It is common today on practice days and race mornings to see riders lined up on the side of the track to take a look at particular sections. This has always been the case. In days past we looked closely at muddy areas, steep up-hills, nasty down-hills and rough sections of track to find the best line to pick our way through the gnarl. Today those riders are observing obstacles with much more at stake. They are looking at obstacles with very severe circumstances if they are not navigated successfully. Enormous leaps with steep penalties for small miscalculations. “Should I, or shouldn’t I” is the question all riders must now ponder. Every rider from novice to national caliber professional must at times consider jumping a distance with which they are not comfortable. Of course, nobody must jump anything. But this is racing and riders race to win.
The sense of accomplishment you get if you try and succeed in clearing a huge jump is quite high. You have now pushed your limit and have found a new one. For most young riders this game of incremental risk continues each week, each season. Sometimes we don’t successfully clear the jumps. We can laugh with our friends about how we almost “ate it”. These small failures offer little deterrence for most competitors. Other times they are much more serious. My point is that all of us misjudge our abilities at times. If you misjudge a muddy section or nasty up-hill climb, the circumstances are usually more embarrassing than they are life threatening or career ending. Of course, finding a fast, clean line on an up-hill is a much more subtle success, less impressive to spectators. It will be evident in your lap-time by a few tenths of a second if anyone is looking closely enough to notice. It doesn’t always make for a cool picture on your Facebook page. It just doesn’t look that cool to the non-racer.
I'm grown a bit tired of pictures of motocross stars jumping. Personally, I would much rather see pictures of a rider though a tough corner, a rough section of track or simply ON THE GAS and ON THE GROUND. Not only are the big jumps overly dangerous, to me they are quite boring. Watching everyone in the “A” class clear the same gap is not impressive. I’m so nonplussed when I look through motocross magazines and web-sites at endless images of riders in the air--body and bike contorted so as to “scrub” off enough speed and not miss the landing ramp on the downside of the jump. Nobody wants to flatland a 100 foot gap. Picture after picture, page after page of riders in the most boring part of a motocross track…the air. The air is where you can take a breather, pull a tear-off or adjust your clutch. The air over a motocross track is the most non-motocross part of a motocross track. No bumps, no ruts, no acceleration, no deceleration. How many pictures can I look at of a rider and a motorcycle in the most restful part of the race? Give me pictures (and tracks) of riders working their hardest, using the engine, using the suspension and using the brakes of these amazingly engineered motorcycles. I love to look at the terrain, the hillside, the muddy valley, the corner so chewed up all day that there have been four “best lines” since the first moto. Your girlfriend might not get it. Your friends on Facebook might not understand. But, you and the others in the small fraternity that have lined up 40 wide in the most demanding sport of all will understand. We need to start asking ourselves if we are happy that motocross has turned into a “spectator sport” or if we can be satisfied, as we have been throughout the history of motocross, with knowing that we are part of a participation sport, where only those that have done it really understand what "it" is. Do we ride for the people in the stands (which for 99.9% of us are very few) or do we ride for the physical and mental challenge that most spectators will never come close to understanding? I know what drew me to motocross and I think it was the same thing that attracted those guys to carve through the European hills on those heavy pieces of iron just after World War II.
The sense of accomplishment you get if you try and succeed in clearing a huge jump is quite high. You have now pushed your limit and have found a new one. For most young riders this game of incremental risk continues each week, each season. Sometimes we don’t successfully clear the jumps. We can laugh with our friends about how we almost “ate it”. These small failures offer little deterrence for most competitors. Other times they are much more serious. My point is that all of us misjudge our abilities at times. If you misjudge a muddy section or nasty up-hill climb, the circumstances are usually more embarrassing than they are life threatening or career ending. Of course, finding a fast, clean line on an up-hill is a much more subtle success, less impressive to spectators. It will be evident in your lap-time by a few tenths of a second if anyone is looking closely enough to notice. It doesn’t always make for a cool picture on your Facebook page. It just doesn’t look that cool to the non-racer.
I'm grown a bit tired of pictures of motocross stars jumping. Personally, I would much rather see pictures of a rider though a tough corner, a rough section of track or simply ON THE GAS and ON THE GROUND. Not only are the big jumps overly dangerous, to me they are quite boring. Watching everyone in the “A” class clear the same gap is not impressive. I’m so nonplussed when I look through motocross magazines and web-sites at endless images of riders in the air--body and bike contorted so as to “scrub” off enough speed and not miss the landing ramp on the downside of the jump. Nobody wants to flatland a 100 foot gap. Picture after picture, page after page of riders in the most boring part of a motocross track…the air. The air is where you can take a breather, pull a tear-off or adjust your clutch. The air over a motocross track is the most non-motocross part of a motocross track. No bumps, no ruts, no acceleration, no deceleration. How many pictures can I look at of a rider and a motorcycle in the most restful part of the race? Give me pictures (and tracks) of riders working their hardest, using the engine, using the suspension and using the brakes of these amazingly engineered motorcycles. I love to look at the terrain, the hillside, the muddy valley, the corner so chewed up all day that there have been four “best lines” since the first moto. Your girlfriend might not get it. Your friends on Facebook might not understand. But, you and the others in the small fraternity that have lined up 40 wide in the most demanding sport of all will understand. We need to start asking ourselves if we are happy that motocross has turned into a “spectator sport” or if we can be satisfied, as we have been throughout the history of motocross, with knowing that we are part of a participation sport, where only those that have done it really understand what "it" is. Do we ride for the people in the stands (which for 99.9% of us are very few) or do we ride for the physical and mental challenge that most spectators will never come close to understanding? I know what drew me to motocross and I think it was the same thing that attracted those guys to carve through the European hills on those heavy pieces of iron just after World War II.
I love this article - do you mind if I quote you on our Facebook page?
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late response. Thanks for your appreciation, and sure, you can quote this on your page.
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