Jump to content

How many years did it take before you got "good"

By TomTopDog12,
in MX Riding Technique

 Share

Recommended Posts

Veteran

TomTopDog12

Posted
Posted

As the title says, how long did it take you to get a flow going and being able to jump with little to no fear? I ride woods mostly and like the idea of jumping but just thinking about jumping that high and sending it takes more than just a Youtube video...So how many years or seasons did it take you before you got your rhythm and flow, where you really started to feel fast.

 

 

thanks guys :D

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Enthusiast

bourdeau

Posted
Posted

It's not about the years, it's much about how many time you ride by years. If you ride 3-4 time in the years, you not gonna be the next ricky carmichael. If you wanna be good and ride fast and safely, you have to past the more time you can on your bike

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Veteran

ossagp

Posted
Posted

You ask a question that has some tough definitions involved.   There are so many things that influence the development of speed.   I didn't get a motorcycle until I was 15.  I was just short of 18 before I was able to start racing as a novice.   It started really well.  Culmination of something that I had wanted to do since I was 13 and first got to ride a motorcycle by myself.  Desire,  availability,  fast riders to ride with,  and some insight about how to learn (this almost always comes from someone who has done it) affects the learning curve greatly. 

If you want to get faster, you work drills at each outing.  You use things like instructional videos of the right way,  and you get someone to tape you doing things your way.  I get really tired of hearing people tell me they are using their own go-pro footage to improve their riding.  Anyway,  once you know how to "work the handles" the best investment is a riding school.  Nothing else will make every motorcycle you ever get on the rest of your life,  faster and safer like that will.  

The best drill I know is to do figure 8's to "learn to turn".   Once you get to where you are running them hard enough to sweat and be dizzy in about five minutes you will really agree with me.  Jumps?  Just can pull the trigger when it comes time?   Go find yourself something about head high that drops to something flat.  Ride off that in second gear with light throttle.  You will see how easy it is to land.  Go find  a knob or roll that is about a foot high and gentle if that is what it takes to get you started.  Remember that the throttle helps lift the front in the air too,  and either of the brakes will tend to make it drop.  The front brake makes it pretty crazy and you should leave your hands wrapped around the throttle on any jump.   

Work on the kinds of drills that develop balance and control.  Confidence follows,  and then you can more safely build speed.  
 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Community Regular

Puddn421

Posted
Posted

There is a book and an argument that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill. I don't believe in it but there are studies against it. If you don't have good technique and don't understand how the bike works and how you should work on the bike 10k hours won't work. I think natural ability has a fair play in it too. I've gotten faster in the last 50 hrs since I started riding again but I've worked a lot on my body position and technique. Maybe find a school and then just ride as much as possible.

There was a guy that used to race in Texas when I lived there. He was an older dude rode 40+ but the guys I rode with said he'd only been riding and racing for about two years. This guy was smoking young A class guys. Some people just have it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Veteran

ossagp

Posted
Posted

It took me 11 months.   That was for mx,  my real desire was flattrack and roadracing,  since mx didn't pay very well (kind of like now).   Lots of time, lots of fun,  lots of opportunity missed.  5 years after I started racing I was graduating from college and ready to move on.  Never got riding out of my system.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grand Master

LSHD

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Puddn421 said:

There is a book and an argument that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill. I don't believe in it but there are studies against it. If you don't have good technique and don't understand how the bike works and how you should work on the bike 10k hours won't work. I think natural ability has a fair play in it too. I've gotten faster in the last 50 hrs since I started riding again but I've worked a lot on my body position and technique. Maybe find a school and then just ride as much as possible.

There was a guy that used to race in Texas when I lived there. He was an older dude rode 40+ but the guys I rode with said he'd only been riding and racing for about two years. This guy was smoking young A class guys. Some people just have it.

 

The book documented that research shows that you don't need special talent to be a true master of anything. You need practice. Of course, some folks actually do have natural talent, which can include fearlessness, hand/eye coordination, etc. But we all only have what talent we have. So practice is the only thing that will work for all of us. And I agree with your point about the type of practice. We add one word to the tried and true axiom "practice makes perfect". Perfect practice makes perfect.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Veteran

ossagp

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, GoneDirtBikeN said:

I'm kicking on the door of being 56 years old, started about 15 months ago = I have many years left of "I suck".

On the up side, I logged 150+ hours on the bike last year. Not too bad. I'm happy with my improvements. Somewhere along the road in life, you learn to be happy with what you have.

Heck,  what else could you have started doing and be able to say you are what,    about 500% better than when you started. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Veteran

GoneDirtBikeN

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, ossagp said:

Heck,  what else could you have started doing and be able to say you are what,    about 500% better than when you started. 

Wakeboarding. ? Oh, right. I started that (boat and cable, I like cable more) too not all that long ago. I swear, wakeboarding hurts more (separated ribs, torn deltoid, concussion, etc). Never really got that good wakeboarding. I'm way farther ahead with MX in a shorter time period.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Community Regular

Puddn421

Posted
Posted
 
The book documented that research shows that you don't need special talent to be a true master of anything. You need practice. Of course, some folks actually do have natural talent, which can include fearlessness, hand/eye coordination, etc. But we all only have what talent we have. So practice is the only thing that will work for all of us. And I agree with your point about the type of practice. We add one word to the tried and true axiom "practice makes perfect". Perfect practice makes perfect.


Yep I agree with that. Of course I don't disagree with all of that 10k hours and I really found it pretty awesome story and theory. Over the years of riding I had a buddy that would practice every day riding 3-4 times a week. He would practice starts, turns, different jumps but he would over think and under commit. He'd spend hours on the track and maybe ride 5 total laps but sections over and over. I always rode laps and concentrated on each section as it came. Was my practice better? Maybe maybe not but he didn't get any better for the couple years we rode together. I would always watch and wonder what it was that was holding him back.

One of my favorite quotes is "don't practice until you get it right. Practice until you can't get it wrong" I try to apply it to mx as much as I can to get my body position and technique right. Then hopefully the speed follows
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Reply with:

ThumperTalk

Register a new account Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...
Terms of Use
Copyright
Privacy Policy