BMX

Leeroy_Silk wrote:I’ve

Leeroy_Silk wrote:

I’ve probably ridden BMX for around 30 years now, raced through the dead years of the 90’s before turning to ‘freestyle’ and eventually back to racing. I now ride pretty much anything with two wheels. I started riding road after a last minute purchase of a hand built road frame from eBay which got built into a ramshackle single speed long distance pub bike.

Clips are always going to be contentious; personally I wouldn’t trust myself in them on my BMX, I tend to move my weight around quite a bit and don’t like the idea of being restricted. However, clips have made racing faster, which in turn makes jumps bigger, which attracts more spectators, which attracts sponsorship which then affords the track stars of tomorrow to get a good footing. As a grass roots sport I don’t think there’s much to beat it. Personally I liked the rough and tumble of no-clips but I don’t think BMX would be where it is today if it wasn’t for clips.

Is it dangerous? That depends on your view of danger and how prepared you are. If you’ve ridden for a long time you become aware of your capabilities and more importantly your comfort zone, riding within it won’t guarantee you staying upright in the same way going beyond it won’t guarantee a crash. In my eyes the scariest scenarios are seeing someone new to BMX arriving at a big set of trails or international standard track and expecting to ‘magic’ their way through by attacking it full bore! My definition of Extreme isn’t a seasoned pro, it’s a clipped-in newbie cranking down a 5 meter start hill towards a 30 foot step up.

The big new tracks are certainly very different from the milder tracks of the 1980s. Riding the Olympic Park or Cyclopark for the first time makes you realise how far the sport has come on. I don’t ride with clips because I don’t really like them but a lot of my friends do and I’m aware too that sticking to flats limits my speed. I’m happy with that. I’m riding for fun and at my age, being part of the pack is enough of an achievement.

I’ve ridden BMX for some years and I know what I can and can’t do as my style is limited by the fact I took up the sport late and didn’t learn some techniques my sons can do easily. I’ve ridden and raced at a few international standard tracks and I know how challenging they are. I’ve seen some inexperienced riders hit those tracks at speed and seen what happens when it goes wrong. I’ve also seen more experienced (and better) riders than me make mistakes and pay the price as well.

Having read Michael Barry’s book on riding with Lance Armstrong and Bradley Wiggins, I don’t think riding with the TdF peloton is any safer than an elite level BMX race, possibly less so as there’s less body protection.

I ride within my limits. That said, I’ve dropped a few times and come home with an elbow dripping blood or deep bruising on my hip or shoulder. I also fractured my wrist a couple of years back and tore some ligaments in my shoulder late last year, but if you don’t push it at times then it’s just not going to be so much fun.

I keep on riding BMX because it makes me feel young I suppose and what other excuse do I need? 🙂

barbarus wrote:Racing, eh?

barbarus wrote:

Racing, eh? That would be a bit much for me… It looks like fun but the danger factor quite high? Do people clip in your races? I like to stick well within my comfort zone these days!

It depends what you call dangerous. Some people think riding a bicycle in a city in the UK is dangerous, some don’t. I’ve been racing a while and picked up a few injuries but nothing too serious. If you do any kind of cycle racing competitively, you’re going to get hurt at some point. In BMX remember you’re wearing a full face MX type helmet, plus elbow and knee pads ad least and possibly MX type body armour as well.

The more competitive riders clip in. It really depends on how serious you are.