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Happier with my dropping skills tonight - although my forks actually flex visibly on the video
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I saw you leaving Bourton last night Joe. have you got all the jumps at them bottom done yet? Some of the kids have been doing some building down there.
As for your jumping, words fail me 😉 Looks like you're trying to leave the bike behind! I'll give you a shout next time we go down to stockwood or little stoke if you want some company.
@ianpv - that would be great on the pump track front. Jumping never my forte!
Thinking about popping to stockwood Saturday morning if the rain doesn’t turn up as forecast.
On BC jumps nope - done the one step down and then that first little double at the top of that section. Bottled the rest - was having a look at one of the new ones but it didn’t help my cause another guy was doing run ups to it but bottling it as well. If it was a table I wouldn’t even have hesitated and probably cleared it 🫣
BC was fun last night - my shifter broke as I went to shift into an easier gear as I was turning into Bourton Combe road. Had to bodge it with limit screws so I could lock it in 6th gear (where the shifter had broken was in 10th or 11th) and ride it as a single speed. Was a bit hard going on the hills
I managed to get out on Monday to Rowberrow which is riding pretty well. Not sure I've got another free weekend between now and september though - cornwall this weekend, Manchester indoor AND Glasgow next weekend to get some practice in for upcoming nationals and the world champs... getting a bit ridiculous but Joe absolutely flying at the moment and loving it so I can't really stop! I'm just getting fat 🙂
@ianpv - I rode Rowberrow recently - was riding fantastically well. Quite like riding that for some sessioning of trails. Pb it almost every time I go at the moment.
I can do pump track or mtb mid week most weeks - although toying with some chaingang road rides with a local cycling club at some point. Not sure I’ll keep up but give it a go - ftp is probably just north of 260ftp at the moment and weigh 76kgs give or take.
Joe sounds like he’s flying - fair shout! I very much doubt your idea of fat is similar to mine….
A couple of thoughts that may or may not help.
1. Are you holding your breath as you take off? Almost as if you're bracing for impact?
If so, try whistling or singing to yourself. Should things ever go wrong, it's better to crash with empty lungs than full ones. You can't knock the wind out of empty lungs.
2. You look as if you're extending the body and standing tall very early almost as if you don't think you've got enough time before the landing. Allow the bike to come up in to you on take off. With more bend in all 4 limbs, you can learn to fine tune your position in the air. Then, with a bit more softness in the limbs, you'll be better placed to absorb the landing.
There will be a lot of different suggestions on here. They might be saying the same thing but in different ways. The key is to find an explanation that clicks with you.
haha - well, we're at Bristol BMX most Wednesdays training or racing. You should come to a non-race night, I'll bring a bike if you do! A chaingang will bring your fitness on no end if you can find one at the right level, but it's all under/overs rather than steady state so although you need a decent level it's more about recovery from over threshold efforts than FTP really. I wouldn't recommend the nova scotia tuesday one - I used to do 280W Normalised at 70kg for 100 minutes on that, absolutely brutal. I doubt it's got any easier! There was a less horrendous one that used to go from the Ashton ct gatehouse on tuesday night at 6ish - not sure if it's still running. Or the BW cycles saturday morning rides were good - not really a chaingang, more hill repeats, with regrouping at the top, but with a bit of group riding. Good introduction if you're not used to it, and pretty family friendly with a 7am start - done and dusted by 9. Not sure if that is still going but expect so!
Am I going to show myself up horribly at a bmx meet (even if not raining)?
Was looking at the 2 clubs this side of Bristol - 1 meet at Mangotsfield station and the other at keynsham / saltford. Need to get myself along to meet some folk and see how it is. I refuse to wear branded style Lycra kit with logos all over - happy just in subtle black bibs / cycle top. The caad 12 has now gone and picked up a Dolan carbon gravel frame but built it up for road with my existing kit. Although it now has Ultegra cranks / Hope brakes / power meter pedals etc.
Saw this video which shows how important the bunnyhop technqiue is for jumping
My oldest son was doing this as part of his coaching session on Sunday. He's riding with kids a few year's older who are throwing all kinds of shapes and he's doing ok, but has a tendency to crouch on take off (chin to the bar) and squash the jump. Unfortunately one of the riders dislocated an elbow and the session was cut short. He reckoned the bunnyhop technique was really helpful - i haven't had the chance to check his progress yet.
Having been in the same boat OP, just find what helps you relax in the air. I used to quietly sing really cheesy pop tunes which worked for me and confused the young-uns. The fast lads at the bmx club did a sort of double pump thing in the air when racing, so some sort of sucking the bike up with your feet is a good thing.
Are you having fun? If so you are winning 🙂