I have a motocross race I'm doing on Sunday at a track called Hangtown in Sacramento. I took my trail bike out last weekend to get some seat time and build up some endurance for this weekend's race. It's a trail bike so it's not really made for jumping...I have a MX race bike for that...didn't stop me from doing some small jumps though:



...and of course, if you're not crashing...you're not trying hard enough:



A little nervous about this track since I've never been there before...it's a Nationals track that the pros race that I've seen on tv. Any positive mojo thrown my way would be appreciated!

You go there and kick some butt. But most importantly: Have fun

Fingers crossed!

Ditto. Have fun and stay safe.

Thanks RS & Jim!

I'm enjoying your progresd visible trough this thread

It also reminds me of my own thread here where I was charting my own advances in becoming the slowest racedriver on earth. So I think I know the feeling you're enjoying right now

I Remember reading that thread years ago. Need to dig up your old link.

lol.

I am grateful that there are clubs for us old guys so we can feel like we race motocross. When I'm lined up at the starting gate, I feel and look like a motocross racer...but then the gate drops and that illusion melts away as my lack of riding skills rears it's head.

I'm hoping I will have some video of the race of me doing decent! Having fun and coming home in one piece is a win for me though.

Cheers!

I would like to check that out!

If you ever do that again check out Prairie City near Folsom - mind you it's been over 20 years since I rode dirtbikes there, but that place was a BLAST!

They even have (or did) some small road tracks - I did some YSR-50 racing there (actually with Suzuki RM-80 motors stuffed in them), that was so crazy. These bikes were so tiny, but they'd flip you over in a heartbeat if your wrist didn't know what it was doing, and they'd go 100mph with the right gearing (at Prairie City we'd gear for around maybe 60mph top speed though).

That sounds slow, and looks slow to an outside observer, but when your face is inches off the ground carving through a corner (and NO full size bike can corner like these things!) a mere 40mph is WAY fast.....

"Hangtown" is just a nickname for the Nationals mx track at Prairie City SRVA. So maybe it's the same place?

So...the race went good and I finished 4th overall...getting a little better.

I plan on making a vid when I get a chance...but here's some pics from the day:

Waiting at the starting gate




Coming through two riders that went down




Nice shot coming over the finish line with some of the track in the background



Had a great time and came home safe! There was a benefit relay race added to raise money for breast cancer...it was fun to watch and for a worthy cause.

Neato Podium next time! How was your endurance?

I felt pretty good actually! The second moto was a bit more brutal and took more out of me...the track was pretty well beat up after several hours/motos of racing. That was the last regular race of the year so I need to try and keep in ride shape for when the season starts at the beginning of Feb.

I started late and only did three races...my goal is to race a full season next year, about 13-15 races.

If you can find your thread on your racing fun...it sounds like a good read if you can find it and link it here.

I went looking for it a few days ago, but no dice... Might try if Google csn see it.

So, time to sign up for the Gym ey?

Found my old thread:
http://SimHQ.com/forum/ubbthreads.p...-racer-to-real-supersport-racing-wet-wea

So I somehow stopped updating after three threads...

See here guys, I can do gravel too!

I just read through your whole journey...great stuff! You stopped updating the thread but I looked on your channel and saw the other vids where you were riding damn fast and looking good!

Did you give it up back in 2013 or are you still going to track days occasionally?

I'm not sure why I stopped updating...

My set goal was the 2:29 laptime that my friend set on our very first visit - so when I crashed in 2013 I was doing 2:30s or such, and it was really disappointing to find that after the crash I was back into the 2:50s or at least high 40s.. I was really frozen on my left hand side in all the left turns, all stiff for fear.

Too me two more years to somewhat recover (2014 was #%&*$#, sometimes I was slower on the next training than the previous... which never had happened before) and 2015 finally was some high 30's again.

In 2016 (last year) we went all out, my other friend and I, and booked five events, for a total of nine days riding all over the summer. On the penultimate day of that season I finally broke the 2:29, almost had a highsider on the next lap (had to take a ride into the grass and sand pit), and from the first two sectors of that lap would have had a 2:25

That's me hugging the bike after it decided not to kill me.




For me it had been a great five years, a lot of emotional work to overcome the fear and doubt if I could do it. Technically the bike would be good for 2:10 or such, so at the level I'm riding it's really only my head deciding the laptimes.


Maybe next year the story continues

A crash really does set you back mentally...takes awhile to get back to where you were.

That second screenshot is wallpaper material...maybe a poster in the garage!

Here's some clips of my third race:

Is it possible that you are holding back from mixing into the group ahead? It does remind me of my own videos where I sometimes find myself doing that (unconciously) on purpose...

Still think your ride is more scary than mine

We also share the habit of noticing way too much on the side of the road, like the crashed rider. The real fast guys basically "don't see that".