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 If you wish to contribute comments or photos on a recent BMX event, contact the webmaster and we will post it.Reports: President's Cup Race at Columbus OH on 27 December 2006 - posted on 7 January 2007. Southern Charm National 2005 in Dothan, Alabama - posted on 21 February 2005. President's Cup 2004 in Sarasota, Florida - posted on 14 January 2005. GA State Championship and Banquet - posted on 08 November 2004. Grand National in Louisville KY - posted on 11 September 2004. Four days of racing in GA - posted on 20 July 2004. SE Regional Race at Pelham, AL on 19 and 20 June 2004 - posted on 23 June 2004. |
President's Cup Race at Columbus OH on 27 December 2006 - posted on 7 January 2007. |
Another Presidents Cup, my third since I started racing
and it is happening again! I made it to my Main, I am on the gate and I start to
feel the pressure, nervousness kicks in and I feel my heart fluttering. I tell
myself this is just another race, just another gate, but my body tells me
something else. This is not another race, I am representing my state and I want
this for Georgia. Back to basics - focus on the job at hand - you have practiced
this gate, just do it one more time, just the way you practiced it in
preparation for this moment. Ignore what the riders on either side of you are
doing, don't allow yourself to be distracted from launching from the gate as
planned and practiced. The cadence starts, Showtime!
The track layout was almost identical to the 2005 track. The track was rolled shiny smooth and FAST (it got even faster as the week progressed.) The corners were well-shaped, bowled out and relatively smooth for a virgin track. The transitions into the turns were excellent - funneling the riders into the turns, and spilling the riders out safely - enabling side-by-side elbow-rubbing action. Great job Tom Ritz! The first obstacle was a stretched-out step-up which rewarded the rider who got on the gas soonest on the backside of the jump and enabled you to arrive at the first turn in first place. The remaining obstacles were all challenging, but could be pumped, manualled or jumped. It seemed that on the first three straights, the primary goal was to traverse all obstacles in a way that enabled you to maximize the number of cranks you were able to take down each straight. (Generally this is a winning strategy for Rookies and Novices, however Experts are generally carrying so much speed that it is difficult to maintain momentum and stay on the ground!) On this track however, jumpers were not rewarded with gobs of backside speed and were quickly reeled in by racers who minimized mistakes and stayed smooth. The 2-straight Pro-section was not for the faint-hearted and included a dirt-jumper style jump over the second turn. The Pros earned the respect of the amateurs as they handled the energy-sapping hard landings off these monstrous jumps (for BMX racing) in heavy traffic. At the end of the day, Georgia got 6th place, a worthy result given that we had 26 riders on our team and there were 207 motos. It still feels special to represent your state and I am glad I made the journey to Ohio. What will you be doing the day after Christmas 2007?
Anthony 45-49 Cruiser |
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Four days of racing in GA - Observations of a Novice. posted on 20 July 2004.
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Thursday 17th the madness started - a local race at PTC track which had a better than expected turnout. Friday was Sandy Ridge's turn to host a local, double race. Another great turnout! Saturday was the fifth and final GA state qualifier held at Sandy Ridge track in McDonough. The race hotline said the race was on and we hit the road in the rain. The track had received rain and riders and volunteers raked and swept the puddles, the sun came out and the track was declared open for practice! BMXers are such an optimistic bunch, maybe we know something other people don't - maybe there's something in that red dirt? The track was perfect - smooth, fast and dust-free. The highlight of the day was the "Open" race, riders and spectators were treated to some world-class racing. Jeff Dein, Tom Harper, Shawn O'Gorman, JJ (remember him?), Rob Potter to name a few, showed us some of their raw speed, skills and determination to win. Goosebumps... Tim Huff was on form as usual, and he treated us to a discussion on the fascinating word "phlegm" and the origins of it's silent "G". I wonder how this specific word came to his mind? Nevermind. Another good days racing. Sunday came too soon and we dragged ourselves to the PTC track. Rob Potter and crew were working on the track and for all the rain we had, it looked great! The sun came out, it got progressively hotter and the races began! Mad dogs and Englishman (and BMXers) go out in the midday sun! Again, the 16+ Open and the12 and under Open classes provided the best racing of the day, the youngsters were highly motivated and enjoying the tight racing. In the break between rounds two and three, Brandon Payne put on an inpromptu demonstration of how (not) to jump the Pro-section. On his second attempt, he showed us how to bail safely. Thank you Brandon. We were surprised with the good turnout for a fourth day of racing in
a row. Thank you Albany, Moultrie and Augusta riders for staying over
after the state qualifier to support our track. What a weekend, we must
do this again!
Anthony 35+ Novice |
| SE
Regional Race at Pelham, AL on
19 and 20 June 2004. posted on 23 June 2004. |
| This track is one of my favorites.
The jumps and other obstacles are small which makes for plenty of opportunities to pass and be passed, and so there is always exciting racing at this track.
The track is surrounded by trees in the Oak Mountain Park and on Saturday, they were echoing with the sounds of a horse neighing after Jonathan Jackson (JJ) won one of his motos and then again mysteriously more horse-noises after Jonathan won the 16+ Open main event, beating the 2003 World # 1, Barry Nobles on his home track! Soon after these noises were heard, and after receiving some oxygen from the Medics, Rob Potter was seen walking around like a proud papa. Jonathan, I was really impressed with this inspired performance. FYI, there are horse and mountain-bike trails in the park! Tim Huff was on form (as usual) with a “virtual plethora” of funny sayings and has even added squirrel noises to support his arsenal of metaphors and similes! I was fortunate enough to be in the moto ahead of Tim and overhear his spirited banter (and strange sound effects) with his competition!
Just because I said the obstacles were small, doesn’t mean this is an easy track to race. The first turn is quite scary - it’s a wide flat 90 degree turn with a relatively low berm - considering the speed you are carrying into it.
One of the cool things Oak Mountain BMX track does is to provide paper cups, water and Gatorade for riders - I liked that. After the last race, the track was opened to all riders to practice. My son
really enjoys this fun, fast track, and only stopped riding when we threatened
to leave him behind! Anthony 35+ Novice |
