Source: http://imxmag.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-holiday-buyers-guide.html
dinsdag 15 januari 2013
maandag 14 januari 2013
Rutted Corners
There are two obstacles you will always have to face on the track: ruts and corners. Combine the two and traversing themcan be frustrating. The power and torque that modern four strokes produce is pretty incredible and lines get dug out quickly. Corners are the backbone of speed which makes it essential to be extremely proficient in riding at any situation.
One thing that has always helped me is to concentrate on one corner that is giving me problems. Try to get to the track later in the day when it is rougher and not as many people are there. Find your corner and enter the track safely in the section before, then hit the corner and go back to the previous section to repeat. If there aren’t many people, this will allow you plenty of time to find what you need to work on.
The first aspect you need to look at is your entrance technique. You want to be in the attack position all the way through the chop. Braking should be gradual; do not lock the back tire up or the rear end can sway side to side. For inside ruts, putting more emphasis on the front brake will get your front forks to squat lower so you can carve harder. As for outside lines, it is better to use the back to keep more momentum up.
One overlooked method is to stay relaxed. Ride with the turn and don’t try to blast through it. Don’t tighten up so much and worry about messing up. You know how to ride a bike so have confidence in your abilities. Take some time to get this down and you will be making up time on every one.
Source: http://www.mxtrainingblog.com/riding-techniques/rutted-corners/
Headshake Solutions
When I first started riding big bikes, I was so stoked to finally have all of the power I wanted. However, with great power, comes great responsibility…courtesy of Uncle Ben from Spiderman. Sometimes, we can get ahead of ourselves on a rougher track and the braking bumps fight back. Most of the time, the chop and speed result in head shake. This uncontrollable shaking can be thwarted with a few adjustments.
Another problem is RPM range. The relationship between the motor and suspension is pretty crazy when you really think about it. When you hear pros run through whoops and moguls, they are running a higher gear. The RPMs are lower and take some of the load off of the forks and shock. They travel smoother and won’t bind, which gives you that bouncing effect through the rough stuff. If you shift down AFTER the braking bumps, you allow your suspension to ride with you, instead of against you. The forks will travel through the entire stroke and do their job; soak up the terrain.
Weight distribution is also important. Maintaining your attack position through the rough chop will help keep your elbows up and in good form. This attack position will place your weight evenly over the bike, allowing you to make changes if need be. As I have said before, riding on the balls of your feet will give you some extra “suspension” and forces you to grip the bike with your legs.
By throwing good form and the right gear together, head shake will be a thing of the past. Of course, making sure your sag is set on the shock and your clickers are dialed is important, but the rider can make a big difference. As always, remember the basics and keep it fun.
Source: http://www.mxtrainingblog.com/riding-techniques/headshake-solutions/
2012 AMA Supercross Schedule
The 2012 supercross series has been won by Ryan Villipoto with 3 rounds remaining in the series. The 2012 AMA Supercross Schedule is listed below.
| January 7 | Angel Stadium – Anaheim |
| January 14 | Chase Field – Phoenix |
| January 21 | Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles |
| January 28 | Overstock.com Stadium – Oakland |
| February 4 | Angel Stadium – Anaheim |
| February 11 | Qualcomm Stadium – San Diego |
| February 18 | Cowboys Stadium – Dallas |
| February 25 | Georgia Dome – Atlanta |
| March 3 | Edward Jones Dome – St. Louis |
| March 10 | Daytona Int’l Speedway – Daytona |
| March 17 | Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis |
| March 24 | Rogers Centre – Toronto |
| March 31 | Reliant Stadium – Houston |
| April 14 | Mercedes Benz Super Dome – New Orleans |
| April 21 | CenturyLink Field – Seattle |
| April 28 | Rice-Eccles Stadium – Salt Lake City |
| May 5 | Sam Boyd Stadium – Las Vegas |
Source: http://www.superfreestylemotocross.com/blog/2012-ama-supercross-schedule/
Don’t mind me…
… just sweeping out the dust and cobwebs as I prep for an AWESOME new year! Hope your Christmas was beautiful!
