mr neutron Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Hey, All!!! Decided I'd have my daughter video one of my little practice sections at my home. After watching it, I'm kind of ashamed of how poorly I ride. If you folks see something that you can point out to help a Novice/Intermediate level rider to improve, please send the help in a post. I caught my front wheel essentially just "skimming" right over some of the contact points on the log (i.e., didn't hit the front wheel where I wanted to....). I also seem pretty stiff, and don't seem to bend my knees enough. And I haven't a clue how to fix these problems..... I really want to improve my level of riding. I want to get the fundamentals down well first, and figure other things will come with time. It's really frustrating, Some days. I feel like, at 58 yrs. of age, if I don't learn this stuff soon, I may not EVER learn it. Other days, I don't really care, and am just grateful to even get to ride...... Thanks, Jimmie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mags Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 (edited) Geez Jimmie! I'd be pretty happy with that! I've been at it 6 months and can't pop over that log like you do... let alone pop up on the end and ride along and semi-power off it! I wish! I have been sticking with improving static and fig 8's! I'm only just exploring Jap Zaps which I'm not even doing just yet! I'm just practising popping wheel up onto a small object then ride over it. I was told the basics down pat then explore? What I "can" do is .... stop bike in static position with bars full right (or left) and clutch wheel 4 inches forward and brake to stop. Another 4 inches, then brake to stop. I can do this for a full 360 degrees and then do in other direction. This was a personal goal I set before moving on ... static, then static with full lock turn as described above. I'm looking forward to the day I can pop over a big log like in your vid! Other things I do every time I ride is .... I start bike and do full warm up of motor whilst practicing static. And every time I stop to talk to wife on her bike or stop back at camp for drink I come to a stop and static. If I miss I get back up for a count of 10 secs before hitting kill switch. Sometimes I stop on back brake, sometimes on front, sometimes both. Edit: I might just add... I'm in no hurry as I figure I have the rest of my life to learn this stuff! Soon as my finger touches a clutch I feel.... AHHHHHHH! I'm home!!!! Mags Edited August 15, 2014 by mags 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Jimmy, the only thing that mattered in the vid was your smiling face! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axulsuv Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Jimmy, the only thing that mattered in the vid was your smiling face! Jimmy , some days I ride like a pro , smooth and effortless , And then at the next event I'll start the day off with a well executed face plant down a rocky gorge into a stream ... . You look fine , just keep the smile on and have fun ! And relax your mind when you ride , and breath deeply ... It's stress relief for me Glenn 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr neutron Posted August 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 Mags, Lineaway, & Glenn (Axulsuv), Thank you for your responses; They're VERY Much appreciated! Mags, that corner/balance drill you described sounds like a really good one. I'm planning on incorporating that into my practice sessions. Last trial I competed in, I got my butt kicked pretty good by corners and obstacles, but mostly the turns. At my level, balance & turning are probably what I should spend about 90% of my practice time on anyway...... Lineaway, thank you, & very much, for keeping a perspective on riding. I've re-thought stuff after reading your post, and decided that at 58 yrs. old, it's probably okay to suck, as long as I have fun. Shoot, for me (or anybody else, for that matter) to be riding at all is a blessing. I need to really keep that in mind. Thank you, Sir! Glenn, thank you very much for reminding me of some stuff I should already know from other sports I've done over the years. Keeping the mind calm, riding relaxed, & breathing have always been central to doing well in most anything. It's excellent advice, & I feel like a Goober for not remembering that. Question: To you guys that have been doing this for, say, more than 5 years, do you ever just practice the basics sorta stuff? Or do you mostly just ride a little of everything when you practice? Thanks again, Jimmie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_t Posted August 16, 2014 Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 Great video, Looks like you and I are about the same level. I have been riding about 5 years now and I'm 51 this year I may not be the next Toni but I just love getting out for a good ride around the yard. I typically try to practice a little of everything but agree that the tight corners are typically where I lose points. I actually thought you cleared that log nicely if you had your front wheel higher you may have hit your skid plate... at least that has been my experience - Keep up the good work and keep smiling !!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flint45 Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Looks pretty good with just one dab at the end 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikb Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Next step is to put some flags in to define where you turn! Start with them about where you were going on the video then start making them tighter. Ian 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 I am 41, been riding for more than 10 years this time around (rode from age 6 to about 16 and got out for a bit). I usually try to practice a bit of everything, but what I tend to do is find a new obstacle and ride it with plenty of run up and run out. Then after that is comfortable I will start closing up my approach (run up) and my exit (run out). Or I will put in a tight turn before or after the obstacle. Or I will string a couple of obstacles together, etc.... you get the idea. But most important I try to ride with friends because that is the most fun! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldilocks Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Dont worry about the front wheel skimming the log. You probably need something about a foot higher for that technique to be easy to learn. I think generally you look good on the bike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axulsuv Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 (edited) Jimmy ; As a kid in New England (early 70's) I got to ride everyday for hours and learned how to control my tl125 with my 80 to 110 lbs balancing it . So slow turns and smoothness was what I had to practice ! 