Mountain Biking - I got OWNED this weekend!!!

So i decided to spend a day at the Local BMX track here on Oahu, just to get a feel for what its like to race MtnX. My friend who rides a rocky Mtn. Flow and myself on a Kona Roast were supposed to meet some other riders at the track because the management told us that if we showed up with three or more riders, we'd get our own class. Well, wouldnt ya know it...the other guys never showed..so it was just the two of us. They had no choice but to lump us in with the Cruiser class.:eek:
Now, i dont know how it works everywhere else, but apparently here, there is no progression in talent classes (ie, beginner, novice, expert) there are only age categories...so i had to race a bunch of 21-25 year old cruisers on my MTB.
Man...i never even had a gate start before...so i was taking full advantage of the practice time given...and managed to get a good feel for the track before my first moto. When the gate dropped in my first heat...i just hammered as hard as i could, not being smooth at all and trying to keep up. After a while, i realized that i wasnt getting too thoroughly destroyed....but i was nowhere near the leader. By the time i finished though, only a 45 second track...i was the most tired ive ever been. Bare in mind, Ive race 5 min. DH courses...and this completely wrecked me worse than any other physical activity ive partaken. XC racing does not come close to 45 seconds of BMX havoc.
Second moto...more of the same...only i got a bit smoother and managed to keep with the pack alot better. I nearly vomited at the finish though.
At the third moto...id had a bit of a rest, and was ready to go. When the gate dropped, i hit it with everything i had and was actually out front for a second...but i got passed right away. I managed to carry enough speed into one of the turns before a jump and launched this double that only a few of the best guys were doing. Well, i came up a bit short and hit my back wheel on the landing...which forced me to slam into my seat...which broke off and sent my ballsack into my rear tire. Yeah...it sucked but i finished the moto.

Lesson learned....BMX racing is the hardest form of biking out there...no contest. I am going to keep racing, so that when i move back to the mainland in 10 months..i will smoke everyone at MtnX. I urge everyone to give this a shot.

I've been thinking about hitting up the local BMX course near here just because I love smooth fast jumps. But I fail to see how 45 seconds of riding reguardless of how hard I rode would tire me out. I'll try it some time. Unfortunately I think I'd look like an idiot on a mountain bike at the BMX bike track.. but who cares. Not to mention my ex-girlfriend is into BMX and I want to avoid her at all costs. I'll just wear the full face and she'll never know ;)

Originally posted by Jim311
But I fail to see how 45 seconds of riding reguardless of how hard I rode would tire me out.

Dude...I'm not joking with you. I thought the exact same thing and i paid for it. I ride all kinds of bikes and trust me...this is by far the hardest kind of racing. My guts nearly exploded.

Originally posted by Jim311
I've been thinking about hitting up the local BMX course near here just because I love smooth fast jumps. But I fail to see how 45 seconds of riding reguardless of how hard I rode would tire me out. I'll try it some time. Unfortunately I think I'd look like an idiot on a mountain bike at the BMX bike track.. but who cares. Not to mention my ex-girlfriend is into BMX and I want to avoid her at all costs. I'll just wear the full face and she'll never know ;)

Some of the hardest riding I have done is a 2 minute downhill run going full bore on a technical run. It is as tiring as any uphill doing xc just in a different way :)

Originally posted by BurlySurly

Lesson learned....BMX racing is the hardest form of biking out there...no contest. I am going to keep racing, so that when i move back to the mainland in 10 months..i will smoke everyone at MtnX. I urge everyone to give this a shot.


I'm willing to bet the Tour de France is a little tougher.

If you did BMX more you would get use to it. Your body is just not trained for that high intensity.

Originally posted by Feltup
I'm willing to bet the Tour de France is a little tougher.

If you did BMX more you would get use to it. Your body is just not trained for that high intensity.

Im saying that 45 seconds of BMX is just harder than 45 seconds of TDF or anything else. Ive ridden road and tons of other stuff. It doesnt come close.

I was talking with some of the pros, and they told me they still vomit every other race:eek: :)

I used to race BMX in my teens. I'd forgotten how hard it is. I bought a 24" cruiser and hit the track for some practices. WOW! They didn't make those jumps as big back when I raced.

Hitting those jumps, scarred the beejeesus out of me. What was worse was the 8 year olds flying past me.

If you've never tried this, DO, it will humble you.

Plus Burly, you were on your KONA, with suspension and gears (heavier and slower) everyone else was on their stipped down singlespeeds.

L8R

i use to race at river valley bmx in sumner washington when i was 9-12 and it is tireing for sure. at the end of each race i would be totaly pooped and starving for watter! if i wasent i wasent pushing hard. but i must say XC is still more tiring than BMX, at least for me.. maybe you guys arent going hard enough? :D

I managed to carry enough speed into one of the turns before a jump and launched this double that only a few of the best guys were doing. Well, i came up a bit short and hit my back wheel on the landing...which forced me to slam into my seat...which broke off and sent my ballsack into my rear tire. Yeah...it sucked but i finished the moto.

ROFL..... This is the funniest thing I have read in a while. Glad to hear you kept pushin it though.