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BikerChickNews/~3/ZjSr2zTq5FQ/
Fun with flags: ride to Brooklyn, Iowa
Did have one lovely ride back in early July, what a neat day this was! I’d heard about this small town called Brooklyn that has a large display of flags from all 50 states and several other nations. I thought it sounded like a perfect reason to ride, so off we went. Our group consisted of Steve and I, Garry, street-rodding-turned-biker-pal Dave R., and Howard and Jayka.
We took off in the afternoon heading east along one of my favorite roads – it starts out as Broadway Ave. in Des Moines, becomes 8th St. SE in Altoona, then morphs into County Road F48 and finally old Highway 6. This is just a beautiful road – pretty and curvaceous between Des Moines and Grinnell, then a straight bit east from Grinnell to Highway 63, where we made a right turn into Brooklyn.
Once in Brooklyn we stopped at a tiny convenience store that seemed to be the hub of Sunday activity in this town of just under 1,400 people. After a beverage I walked from the store up to the flag display, which was on the adjacent property. It includes 3×5 flags from every state, plus several special-interest (military service) flags and a 20 x 38-foot US flag at the center on an 80-foot pole, all installed along a pretty walkway next to the Brooklyn Historical Society Museum.
Gave me vertigo standing under the US flag, looking up… thought I was gonna fall over backwards!
Here are some of the state flags on display. This photo looks back toward the street.
Also thought this was neat, something I’d never seen before: the name of the street actually etched into the cement of the curb. Neat detail!
The international flags are displayed in smaller groups along the two main streets of town. You can barely glimpse a few of them on the left side of this streetscene.
Across from the convenience store stands this old Standard Oil station – looks to be about mid-1930′s to me. As I walked over to it to take a picture, a guy drove up in a ’50 Chevy. What a great photo opp! I flagged him down and asked him to pause for a picture – he told me he had just bought the car that day. I took a neat photo of his 50′s car in front of the 30′s gas station, then gave it a little ‘retro’ effect in my photo editing program to create a cool vintagey snapshot.
Here are a couple more pictures of the gas station – just because I know you love this stuff as much as I do!
Brooklyn also has several oldie-but-goodie buildings along its two main streets. This opera house…
… and my favorite, the First National Bank.
All of this exploration only took us about an hour, so it seemed in no time we were back on the bikes and headed home along the same route we’d come in. Along the route I noticed two bridges named for Civil War generals James Wilson & James Weaver, and in looking them up I learned that old Highway 6 (which runs coast-to-coast, by the way) is also known as Grand Army of the Republic Highway. I’ve long been aware that the GAR is/was the veterans organization serving Civil War Veterans, but I didn’t realize that Highway 6 was named for it. There are several commemorative markers and named bridges along the route.
Few things are better in my book – a perfect blue sky day for a ride along scenic Iowa roads, a stop in a pretty small town with a unique or interesting feature, and a little bit of history thrown in for good measure.
More adventures coming soon!
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BikerChickNews/~3/CmwqGpyvk74/
zondag 13 januari 2013
Long Ruts on Straights
A lot of people can go fast on a straightaway. It’s pretty simple; open the throttle as far as possible. That’s generally how ruts get formed on straights. People actually use the power of their bikes and it trenches out the soil. Obviously, the main line will get dug the deepest. In the beginning of the day, this won’t be a bad choice to use. It just depends on how it sets you up for the next section. However, a majority of the time, the main line usually gets too deep and ends up slowing you down.
When the whole straight gets rutted out, things start to get a little tricky. The middle of the track is going to have deeper ruts than the edges of the track. So, by taking the edges of the track, you can avoid the choppy mess made by the slower riders and you can save your energy for more important times in the moto.
As with any rut, approaching it with both wheels in line is very important. You want to keep both wheels in the rut, preventing you from getting cross rutted. You also maintain your momentum and forward drive, as well. Once, you have both wheels lined up, keeping your head up and vision ahead is very important. Staring at the ground right in front of you will only send you one place, the dirt. That is not where you want to be. A good guide is to keep your vision a few bike lengths ahead of you. The faster you go, the further you want to look.
Depending on how deep the ruts are, a good idea is to ride on the balls of your feet (and point your toes in, gripping the cases). This prevents your feet from getting caught in the rut and ripping your leg off the peg. As always, you want to be gripping the bike with your knees and applying steady, consistent throttle. As you get to the end of the straight, there are more than likely going to be braking bumps. This is where you want to start shifting your weight back slightly to keep you from going over the bars.
