I’ll try not to ramble, but hey, it’s me. And all my opinions are mine. Not always based on anything other that my perceptions. ;-) Just got us timing chips. Isaac thinks it “looks cool” on his bike while I have another agenda. I’ve been riding against riders with a large variety of skills and age ranges. And I’ve found it difficult to gauge improvements. One race I’ll be racing an older rider and another I’ll be up against “kids” 15-20yrs younger than me. So even if I win, I’m not sure if it’s luck, my mad skeelz or I just wasn’t fast enough to be in the crash that wrapped up everyone else. This is where I believe using the chip to track performance can help. And I think can be used as a training tool for kids to self evaluate. Make the timer the competition! By making the competition by about personal records, it takes the variability of competition out of the equation. Though there will be times when other riders cause you to be slower, little things like being in the way and not hearing my bell to get out of my way, or getting shut out on a cornering move. Young riders (older riders too) might be upset by not finishing as well as they wanted to. But if we remove the other riders from the equation and see that even though we didn’t do as well as we “wanted” based on other riders, but we took 1.5 seconds off our track time?!!!! That’s an AWESOME improvement! I recently raced and on my first lap set a personal record for my gate time and lap times! Felt great about that. Transferred and went to final. On final I hesitated coming down the starting hill. And my lap time also reflected my hesitation. But looking at my time I was forced to think about how that hesitation at the start ended with a 2nd place finish vs 1st. I know I hesitated because of a crash a week before when I got tangled with they rider next to me, and I let up (also theory tested and validated that skipping a single pedal stroke will put you behind). I’ve been told a good gate start is everything if you’re racing to win. And a chip will give you unbiased evaluation of how good your gate really was. Add to it the rest of the lap time and how you felt vs the time. This total picture may help you understand that you felt great because you came off the gate like a rocket was attached to your back side, came out of the corners on fire and flew through the rhythm sections like a fighter jet. Or maybe it felt great because you felt smooth, in control, and didn’t crash or get squirrelly.

As we are headed into the New Year of racing, when do we change our plate numbers/do we change them? And if we do change them, how do we know what number to change them to? District, state, Gold Cup, NAG, other? I I’m figuring that I would have had to race finals at Gold Cup, State NAG or others to get one of those plates but an overview might be helpful. Keep learning. Smiles for miles, Was great to do a New Years Day race here at Lincoln Park BMX!!

We just gonna go over how it works and what's important to keep them running rite

In this episode of BASIC, we take a high-level look at Pro BMX racing straight from the USA BMX rulebook. We cover what it means to race Pro, including expectations around sportsmanship, conduct, and being a role model, as well as a simple breakdown of Pro, Junior, Vet Pro, and eligibility by age. This is meant to help riders and parents “look behind the curtain” and understand what racing at the Pro level actually involves—even if that goal feels far off right now. We also shift into practical off-season guidance as the holidays approach. I share simple, realistic ways to stay active without overcomplicating training: riding when you can, basic bodyweight movements like push-ups, planks, squats, and lunges, and maintaining a healthy balance with food and rest. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s consistency, staying healthy, and building a foundation so you’re ready when the season ramps back up.