ROWRACIN Falling down at Foxholes 190605

[oldboyonrgv]

Well it could have been so good.

Back at Foxholes for another round of the PMXC championship, no other national rounds this weekend means that all of the fast boys are here, I say to Row that a top 15 finish would be a good result.

Practice went fine with no problems and Row say’s that the track was riding fine, we look forward to a days racing.

Race1 Gate drops and bang Row is right in the mix, he rides right up the inside and forces him self into the front group, I count him through in 10th place !! brilliant and loads of older/more experienced riders behind him, he consolidates the position during the next two laps gradually drawing away from 11th and drawing up to 9th !!, ho finally gets on 9th places tail and tries to force an overtake on the inside but the front steps out and he losses it the bike is caught in the berm and Row can’t pick it up, I am over the other side of the course and there are no marshals near Row, finally someone gets to him and picks the bike up (Row is yelling and waving at the nearest marshal for assistance, jumping up and down in frustration) he finally gets going again but the race has gone and despite some spirited riding he comes home in 19th place.
A not very happy boy arrives back at the van “you wait till the next race” he says to me.

We have a little chat and Row says that he nearly cleared the big step up “I recon I could do it next time Dad” I tell him that if is confident then go for it, you could fit a transit van in the gap between the step and the top of the next bit so this is quite a challenge for the little guys.


Race2 Row is really focussed at the gate he just looks at me and nods when I try to talk to him, no smiling or mucking about here!
5 seconds and the revs rise, Row snicks it into gear – GO! Row hits it hard and is once again in the front group as they exit the first corner, I count him through in 12th and with 11th , this is amazing he is up with national level riders ! he duly despatched 11th place and starts to pull 10th, up the long straight to the big step up and bang he clears it !!, I am gob smacked (and a little frightened), he closes the gap to 10th down but is just unable ot make a pass before the end of the race. I charge back to the pits and give him a big smack on the back, he gives me the thumbs up and has a motor mouth for the next 15 mins as he re-lives the race, he’s also well pleased about doing the step up “I was well scared the first time dad, I looked down and thought wow that’s a long way”

Its over 80 deg and I have been constantly forcing Row to drink and spraying him down with cold water, his older sister Alex has taken on the role of brolley dolley to try to keep him cool on the line.

Last race of the day we line Row up in a rather proud 11th peg and gets loads of compliments on how well he is riding.

Row takes his position on the gate and once again gets into race mode (he doesn’t even acknowledge me, and is totally focussed on the starter), Bang off they go, Row rides up the inside and pops out in 5th place – GO BOY! Despite being gradually shuffled back by bigger stronger riders he’s really giving it a go, 2nd lap and Row not only does the step up but he actually clears the following table top landing it on the down slope, he is now in a clear 8th place, just needs to finish it, then he goes into a sharp right just in front of me and the front washes out, I run over and pick him up two places lost bugger! He gets right round to the farthest point of the track when he does the same thing again but this time there is no one to help him and he struggles to get the bike upright, bikes are passing him all the time, he gets going again and is shaking his head as he comes past me, he manages to get 5 back by the end of the race but is really crestfallen. Back at the van he takes his lid and gloves off and sits in his chair he won’t talk to anyone and just puts his head in his hands, we spray him down without saying to much (any talk is just met with a shrug from him). It takes Row over an hour before you can talk to him (but NOT about today’s races), he goes over to race control to see where he finished – 20th we pack up the van and head home.

Once home he has calmed down enough to talk objectively about the day, I explain to him that he is riding brilliantly and shouldn’t be getting top 10s in this group with his current experience, I tell him that he has raised his game another notch and that is the reason he made mistakes, he is pushing so hard and expects so much from himself it really hurts to see him get so frustrated, I focus on the positives and he gradually brightens up until he is back to his old self.

So its off to Matchams park next weekend for a day of fun in the sand! first time Row has ridden this bike at this track and in sand, should be interesting.

[phlat65]

brilliant!!!!! it is a good sign when he is pushing the front sooo hard that he is crashing.
not to say that your setup is not good, but try a little stiffer compression in the fork, and speed up the re-bound 1 or 2 clicks. tire pressure can really help too, 1 or 2 psi in each direction can make a big difference when pushing real hard. what have you got the rear sag set at? sounds like he needs a little more weight on the front wheel. just my 2 cents.

my buddy kevin runs a motocross school. he has won many championships. one of the things he uses to teach front brake control is to have the kids do stoppies on the backside of a jump. it is an amazing technique, the kids learn to weight the tire and better brake control in short order. anyone can hold it on, but so much time can be made up under braking, and corner speed.

keep up the good work Dad!!

[oldboyonrgv]

Hi, He's pretty mean on the brakes, he does loads of his overtaking there (almost to the point of running in too hot), it seems to be in the neutral phase of the cornres that he loses the front, I have tried to get him to apply a little more power at that point to get him to steer with the rear rather than turn the front, but you know how difficult it is to put into practice!, thanks for the advice regarding set up, I have increased the rear pre-load to try to wieght the front more, but I dont want to make it too harsh for him.

I will try the front suggestions this weekend, although we will be running in sand for the first time this year so set up will change anyway.