[bdamschen]

So this next season I want to start trying my luck at competition. I've never really raced before and I have no idea where to start out. Pretty much all of my riding buddies are XC or recreational, so I was hoping you guys could point me in the right direction.

I wanted to start out small, and probably in the beginners class, where should I start looking? I was thinking about the sea otter classic since it's close to home, but would it be too serious of a race to start learning the ropes at?

 

[Angus]

I have done several types of bicycle racing in my life and if I learned one thing, you learn about racing by racing. Whatever event you can get to and enter, is how you should start, make sure you have a safe bike and required safety gear and have fun.

 

[RhinofromWA]

I agree with MonkeeHucker, and I will add this:

As far as DH racing. Ride within your comfort zone and try to inch that zone faster. Practice at about your race speed (should be the same as you play riding speed on the course)

I have seen more people get hurt when they race outside there normal zone. Practice at 99% and race at 99%. I always hear "man I can practice all day fine, but when it comes to my race run, I crash every other corner." Seriously if you can get down the mountain without crashing at 110% cool, you might get a trophy. More than likely your crashes will add up and you will be slower and in more pain than if you rode at 99%. Learn to "find the line" (of in/out of control) and learn to ride it, pushing the line when you can but not so far as to put yourself in the hospital. I always thought the "go big, crash hard" crowd was a little looney myself. This is a sport/recreation. Nothing sucks more than sitting out a season with a bad injury.

Remember you are out there to learn and have FUN! You are not going to make big $$$ from it, and it will most likely cost you big $$$ so you better enjoy it....because if you don't enjoy it, there really is no point.

Rhino

 

[skatetokil]

go to fontana. fun courses, good atmosphere, no huge drops or doubles.

 

[zmtber]

I recommend local races, just to see if its something you want to spend money on. Traveling to the different races and lodging ect. can get expensive.

 

[douglas]

take full advantage of practice times, ride the course, over & over again. if theres a spot you have a problem with, stop, do it agian. Find the best lines. I also would walk the course. And start working on your cardio, so many times I got a 4th by under 1 sec, and would think back about how I could have pedaled harder if I wasnt so freakin winded

and have fun!

check out bikereg.com & active.com and your lbs for upcoming races

 

[kahner89]

I agree with MonkeeHucker, and I will add this:

As far as DH racing. Ride within your comfort zone and try to inch that zone faster. Practice at about your race speed (should be the same as you play riding speed on the course)

I have seen more people get hurt when they race outside there normal zone. Practice at 99% and race at 99%. I always hear "man I can practice all day fine, but when it comes to my race run, I crash every other corner." Seriously if you can get down the mountain without crashing at 110% cool, you might get a trophy. More than likely your crashes will add up and you will be slower and in more pain than if you rode at 99%. Learn to "find the line" (of in/out of control) and learn to ride it, pushing the line when you can but not so far as to put yourself in the hospital. I always thought the "go big, crash hard" crowd was a little looney myself. This is a sport/recreation. Nothing sucks more than sitting out a season with a bad injury.

Remember you are out there to learn and have FUN! You are not going to make big $$$ from it, and it will most likely cost you big $$$ so you better enjoy it....because if you don't enjoy it, there really is no point.

Rhino

do exactly that

 

[firestorm]

So this next season I want to start trying my luck at competition. I've never really raced before and I have no idea where to start out. Pretty much all of my riding buddies are XC or recreational, so I was hoping you guys could point me in the right direction.

QUOTE]


I certainly point you in the right direction........."top of the hill" that is where to start. hahaha

 

[Heath Sherratt]

Sea Otter was my first race. It was great because it was pretty organized, easy to talk to others and learn from them and riding with faster people always helps. Any race at the beginner level will be fine for you. I say start as soon as you can! It's great to see what you're made of and I think racing forces us to learn things about ourselves that we would not learn any other way. Have fun and remember to keep it all about learning. As soon as it becomes about winning you can get really discouraged. See you at the races!

 

[elRey]

If your state/ region has any organizations that promote dh racing you should look into them. See if there are any local dh races close to you. That is where you should start. Just go out and have fun in the beginner category for your first race, and see where you want to go from there.

 

[Chunky Munkey]

I agree with rhino up thay-a above me. I use to ride a dirt bike. I found that practice made me be able to push the limits of my bike AND myself with LIMITED risk being that I was so comfortable at high speed and high heights and able to do things in the air on my bike because I had been doing them for years. I use to see people that I KNEW were not as good as me and they'd try to keep up and I'd not only smoke them but they'd crash hard and I'd go back and tell them to not push the limits until they have done it for years of practice. You don't see guys riding motocross and being number one cuz they're reckless, they are that good because they rode EVERY day over and over and over for years and started with small jumps and now are doing huge stuff because of the expertise over the years. You will break barriers each time you go out. Just don't try to break all the barriers at once. Do it when you know you can. And he's right about people crashing on race day. On race day, a lot of people are out to win and willing to push the limits to win. The winning riders usually are the ones that push the limits within what they know they can get away with and play it easy in hopes the other guys trying to catch him will screw up as they'll be all out for the marbles and usually will screw up and crash thus leaving the winner the winner for a reason, because he used reason and strategy to win. It's not always about who's the fastest down the hill, it's who is the fastest without falling and across the line first.