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Message: [QUOTE="bbbom, post: 440123, member: 16301"] I raced (if you can call what I do racing) my first harescramble at the start of my 2nd season of riding, after not riding for 5 months due to SNOW! My bro talked me into it. As for knowing you are ready to start - I still don't feel ready to start racing but I do it anyways, at least once a year. I have fun but I am not even close to being competitive on a bike. I am naturally very competitive but I don't have the ability to be a threat to any of the other riders (well except maybe as an obstacle). :eek: If racing or organized events were my only riding option then THAT would be what I'd be doing. As far as finishing, not falling and coming in midpack - if I were living off the race winnings I'd agree with that BUT that's why I keep my day job. Funny thing though, the more competent a rider I become, the more I seem to crash, get stuck and just plain screw up. My first harescramble I didn't fall even once and we were at the back of the pack (tag team) but not dead last. My second one (a year later) we were futher back in the pack and I took one heck of a header. Over the bars in 4th gear with the bike cartwheeling behind me. Blew out my fork seals, broke off my clutch perch, bent my bars BAD and rung my bell so bad I had to concentrate on Firecrackers bright purple coat just to get back to the pits. Luckily I had just enough perch left that I could shove the end of the lever in enough to start out at each check point but I had to stall it each time to get my checks. This last one early this spring I spent about 30 minutes stuck in a goo hole until some very nice young men helped pull me out and set me on my way (TWICE - in the same spot!!!). This was AFTER taking a water sample in the same mudbog in front of Pit Row on my first lap. May as well do it with an audience. I don't know that anyone ever really feels like they are to a point when they are READY to try a race. I think most of us just decide, what the heck lets give it a try. Something that I have found that helps build my confidence is to do some type of preparation for the event well in advance. Working out, practice riding, learning about new techniques, anything at all that I do with the thought that it will help me in the event does wonders for my confidence. For example, when I workout with weights or go mountain biking, in the back of my mind I am doing it to be able to ride better on my dirtbike. When I can’t workout or ride then I try to read info on riding techniques and visualize myself doing it correctly. CONFIDENCE in your riding is an amazing help. Just this weekend Karl & I joined some really good riders in Montana on Sunday to ride some pretty technical trails. These guys make it look too easy to traverse the narrow goat trails with hundreds of switchbacks. I went over the edge of a goat trail once and Karl and the sweep had to pull my bike back up. I looped the bike on another switchback with the bars stuck between two trees and my bike upside down and I had numerous stalls and bobbles BUT I felt really good with my riding. I even got two compliments, the ride organizer (one of the guys that tried to get Karl to steer me away from the 500) told me he didn’t know I was that good of a rider and that he had expected me to have more trouble on the switchbacks. When I looped the bike between the trees, Karl asked as he was prying the bars out of the trees for me what I was so pissed off about. I replied, “I’m not pissed off?” “Oh, well you were riding GREAT!!!” was his reply. (Well, maybe I just listened to his advice to ATTACK the trail back on one of my stallouts a little earlier. I guess I do tend to ride more aggressive when I AM p.o.d though just this time I wasn’t.) Actually, I got a third compliment – Becky my friend (and firecracker’s) on an XR200 told me I was “rippin’” through the section of trail back to camp. She had pulled over to let some of the guys by after a tough switchback and I went on past her so she jumped in behind me. I didn’t want to let those guys catch us and they didn’t (because they took a long break to let us get out of their way). This ride felt much easier than a similar one we did last year. I haven’t really even been riding nearly as much this year BUT I have been working out and reading as much info as I can AND I felt more confident than I have in previous rides. Now I can’t wait for it to rain so we can go do more of the switchback goat trails from hell. So, bottom line in this VERY lengthy post is – JUST set your mind to it, work on whatever type of preparation you can and DO IT!!!!! You never know what you can do until you do it! [/QUOTE]

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