Race smart and pick good fast easy lines. 11 work on standing up! Easier to stand in attack mode than sit down. 12 hit stuff as square as possible. Off camber roots, I square up before hitting! 13 on two strokes, warm them up good and blow them out. Try doing that and put your choke on and hit kill switch right before killing engine. If dead engine start, it kinda primes the engine for 1 kick success. Practice, practice practice your dead engine starts. 14 on starts. Watch how the guy flags the starts or fires the blank gun etc.... Watch what he moves for the starting ritual. Study study study his body language. One guy I know kinda jerks his shoulder, another moves his leg first. That's when I kick! My bike fires as the flag gets raised. But watch what he does to start the lines in front of you. Hate when I'm on the first line to take off! Then I have to guess! Focus, tune everything out around you! 15 if you start in gear and have clutch drag. Hold clutch in till start and try rocking bike back in forth in gear to brake clutch plates loose. So when you kick, doesn't act like it is in gear. 16 Walk first part of track so you know where you are going. If you get a parade lap. Study any lines that are easier to take, in race. 17 if you wear glasses or contacts. Make sure you have something up on your forehead to soak up sweat! Nothing worse than to have sweat roll down your glasses or get in your eyes with contacts. If you wear contacts. Use them over glasses and goggles versus glasses! 18 when you approach a slower rider, be polite coming up behind him and yell move or Hey. When he let's you by! Yell thank you! 19 learn to go faster in higher gear and be fast and smooth! Try not to be jerky, clutchy, first gear lover! 20 on big logs, excavator tires, etc... Sit back on seat to get your front wheel light moving up it first! This takes practice to know how to work the bike and move your weight in the process! 21 all else fails! Just keep the throttle pinned and richochet off all the trees and fly over the handlebars! Your goal is to come in with torn pants, broken chest protector, torn gloves, seaweed hanging off your visor, your goggles missing, and some sticks stuck in your bike all over! Better yet! Take out a ribbon and make sure it fully wraps around your wheel and drags whole race! Ha! Good luck! It's addicting and tons fun! The more you race the better you get! Never, never, never be embarrassed if you come in last place. We all have been there! Oh, one more thing: I you see a guy crash real hard and you think he could be injured. I stop to see if he needs medical attention. There is always another race. I had guy do that when I broke my knee. But there were tons of riders that just blew on by! He rode all the way back to get the EMT's.
21 all else fails! Just keep the throttle pinned and richochet off all the trees and fly over the handlebars! Your goal is to come in with torn pants, broken chest protector, torn gloves, seaweed hanging off your visor, your goggles missing, and some sticks stuck in your bike all over! Better yet! Take out a ribbon and make sure it fully wraps around your wheel and drags whole race! Ha! I guess you have seen me race before. lol! Good luck! It's addicting and tons fun! The more you race the better you get! Never, never, never be embarrassed if you come in last place. We all have been there! My first 3 races ( ONLY 3 RACES ) I was in the the top 10, ( even though there were only 9 in my class) hehehehe. Hey Justin , a couple of the guys I ride with race that circuit, I let you know when race season starts.
Here's how it's actually going to work...you will think about these comments repeatedly, even on the starting line. Then some guy will wave the flag and you'll forget about all of it until you reach the checkered flag. Then you will sit there and talk or think about everything you could have done different...the next couple days will be spent searching youtube for videos hoping someone posts quick and that you have a second of fame in it. You'll also spend the next month frustrated that there is to much time between races. Now repeat all of this for a season and then the next season it should all come together for you
Just chill all above posts are spot on, dont ride out of your comfort zone an keep drinking. Slow is smooth Smooth is fast! It doesnt sound like much but it really works first lap is for remembering where to open up 360 cracking bike you will love the race. Also to finish first, first you must finish! ENJOY
I'm entering my first one this weekend at 41. For me it's just a 40 mile trail ride with a big group. Not gonna push too hard. That's what I keep telling myself anyway. Prep your bike so that doesn't weigh on your mind.
I started my first one on a Suzuki TM 100. Got a terrible start and just tried getting faster and faster every lap. On my second to last lap, buddy told me I was way out in first place. Like what? So I charged even harder! Then I jumped a huge mud hole and sank up to my bars. I broke the back inner fender and mud covered my air box opening. So finished the lap like choke was on! Still finished 3rd! Still have that trophy in my case cause it's the first one! Just remember the train saying: I think I can, I think I can and you can! Or when you go to crash! Just say: this ones gonna leave a mark!
