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need advice

66

Monkey
Jul 17, 2003
489
0
east of Seattle
I have just finished my 4th season of racing. 6th year of freeride. millionth year of ridding. I had an ok season. I got results just like i planned for my first year in semi, middle to 2/3s. I had a blast at most of the races. I have made a steady increase in performance each year. I have a great race bike. I have just enough cash to get to most of the races I want to hit.

so the problem is, I don’t want to race. I had to kinda' drag myself to race last weekend at Hood and didn't go to Mt. Washington this weekend. I'm not going to Mammoth. I'm tired. In the last race seasons, I have finished with the feeling of not getting enough, and this year i'm on the other end. not that i got too much riding but i don't want to put forth the effort or cash to travel and race. I'm riding very reserved and safe.

so the question is, have you racers that have put in more time then I had a similar year? did it go away? did you quit racing? did you go to the top the next year? Anyone wanna buy a pile of bikes (just kidding)?
 

Motoking16

Monkey
May 16, 2005
209
0
Bend, OR
You need to take some time off. Seriously you do. And during that time off do not touch a bike, try to stay away from the biking community so you can show yourself what it really means to you. You also need to think about what you want to do with your racing career, do you want to go pro and get known, or do you just want to have fun. Those are two completely opposite things and the most important thing to know, becauase it can be the difference between a lot of time and money. If you realize that you just want to do it for fun then just go to the races you want to go to, race and have FUN! you sound like you are too hard on yourself when you ride. I went through the exact same thing when i was racing moto for 5 years straight. I just simply got board. Now i race moto less then i used to and am planing on racing pro DH for a couple years and go over to europe and race some world cups in 2007. But seriously, as hard as it sounds, just park the bike for a while and figure out what you want to do.
 

Borneo

Turbo Monkey
Mar 22, 2004
1,010
0
Duvall
The Pirate was good to me... :)

Seriously though. I completely agree. Take some time off. You're lucky. For most of us, it's mandatory time off due to a busted something or another that causes us to ponder why we like this mountain biking thing so much.
For me, the turning point was clipping a fir tree with my left shoulder on the Porter #3 downhill at an old Eric Eaton race and soaring off into the brush at about 24 mph.
Racing was never the same. I had a mortgage, a wife, and a kid on the way and paying too much to beat the crap outta myself and my bike just wasn't worth it any more. Yeah, I've raced since then. But, it was just drunken 24 hour races with friends. Now I still go to fast and take too many risks for my insurance policy, but, I enjoy it so much more.
Sometimes putting away the bike for a few months to pursue something else you never seem to have time for because of biking is the best thing for your trail sense. Forget about the bike this winter and ski or snowboard for example. (If we have snow.)
 

joelsman

Turbo Monkey
Feb 1, 2002
1,369
0
B'ham
do some xc riding and free riding for a while, go have some fun. I only raced once this year, scheduling didn't work out but thats ok. I have been riding quite a bit of xc lately. I am hoping to do an epic type ride hear soon.
 

Borregokid

Monkey
Aug 12, 2004
421
0
Cle Elum
This years race season pretty had some problems once WIMS moved completely to Spokane. Last year there was a lot of fun at the races despite all the bitching about course venues. On a typical saturday there would be 400-500 bikers sitting around racing, practicing, poppin a beer, dogs, kids, camping,telling lies, etc. This year it was strictly the XC crowd and it was a one day affair. Traveling to Mt Hood, Spokane or Whistler to race would pretty much do it in for most racers.

If you were to do an internet search that went back four or five years and found some Northwest race results you wouldnt recognize most of the names. It seems most people will stay in racing for only two or three years-especially under 35 years of age. I would say if you decided to quit racing that would be the norm. I would seriously consider selling almost everything now because you will never get more money than its worth today. If you have a XC bike keep that if you think you have an interest. Obviously if you leave DH you will have a big hole to fill so check out some of the other NW sports like rock climbing, snowboard, skiing, alpine climbing, paragliding, etc.

The nice thing about selling all your stuff now besides funding another sport if you decide you want to go back to DH racing you can pick up a new rig and have some new enthusiasm for DH.
 