Like I said, if you can conquer ruts, you can conquer anything. It is mind over matter and just keeping good form and looking ahead. Stay loose and relax; you’ll get through them sooner than you think.
Source: http://www.mxtrainingblog.com/riding-techniques/long-ruts-on-straights/
2012 AMA Motocross Schedule
2012 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship Schedule:
- May 19 – Hangtown Motocross Classic – Rancho Cordova, CA
Phone 1 800 HANGTOWN
Map of race track area
- May 26 – Freestone Raceway – Wortham, TX
Phone 1 877 77-CLICK
Map of race track area
- June 2 – Thunder Valley Motocross – Lakewood, CO
Phone 303 697-1003
Map of race track area
- June 9 – High Point Raceway – Mt. Morris, PA
Phone 304 284-0084
Map of race track area
- June 16 – Budds Creek Motocross – Mechanicsville, MD
Phone 301 475-2000
Map of race track area
- July 7 – RedBud MX – Buchanan, MI
Phone 269 695-6405
Map of race track area
- July 14 – Spring Creek Motocross – Millville, MN
Phone 507 753-2779
Map of race track area
- July 21 – Washougal Motocross – Washougal, WA
Phone 360 837-3975
Map of race track area
- Aug 11 – Moto-X 338 – Southwick, MA
Phone 413 569-6801
Map of race track area
- Aug 18 – Unadilla Valley Sports Center – New Berlin, NY
Phone 607 965-8784
Map of race track area
- Sept 1 – Steel City Raceway – Delmont, PA
Phone 304 284-0084
Map of race track area
- Sept 8 – Lake Elsinore MX Park – Lake Elsinore CA
Source: http://www.superfreestylemotocross.com/blog/2012-ama-motocross-schedule/
How to Relax before a Motocross Race
Dr. Cohn came up with proven mental game strategies to enhance confidence and improve race focus for championship performances. He developed the RacePsych program that improves mental skills for race driver and the race team’s success.The Mental Power of RacePsych is about developing prepare routines and mental strategies to enter the zone faster, regain composure when stress or frustrations are high or when things go wrong, master the strategies to enhance teamwork and maximize your winning potential, and maintain confidence and momentum to keep you focus throughout the race.
Source: http://www.emotocrossblog.com/how-to-relax-before-a-motocross-race/
zaterdag 12 januari 2013
Go Pro Moto – QLD Moto Park MX2 Motocross
Some footage from my Go Pro Moto helmet cam. Riding a CRF450 on motocross track 2 at Queensland Moto Park. The track has a lot of off camber turns, a handful of table tops and a small section of whoops. Some tight corners and short straights.
Might be worth checking out if you live close enough or are planning a bike holiday in queensland.
Source: http://www.superfreestylemotocross.com/blog/go-pro-moto-qld-moto-park-mx2-motocross/
Fun with flags: ride to Brooklyn, Iowa
Did have one lovely ride back in early July, what a neat day this was! I’d heard about this small town called Brooklyn that has a large display of flags from all 50 states and several other nations. I thought it sounded like a perfect reason to ride, so off we went. Our group consisted of Steve and I, Garry, street-rodding-turned-biker-pal Dave R., and Howard and Jayka.
We took off in the afternoon heading east along one of my favorite roads – it starts out as Broadway Ave. in Des Moines, becomes 8th St. SE in Altoona, then morphs into County Road F48 and finally old Highway 6. This is just a beautiful road – pretty and curvaceous between Des Moines and Grinnell, then a straight bit east from Grinnell to Highway 63, where we made a right turn into Brooklyn.
Once in Brooklyn we stopped at a tiny convenience store that seemed to be the hub of Sunday activity in this town of just under 1,400 people. After a beverage I walked from the store up to the flag display, which was on the adjacent property. It includes 3×5 flags from every state, plus several special-interest (military service) flags and a 20 x 38-foot US flag at the center on an 80-foot pole, all installed along a pretty walkway next to the Brooklyn Historical Society Museum.
Gave me vertigo standing under the US flag, looking up… thought I was gonna fall over backwards!
Here are some of the state flags on display. This photo looks back toward the street.
