P.U.R.E. BIKE COACHING: BMX Racing?

Trey getting ready to rumble

My son started racing at the bmx track last fall after we saw it on the Olympics. He loves it, and now that the weather has finally gotten better, the racing has started for the season again. My daughter has decided to give it a go as well. They race on Tuesday, Thursday, and most Saturdays throughout the summer, so we spend quit a bit of time at the track. The local bmx organization is awesome. All of the people are super nice, and it's just a great atmosphere. It's all about the kids. That said, they let the old guys play a little, too. Some of the "older" racers knew that I was "sorta" into biking, and have been trying to get me to do some racing. I thought it looked like fun, and besides, how hard could it be?

First off, thanks to Mr. All Things BMX, Bill Drysdale, track director at GVBMX for letting me borrow his sweet bike. I threw my Time mountain bike pedals on it, clipped in, and headed out around the track. Turns out it actually is pretty hard. I was always wondering why everyone was breathing so hard after their races, now I know. It probably only takes about a minute to go around the track, but it's all out, standing up, and for a newbie like me, pretty much wrestling with the bike and hoping to not end up on my head. There are definitely some skills involved, and I don't seem to have any. Everyone said I looked pretty good, but I felt like the old fish outa water, that's for sure.

After a few practice laps, I started to feel a little more comfortable on the bike. Balancing and coming out of the gate is a little awkward at first, but I got better as the night went on. Still, most times during practice the 12yr olds could get the holeshot on me, nothing like being schooled by a kid! Eventually, practice time ended and it was time for the motos to start. I raced in the old guys Novice division. It's just like road racing, in that you start out as a novice, win races and upgrade to race with more experienced and faster racers. Luckily, there were only three racers in that division, so I didn't have to worry about it being to crowded out there. Since I don't have any skills to speak off, I had to rely on my fitness to get me around the track. I was able to power away from the other racers in the few areas of the track that I could actually pedal through. We raced three motos. I was 1st, 2nd, then 1st again, for 1st place overall. Mariah also raced for the first time, placing third, and coming back strong after a hard crash in her first moto. Awesome.

Mariah's first race!

I'm sure I'll be back for more. It was a blast, and good training, too. I figure ripping around on the dirt can only help my bike handling skills when 'cross rolls around again this fall, not to mention the benefit of the short, all out efforts required to get around the track. I think it seems like a fun way to get some sprint efforts in, so I can be ready for the Downtown Sprints at the Tour of Bozeman this summer, unless I skip it to race BMX!