Velocity Girl

whack-a-mole
Sep 12, 2001
1,279
0
Atlanta
I definitely feel the struggle you're going thru....Freak and I just went thru the same thing not to long ago. After so many years we both just got burnt out and weren't getting out of it what we used to.....so we decided to sell the full on race rigs and scale back to more versatile "all-around" bikes....and we got some quads so that's definitely helping :D It was still a very hard decision though (more so for me than Freak). I almost cried leaving my bike at the shop to be boxed up to be sold :( I've been tired at the end of the season before from all the hustle and bustle...I think my turning point was a friend asking me to do something the weekend of a scheduled race and I found myself really wanting to go with my friend and bag the race. I think maybe taking some time off and seeing how you feel might be a good thing.....do you miss it, or are you just as happy without it? Is there another hobby you've been wanting to try? Now's the time to try it. The mountain will always be there if you decide to go back to it :) Good luck!
 

oly

skin cooker for the hive
Dec 6, 2001
5,118
6
Witness relocation housing
I wouldnt say you sjould drop bikes alltogether. Sounds to me like you want to enjoy riding your bike more than just going to races. Get out and ride some trails. Ive been doing that alot with Skookum latley, and he has shown me some incredible trail out in the middle of nowhere.

Im sort of in the same boat as you in regards to racing. Lots of time and $$ for little more than saying i had "Fun". I recently spent a day on the shore and had 10x the fun as when racing. The next day i did a brutal trail ride, and again had more fun than when racing. Racing has its good moments. Ive had a great time down at Hood, and out at PA. I know at this point i plan to race about 1/2 as much next year. It has just gotten to be so expensive to travel the distance, and take the time from my family. I also want to spend more time just out on the bike, rather than waiting around for trucks, lifts, and clocks.....
 

Bikecrasher

Monkey
Sep 24, 2002
127
0
Tacoma, Wa
I've been racing DH for 9 years (and still suck) and get that feeling every year about this time. In fact I've come to expect it around August. The costs, travel, etc just start to become a big hassle. Like everyone else says, go for some long trail rides, road rides, etc for the rest of the year. By the end of winter you'll start to get the bug again. It's an addictive activity!
 

Motoking16

Monkey
May 16, 2005
209
0
Bend, OR
Bikecrasher said:
I've been racing DH for 9 years (and still suck) and get that feeling every year about this time. In fact I've come to expect it around August. The costs, travel, etc just start to become a big hassle. Like everyone else says, go for some long trail rides, road rides, etc for the rest of the year. By the end of winter you'll start to get the bug again. It's an addictive activity!

Exactly! with some time off the race steed, you will be back and ready to go faster then before for next season! Plus you've gone too far to give it up now!

And another thing that might help: Find someone that is faster then you to ride with all the time. That way you will be pushed to your limits every time you ride and you will have more motivation to ride the next day.
 

ggrubb

Monkey
Jul 3, 2002
366
0
Endub Empire
66 said:
I don’t want to race. I had to kinda' drag myself to race last weekend at Hood and didn't go to Mt. Washington this weekend. I'm not going to Mammoth. I'm tired. In the last race seasons, I have finished with the feeling of not getting enough, and this year i'm on the other end. not that i got too much riding but i don't want to put forth the effort or cash to travel and race.
I didnt have much fun racing last year, nothing in particular just not into it. This year, I'm just shooting video. I love being at the races and hanging out and shooting vid. Starting to miss the racing part of it. But I'm getting better at the vid and get more out of it than I did out of racing.

---g
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
Pick different races.
I just got back from Mt. Washington. I also did Sun Peaks 2 weeks ago. The BC cup has gotten me excited about racing again. I got 3 solid days of riding in at both events.
 

oly

skin cooker for the hive
Dec 6, 2001
5,118
6
Witness relocation housing
T- How did you do?

unfortunatly fo me, Mt Wa just was at a bad time. i had a bunch of big $$ auto issues come up recently and had to be responsible. MT Wa was the best race I did all last year. Next year I will make a bigger effort to go there instead of some of the other stuff.
 
Jun 18, 2004
945
0
teach the grommets, I mean, up and commers (like me) how you do what you do...
all I know about Dh racing is what I read...

do you train? maybe train more, freeride more, have fun more, and compete less...

but you and the rest of the guys on here are better qualified to post on the matter...
 

66

Monkey
Jul 17, 2003
489
0
east of Seattle
Str8OutaBallard said:
teach the grommets, I mean, up and commers (like me) how you do what you do...
all I know about Dh racing is what I read...

do you train? maybe train more, freeride more, have fun more, and compete less...

but you and the rest of the guys on here are better qualified to post on the matter...

Train? like a choo choo? just kidding.

I really appreciate the input. I suppose there is comfort in hearing others in the same situation.

I think I will follow everyone advice and see how I feel next spring.