Summary:
Do you love watching motocross, and itch to get out on the track yourself? Take the time to learn proper motocross technique and you’ll trounce your opponents. All you need to do go to motocross school.

Details or Sample:
Tired of Just Watching? How to Get Started Riding Motocross

By Alison Braidwood

Are you itching to ramp your weekend dirt biking up a notch? Then maybe it’s time to make the move from motocross fan to motocross racer. There are a variety of ways you can ease yourself into the sport – by participating in novice-class motocross races, by attending a motocross school, or by doing a Dirt Day.

Go to a live motocross event, if you haven’t before now. Go early and watch what the riders do to practice and prepare. Ask lots of questions. Be nosy. The motocross crowd are a friendly bunch and fellow adrenaline junkies are usually more than happy to talk about a shared obsession. If there are equipment vendors at the event, chat with them as well; they’ll be able to talk moto with you, and give you some hints as to what helmet and protective gear you’ll need.

Check out your local motocross track and off-road bike clubs. If you’re really serious about racing, think about attending a motocross school. Ask your local motorcycle dealer for a recommendation, or do an online search for schools in your area. Or just ask a fellow MX enthusiast. Not only will you learn technique, you’ll get used to riding on a track with other riders in a race situation. The instructors will teach you to focus on racing the track, rather than competing against individual riders. Motocross is about you, your bike, and the obstacles and conditions you face on a particular day, at a particular track.

Alternatively, another easy way to get a taste for riding Motocross is by attending a Dirt Day.

TransWorld Motocross introduced Dirt Days in 2007. These weekends give motocross fans the chance to try the sport for themselves, instead of just watching from the sidelines. Dirt Days come with all the trappings of a motocross race event, with retail tents, demonstrations, concerts, a model search, and displays of new accessories and bikes. All that’s missing is the actual race. Dirt Days are held at major motocross tracks. Not only can adults try riding, they also have special enclosures for kids where they can ride bikes for the first time, kitted out with helmets, boots and protective gear, under the watchful eye of instructors. Check out transworldmotocross.com/mx/dirtdays for dates.

When you find a motocross event you’d like to take part in, find out what expenses you’ll incur on race day. Depending on the race, this could entail paying out membership dues to a national MX club, gate fees, and race fees for specific events.

Make sure you know what you’re doing and have given yourself the opportunity to practice before you fling yourself headlong into a “real” motocross race. Motocross is notoriously tough, physically. You don’t want to discover you’ve got spaghetti arms and jelly legs halfway through your first moto. Only once you’ve run a practice moto course or two (and felt the after-effects), will you know how much training you need to do before a real race.

Look for local MX races with Enduro (cross country) or Sportsmen novice classes. It’ll give you a taste of motocross, only with less physical danger, and you might be able to use your existing dirt bike. Racers are grouped according to bike weight, age, or skill class, so you’ll generally race with your peers. Otherwise you risk getting clobbered. Of course, you might get clobbered anyway, but at least this way the racers doing damage to your ego will be newbies as well.

If you decide you need to upgrade from your dirt bike, consider buying a used two-stroke 250 or 125 motocross bike - you can get them cheap. Buying a lightly-used bike makes economic sense, especially if you end up (heaven forbid) deciding motocross racing isn’t for you after all. Buying used also means you can probably sell the bike for about the same amount you paid for it. You can also get helmets and other protective gear second-hand, which will leave you with more money for race fees.

Once you get a taste for motocross racing, you won’t look back. Take the time to learn the basics. Go to motocross school and learn how to ride properly, and you’ll spend less time on the injured list, more time on the track. You might even get to the stage where you’d rather spend your cash on motocross than beer.

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Written by: Alison Braidwood
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