Getting back to your BMX Roots

Every BMX racer needs to experience grass roots racing. Before I became a BMX racer and started accumulating wins under my belt, my friends and I used our neighborhood as our personal track. Challenging everyone that would race around any track we created. It could have been racing around the light poles in the gravel church parking lot,  racing around a course in a grass field using the trees as our turns, or carving out trails and jumps in the woods and having our own cash open races there. It did not matter because we were BMXers and we were having fun with our bikes! Many of the kids don't get to experience this type of riding on their bike and it show in their BMX racing skills and abilities. Younger racers are sometime spoiled with having these BMX racing faculties with random gate starts, smooth rock free soil-tac surfaces with flowing jumps, and high banked paved turns. I remember racing in the rain on pavement and in the mud. I remember racing in the streets, paved or gravel parking lots, grassy fields, wooded areas, and even frozen ponds. We raced it all! We were BMXers! Next time you go to a track that is not a supreme BMX racing facility that you are use to, remember your first priority is to win and the second priority is to have fun riding your bike. If you use your experience obtained at these small BMX tracks that might have rocky dirt, unpaved turns, wood jumps, small starting hill, or whatever you can complain about; you might better your overall BMX racing skill and ability. Most importantly though is do your best, never give up, and have a good time riding your bike!