Lots of excellent tips already.... Does your series have a morning race for novice and age riders? In my local HS series, everyone from AA/Expert to the greenest C Novice, race together. Speed differential between fastest and slowest is huge. Novice race is nicer, as usually fewer riders and fastest to slowest is closer. Yes, it's a trail ride of sorts, but a little more intense.... Practice your starts.... You're not looking for the holeshot in your first race, but starting well has benefits. You'll waste energy, if your bike doesn't start right up and you'll have a harder time pulling yourself together and finding a pace, if the line behind you is passing you too soon. Practice running laps at your fastest "trail pace".... Lay out a loop similar to what you think the HS will be and ride it. If the race is 2 hours, pound out the laps and do a pit stop at 1 hour. The last practice before the race... run it backwards to the direction you've been practicing. This is a good tuneup to ride the race course, which you don't know. That said, if you have a chance to walk or bike the course, do so. If you can't, at least walk the start and where the course enters the woods. Practice riding, with all the gear you will use racing... If you don't use roll offs, wear a drink system or a tool belt, but plan on using them in the race.... start using them now. Don't try any new boots, pants gloves or anything else race day. Stick with your most tried and true stuff. Figure out your goggles or glasses.... You need to keep them on, as much as absolutely possible. Racing is way more hazardous, than trail riding in this respect. You're going to deal with a lot more roost, as you are passed and passing. The course will usually be trimmed, but you will be off line moving over to be passed, to pass and get around bottlenecks. This won't be trimmed. Tear offs or roll offs for muddy race, a pair treated with Rain-X for a rainy race. A spare pair by your gas can, for when you pit. In the race... keep riding and going forward. Many guys drop out, so if you ride as many laps as you can, you may be pleasantly surprised at your result! Good luck!
theres a place i like to go to operated by the army corps of engineers local to me that is kinda sandy that has a pretty good mix of whoopish open terrain and woods and i like to do just what you say, riding loops there alone. and i do sometimes reverse it although most parts have now become uni-directional. its a nice place to do testing and push myself but i cant push too hard as theres quads and utvs there and i make myself anticipate them everywhere, just like im riding on the street looking for cars to pull out in front of me. most dys theres no one there. i am used to wearing a camelbak type deal, once i tried one i almost always take it with me. i will need to pick up some tearoffs and get used to them, i have never used them before!
http://racecra.org/DivisionInfo/AdultMXDivisons/tabid/1439/Default.aspx heres the site, it doesnt say much about the hs series
I bought tear offs as well since its gonna be like riding in a constant dusty cloud. I have been running what I consider a race pace (for me anyway) when I can but honestly just will be happy to finish. I had planned on waiting until March to enter my first race, but thanks to some encouragement and a little ribbing from some fellow CH members, I decided to go for it. I planned on taking more time to get in better shape, but hell with it. Only live once and all. At first I was just going to enter sportsman, but decided to go ahead and enter beginners for my age group so I can get a feel for earning points, having a shot at other benefits, and the satisfaction of committing to racing rather than just "trying"it. Go for it, if I can you can.
When I first started racing regularly I had 3 goals. 1. Have fun! 2. Don't Crash 3. Finish One of the first off road races I did was just over 10 years ago... I had my WR250f for about a month at the time, signed up for the open C class and finished the annual hangover scrambles in like 21st out of 30 in my class. I completed all my goals and wanted some more. I still have that poor bike too, it has had a rough life! My riding gear was on point! It was an hour of survival, bikes stuck up to their seats in ruts. Good times. A decade later at the same race I still have the same goals, but now I am in the afternoon race. This year I finished 2nd in 30+ expert class and 15th overall. Later,
As a newish (1.5 seasons) racer myself, I have one major problem that seriously needs fixed….holding my line. I have taken out a couple guys faster than me by not holding my line. The last crash was pretty serious. At first I was really pissed at the other guy, but then realized it was completely my fault. He picked the lower line to pass and I took it when he was in full throttle. Also, people always say to just go out and have fun which is great advise, but some guys are out there for the win at any cost. Watch out for those guys. They only care about impressing there girl friends or something and will take you out and not even blink. C class is the worst for this. We are all green in C class and learning as we go. Many good times ahead for you and good luck!