'cause if I lost my stability on the bike I didn't have enough weight/inertia in my body to correct ... Now after getting back into trials in 04/05 after a 30+ year break , I find the basics are still the basics . EVERY Time i fire up one of my bikes I spend 5 or 10 minutes just doing very basic full lock turns / figure 8's to get my 53 year old mind and muscles clear and relaxed and in trials mode ... And I find if I overthink a section or line I usually screw it up . , Sometimes for me it's just easier to look at it , decide where I want the bike to be , and just do it . And I do find that the NO FEAR thing we all had as youngsters , fades away with age ... I really can't afford to get broken ! But no matter what is going on @ work or in my life , I always feel better after playing on my bike .... So as I approach 54 , I still go out and play in the mud . And I hope to for quite a few more years . Age isn't a passage of time , it's a state of mind ... Glenn Edited August 17, 2014 by axulsuv 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr neutron Posted August 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Really GREAT Advice, Y'all!!! Thank You All So Much!!! I do have another area I ride at, with a bigger log, and not much more. I need to attack that with my brush cutter/string trimmer & my chainsaw. Amazing how quickly these areas get overgrown..... But that area has the Dreaded Ribbons! I will sometimes have ribbons & flags in the area in the video, but they got removed a day or two before so I could mow the grass.... This other practice area I have has what Dennis Sweeten called "The Circle Drill" ribboned off. I learned this practice drill at his school that our club had at his place. It's just a letter "C" shaped ribbon laid out to be around 10 or 11 feet (3.5 or 4 meters?) in diameter. You enter into the ribbon, and try to do 3 complete circles inside the ribbon w/o dabbing. Do this in both directions. You can tighten up the ribbon, or make it larger to suit skill level. A helpful hint is to enter as wide as possible when you ride in. I have it laid out in an area that isn't smooth, and I've thrown some stuff in there to make the front & rear wheels not track smoothly, if you can understand what I'm trying to convey here. It's a challenge for me when done on smooth ground, and I seldom clean it in both directions here. Having a tough time figuring out when I need to use momentum to get me over these little obstacles, and when to "finesse it over"...... Hopefully some experience will help in this department. I'll try to make a vid of this exercise some day..... Baldilocks, thank you for pointing out the bit about the log needing to be higher. Things like this truly help me (and hopefully, others as well) a lot, and I appreciate that. I appreciate all who've posted their input & help here. Thank You! And Glenn, I get what you mean about the "No Fear" deal, along with trying to reach retirement age without being in a wheel chair, hee hee. I've always felt that age shouldn't be a limitation on what you do. It has, however, made me re-evaluate what I do, and more specifically, at what level it's done at. It's probably better to ride at any level than to NOT ride, huh? This "age" thing is kinda confusing. It's the first time I've ever gotten old, so I'm relatively new at it. It's not going to how I'd planned at all, hee hee....... Jimmie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherconoob Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 nice riding jimmie and lots of good advice in the replies, when did you start trials? it's all very smooth and controlled so looks like you've been riding for ages. re: the front wheel skimming, i had problems with that for ages. i thought i would be able to place the front wheel at the right point for double blips etc as i've donw wheelies for years on other bikes, but i was crap at landing the front wheel in a specific place. in my case, i think my subconscious was always saying "idiot, if you land the front wheel against the log you'll go over the bars" and kept forcing me to lift the front higher. eventually i picked logs that weren't too high so there was no danger of going over the bars, and just went round and round until i was nailing that spot. but the advice about a higher log may nail it for you too. video evidence certainly helps too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr neutron Posted August 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 (edited) Yeah, Sherconoob, the replies here have been nothing but Great! I began riding enduros & mx in 1970 or '71. I've been riding Trials for about 2.5 years or so. I basically got into it due to a friend. He seemed to be having a ton of fun when he rode, and he rode a lot more often than I can/could on a big bike. It appeared that he was taking less of a beating than I was on my mx bike, as well. I liked the challenge of it, so I sold my '06 YZ450 in 2011, & bought my Gas Gas. I now get to ride a lot more than I did when I rode mx & off road/enduro, so I'd think that I'd be a bit better rider than I am. I'm a slow learner, I suppose. I get these "Pearls of Wisdom" (Good Advice) from friends at trials events sometimes, and maybe they'll help you, or others. Once when I was practicing doing a floater into a log, then going over the log, a friend told me to " pick a spot" on that log to hit with the front wheel. And not a vague, general area-type of spot, but a patch of that log about 1 inch square. Aim for a very precise location on that log. Now, this is probably something a lot of folks here already know, or have already figured out. But for whatever reason, i hadn't learned this. I'm happy just to even hit the damn log most of the time, let alone any one exact spot. When I can remember this, and then actually do it, it seems to help a lot. Getting the mind, body, & throttle in sync is harder on some days than it is others, hee hee.... Anyway, with all this, I've kinda learned not to worry about results at the events anymore. You throw out some ribbons & maybe an observer, have me attempt to ride it, & I fall to crap. I regularly get my butt kicked by everyone so often, I never even notice it. I don't particularly want to beat anyone, except for myself. Just seeing some improvement is all I'd like to see. So thanks to all that have responded with help & encouragement. You folks absolutely Rock, & I hope you find many rocks to ride over! Thanks, Jimmie Edited August 18, 2014 by mr neutron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy Posted August 19, 2014 Report Share Posted August 19, 2014 Yeah, Sherconoob, the replies here have been nothing but Great! If it bothers you, I am sure we could change that.................................. Getting the mind, body, & throttle in sync is harder on some days than it is others, hee hee.... I have that problem on the day after a night of much Thanks, Jimmie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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