Also thought this was neat, something I’d never seen before: the name of the street actually etched into the cement of the curb. Neat detail!
The international flags are displayed in smaller groups along the two main streets of town. You can barely glimpse a few of them on the left side of this streetscene.
Across from the convenience store stands this old Standard Oil station – looks to be about mid-1930′s to me. As I walked over to it to take a picture, a guy drove up in a ’50 Chevy. What a great photo opp! I flagged him down and asked him to pause for a picture – he told me he had just bought the car that day. I took a neat photo of his 50′s car in front of the 30′s gas station, then gave it a little ‘retro’ effect in my photo editing program to create a cool vintagey snapshot.
Here are a couple more pictures of the gas station – just because I know you love this stuff as much as I do!
Brooklyn also has several oldie-but-goodie buildings along its two main streets. This opera house…
… and my favorite, the First National Bank.
All of this exploration only took us about an hour, so it seemed in no time we were back on the bikes and headed home along the same route we’d come in. Along the route I noticed two bridges named for Civil War generals James Wilson & James Weaver, and in looking them up I learned that old Highway 6 (which runs coast-to-coast, by the way) is also known as Grand Army of the Republic Highway. I’ve long been aware that the GAR is/was the veterans organization serving Civil War Veterans, but I didn’t realize that Highway 6 was named for it. There are several commemorative markers and named bridges along the route.
Few things are better in my book – a perfect blue sky day for a ride along scenic Iowa roads, a stop in a pretty small town with a unique or interesting feature, and a little bit of history thrown in for good measure.
More adventures coming soon!
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BikerChickNews/~3/CmwqGpyvk74/
Stanmore Motocross Club to re-open
Funds which were intended to be used to develop the Stapylton motocross
facility will now be used to make improvements to the existing motocross track Stanmore. The improvements will be primarily noise protection measures. Stanmore MX should be able to re-open until construction isready to start although no dates have been given at this time.
Source: http://www.superfreestylemotocross.com/blog/stanmore-motocross-club-to-re-open/
vrijdag 11 januari 2013
2012 AMA Supercross Schedule
The 2012 supercross series has been won by Ryan Villipoto with 3 rounds remaining in the series. The 2012 AMA Supercross Schedule is listed below.
| January 7 | Angel Stadium – Anaheim |
| January 14 | Chase Field – Phoenix |
| January 21 | Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles |
| January 28 | Overstock.com Stadium – Oakland |
| February 4 | Angel Stadium – Anaheim |
| February 11 | Qualcomm Stadium – San Diego |
| February 18 | Cowboys Stadium – Dallas |
| February 25 | Georgia Dome – Atlanta |
| March 3 | Edward Jones Dome – St. Louis |
| March 10 | Daytona Int’l Speedway – Daytona |
| March 17 | Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis |
| March 24 | Rogers Centre – Toronto |
| March 31 | Reliant Stadium – Houston |
| April 14 | Mercedes Benz Super Dome – New Orleans |
| April 21 | CenturyLink Field – Seattle |
| April 28 | Rice-Eccles Stadium – Salt Lake City |
| May 5 | Sam Boyd Stadium – Las Vegas |
Source: http://www.superfreestylemotocross.com/blog/2012-ama-supercross-schedule/
Traversing Flat Corners
One of the great things about a worn down track is the help from ruts and berms. Sure they can make things difficult, but they essentially help us keep our speed up in the corners. Just like in NASCAR, the angled surface allows the bike to lean over and still find plenty of traction. However, there are situations where you don’t always have this luxury and you must bring out your inner flat tracker.
Since you don’t have any help with your leaning, the entrance needs to be a little bit different. When approaching the corner, take a wider approach than you normally would. If you have ever watched any kind road racing, drives use wide lines that are smooth arcs. Traction is very important here, so you want to get all of your braking done before you start to lean in. When you are upright, the tires have the most bite for better braking. Just like normal turns, you want to be in the attack position and keep looking ahead.
When it comes time to sit down, remember that this is one, fluid motion: get off the brakes, sit up on the gas cap, leg out and apply the throttle. The smoother you are, the easier the corner will be. Sitting up close to the gas cap will put as much weight on the front wheel as possible for optimal traction which will give you some confidence when you lean in. The best way to sit is on the outside edge of the seat. This keeps your weight centered and straight down, rather than out and away.
