ArticlesReader.com Menu
Newest Articles
Most Viewed Articles
ArticlesReader.com RSS
Submit Article
Login
Signup
Search the articles

Articles Main Categories
Advice
Animals
Automobiles
Business
Career
Communications
Computer Programming
Computers
Entertainment
Environment
Family
Fashion
Finance
Food
Health & Medical
Home & Garden
Humor
Internet Business
Internet Marketing
Legal
Leisure & Recreation
Marketing
Other
Politics
Reference & Education
Religion
Self Improvement
Sports
Technology & Science
Travel
Writing
Subscribe
Receive alert message from us when new articles submitted to our site for free.

Enter your name

Enter your email

Syndicate

















Related Products
Home::Biking

Getting Started in BMX Racing

Author : Jean Feingold
BMX racing is a fun sport for young people. For kids, the basic bike should have 20-inch wheels. Riders under age six can use whatever type of bike they have, even if it's not a true BMX freestyle bike. These little folks might still be riding bikes with wheels as small as 12-inches. Some tracks even have races for Big Wheel bikes.



A cruiser or mountain bike with 24-inch or 26-inch wheels might be okay, too, but check ahead of time with your local track for advice. Many tracks will let you race a mountain bike in the "Cruiser" class.



Whatever bike you use should be equipped this way. Remove all reflectors. Take off the kickstand and chainguard to prevent injury in a wreck.



The bike should have pads on the top tube, stem and crossbar. Most BMX freestyle bikes already have these pads. If your bike doesn't have them, adding this safety feature will cost about $5.



The bike should have at least one working brake. A coaster brake is fine if that's all the bike has. The bike should be in safe working order.



Finally, tie a paper plate to the handlebars. This will be your number plate. When you get to the track, they'll give you a number to put on it. That number will identify you to the judges and fans as you are racing.



Safety is important



For head protection, a helmet is essential. Depending on the track rules, this may need to be a full-face helmet or a helmet with a separate mouthguard. Other tracks will accept any type of inexpensive motocross-style helmet.



Wear protective clothing. Regular long pants or jeans will protect the rider's legs. For arm protection, wear a long-sleeved shirt. Since riders will use their feet, they should wear good sturdy shoes they are comfortable riding in.



Although you can race without gloves, wearing them is a good idea. Be sure they fit well and don't interfere with moving your hands. Finally, bring bike tools and an air pump in case repairs are needed.



Ready to race



To race, a potential rider needs to find a track. Local bike shops may have information on where the nearest track is. Otherwise visit the National Bicycle League (NBL) or American Bicycle Association (ABA) websites. These are the sanctioning bodies of BMX racing. They provide advice and insurance to local tracks. As an NBL or ABA member, you will have some medical insurance if you get hurt on the track during a race and do not have other insurance.



A parent or guardian must accompany the rider to give permission for the child to race. A birth certificate must be shown as proof of age. Most tracks charge between $15 and $35 for a racing license that is licenses good for a year. There is also an entry fee for each race, which is usually between $6 and $10.



For your first visit to a particular track, get there about two hours before the first race starts. Find the registration tent or trailer and sign up.



Then take a walk around the track. Try to remember where the jumps are. Next it's time to practice. Put your helmet and other gear on and follow the others to the starting gate. Watch what everyone else does and where they go. A beginner should put his front wheel against the starting gate, keeping one foot on a pedal and the other one on the ground. Start pedaling when the gate drops. Go slow the first few times until you feel comfortable.



After practice, the races will be posted. The people at the registration tent can tell you where your particular race will be posted and how the race actually works. You will be in a group or "moto" with other riders about your age. Line up with them in the staging area. When your group is called, go up and race! This will probably happen three or four times, depending on the system the track uses, and then it will be over. If you win, you might get a trophy. Even if you don't, you'll have fun.


Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com





Jean Feingold is a copywriter for Catalogs.com. Catalogs.com is the Internet's leading source for print and online catalog shopping - and a growing hub of original content and "how to" information at www.catalogs.com.





Spam emails More free articles

Related articles


  1. Road Bikes Reviews: The Giro D’italia Is The Italy’s Answer To The Tour De France
  2. How To Choose The Proper Bicycle
  3. How To Choose A Mountain Bike
  4. Buying Cycling Jerseys, Shoes And Other Bike Clothing Online
  5. Getting Started in BMX Racing
More related feeds
BMX - The Toughest Cycling Sport
A orthodox BMX race consists of a starting gate in which 8 riders or less in alignment up and wait for a metre to sound. Both hearty known federations, the ABA and NBL have equivalent cadences with Christmas Tree lights off to the side ...

Getting Started in BMX Racing
BMX racing is a fun sport for young people. For kids, the basic bike should have 20-inch wheels. Riders under age six can use whatever type of bike they have, even if it’s not a true BMX freestyle bike. These little folks might still be ...

Former Olympic sports come right from playground
Adding an event is a bit easier _ cycling recently replaced the 1000-meter time trial with BMX racing _ but only as a replacement. The IOC is concerned about the Olympics becoming too unwieldy, so anytime a new sport or event is added, ...

Chippewa Valley Firecracker
Saturday started out with an early arrival to the race course. We sent out The "O", Bbones and Jdubs out for the pre-ride. Aris was going to stay off the bike on Sat due to a sliced shin. He slipped a plastic pedal on his BMX bike. ...

BMX Bikes Extreme sports fans, Olympics adds jumping cyclists
It takes a peculiar sort of person to do what she does on the BMX racing circuit – jumping 40-foot gaps and plunging down three-story start ramps, pedaling furiously at speeds that would get cars a ticket in a school zone. ...

Vacaville Gran Prix 2008
When the start bell rang I was fully expecting everyone to roll away, clip in, and ride pretty casually for the first couple turns, this, as I alluded to before is not the way the race started. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen BMX ...

Pick a berm
This doc however was in the know, he was talking about BMX racing and saying that he'd heard about the Brits in Peterbro', it just seems to me that BMX is becoming more and more mainstream again, this is a good thing for sure. ...

BMX Racing: June 19, 2008
Hot BMX Racing Action! Great photos from Brian Long (TrueBMX.com) and Jason Gallo (UtahBMX.com/bmxpics). They were both there shooting the action, check their sites for more sweet imagery. I “threaded” the photos into the correct ...

Spaz, Motorcycle Nut or Skilled Rider?
This was fun! After getting a BMX bike I learned how do a wheelie. We were just like the kids in the movie ET, always on our BMX bikes. When I was in middle school we would wheelie our BMX bikes for at least a block if not more. ...

RAD is as RAD does
Last Saturday Matt TXP and I headed up to Isanti for the ABA BMX Land O' Lakes Nationals. Our boy Lance White (aka L-Roc, aka Lance Rock-a-hara, aka L-Train, aka Drunk Ninja) was racing. I was super excited not just to see him race but ...

 


 

2007 articlesreader.com - All Rights Reserved