The basics really play a big role in this situation. That outside elbow better be up and the outside peg should be weight. Again, this puts more emphasis on traction. If you feel that the rear wants to drift out still, you can drag the rear brake to weight the back end down. This is a great technique to use on the exit when power is put to the ground. However, if you have a steady throttle hand, you won’t need to use this as often.
Drifting out too wide can leave the door open for a pass. Keeping your elbow up and weight on the outside peg gives you the traction to power through the turn and avoid drifting out. Unlike riding through a wide arc, squaring up flat turns robs momentum and drive. It is time consuming and a waste of energy. Once you find that balance between leaning and twisting the throttle, these corners become excellent passing opportunities.
Source: http://www.mxtrainingblog.com/riding-techniques/traversing-flat-corners/
Go Pro Moto – QLD Moto Park MX2 Motocross
Some footage from my Go Pro Moto helmet cam. Riding a CRF450 on motocross track 2 at Queensland Moto Park. The track has a lot of off camber turns, a handful of table tops and a small section of whoops. Some tight corners and short straights.
Might be worth checking out if you live close enough or are planning a bike holiday in queensland.
Source: http://www.superfreestylemotocross.com/blog/go-pro-moto-qld-moto-park-mx2-motocross/
donderdag 10 januari 2013
Fun with flags: ride to Brooklyn, Iowa
Did have one lovely ride back in early July, what a neat day this was! I’d heard about this small town called Brooklyn that has a large display of flags from all 50 states and several other nations. I thought it sounded like a perfect reason to ride, so off we went. Our group consisted of Steve and I, Garry, street-rodding-turned-biker-pal Dave R., and Howard and Jayka.
We took off in the afternoon heading east along one of my favorite roads – it starts out as Broadway Ave. in Des Moines, becomes 8th St. SE in Altoona, then morphs into County Road F48 and finally old Highway 6. This is just a beautiful road – pretty and curvaceous between Des Moines and Grinnell, then a straight bit east from Grinnell to Highway 63, where we made a right turn into Brooklyn.
Once in Brooklyn we stopped at a tiny convenience store that seemed to be the hub of Sunday activity in this town of just under 1,400 people. After a beverage I walked from the store up to the flag display, which was on the adjacent property. It includes 3×5 flags from every state, plus several special-interest (military service) flags and a 20 x 38-foot US flag at the center on an 80-foot pole, all installed along a pretty walkway next to the Brooklyn Historical Society Museum.
Gave me vertigo standing under the US flag, looking up… thought I was gonna fall over backwards!
Here are some of the state flags on display. This photo looks back toward the street.
Also thought this was neat, something I’d never seen before: the name of the street actually etched into the cement of the curb. Neat detail!
The international flags are displayed in smaller groups along the two main streets of town. You can barely glimpse a few of them on the left side of this streetscene.
Across from the convenience store stands this old Standard Oil station – looks to be about mid-1930′s to me. As I walked over to it to take a picture, a guy drove up in a ’50 Chevy. What a great photo opp! I flagged him down and asked him to pause for a picture – he told me he had just bought the car that day. I took a neat photo of his 50′s car in front of the 30′s gas station, then gave it a little ‘retro’ effect in my photo editing program to create a cool vintagey snapshot.
Here are a couple more pictures of the gas station – just because I know you love this stuff as much as I do!
Brooklyn also has several oldie-but-goodie buildings along its two main streets. This opera house…
… and my favorite, the First National Bank.
All of this exploration only took us about an hour, so it seemed in no time we were back on the bikes and headed home along the same route we’d come in. Along the route I noticed two bridges named for Civil War generals James Wilson & James Weaver, and in looking them up I learned that old Highway 6 (which runs coast-to-coast, by the way) is also known as Grand Army of the Republic Highway. I’ve long been aware that the GAR is/was the veterans organization serving Civil War Veterans, but I didn’t realize that Highway 6 was named for it. There are several commemorative markers and named bridges along the route.
Few things are better in my book – a perfect blue sky day for a ride along scenic Iowa roads, a stop in a pretty small town with a unique or interesting feature, and a little bit of history thrown in for good measure.
More adventures coming soon!
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BikerChickNews/~3/CmwqGpyvk74/
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