Welcome to Retro Racer 31
The Trials and Tribulations of an unfit, overweight guy, that decided to take up Retro BMX racing at the age of 43. More »
Knox Thunderdome 2016
Results and images from Knox Thunderdome 2016 held over the weekend of 5th and 6th of November at the home of retro racing Knox BMX track. More »
Victorian State BMX Championships
Friday 18th of November will see the first time that the retro class has officially been added to the Victorian state titles, with 48 entries over 3 classes. More »
Nutrition and Training go hand in hand
Getting your nutrition right is just as important as your training and to be honest I have not quite got it right lately. More »
Welcome to Retro Racer 31
Jelly legs, back in training.
Christmas and the New Year are now behind us and after two weeks off I was back in training with the secret trainer, when I get there I saw all manner of contraptions that were not there when I last trained and it had me a little worried right from the start. With a grin and a slight chuckle my secret trainer tells me you are going to hate me, not so much today, not so much tomorrow, but come Thursday, you will be in agony, I am interested to know what exactly this agony is going to feel like, because I don’t mind telling you I am feeling it now. Due to the fact that I have a dodgy right knee, it is fair to say that over the last few years I have done very little with it, as it becomes inflamed and painful after very little exercise,
2017 Retro racing season gets underway with Track Attack
Christmas is still a few days away, but once the turkey has been devoured, more beer than anyone should actually drink and enough desert to give you a sugar rush for the rest of the year, then the focus turns back to retro BMX racing. The first event for the year is Track Attack a 6 race series over 9 days in the height of summer, it is not for the faint hearted and it is a wake up call, particularly for those of us, who have spent very little time on the bike since the State titles. It is also the perfect event to get some race fitness back and get back into the routine of racing and training and set your sights to April’s BMX Australia National Championships. Whilst April 23rd seems to be along way into the future for those of us that are intending to travel
Drawing the line in the sand
Yesterday saw me doing another training session with the secret trainer, this time it was sprint training, I borrowed my garmin from my road bike and strapped on my heart rate monitor so that I would be able to see some of the stats from the session. Let me start by saying that this is the first sprint training session I have done since starting retro BMX racing a couple of years ago and it is fair to say that my legs are feeling it today, but the pain is temporary and I know that within a few weeks of keeping up the training my body will adapt and my recovery will be quicker and this lactic acid build up in my legs will dissipate a lot quicker. For those that are interested in stats, here are a few to ponder, from a 1 hour training session there was 47
Secret training with the secret trainer
Recently I was sent a message asking if I would like to participate in some training sessions, on the proviso that for now I was to keep it quiet and not mention any names. The aim of the training sessions is 2 fold, to increase my over all fitness and mobility, but it was also to allow the trainer to test if the training plan can make a middle-aged, over weight man who is relatively new to the sport of BMX, improve enough to become competitive and in amongst the pack within a relatively short time frame. I was very appreciative of the offer and accepted the training offer, yesterday started day 1 of my secret training with the secret trainer, I really did want to write this yesterday, but I was in all sorts of pain and could not muster up enough energy to focus my thoughts and get
BMX training for an old guy
I don’t know why, but after last weeks James Tait led torture session, I decided to go back to Knox tonight for another crack at it and try to get this old guys body BMX fit for the 2017 season ahead. Whilst last weeks session was very physical in regards to endurance, this weeks session was more skills based and getting my body moving the right way whilst riding. Sounds pretty easy, but my goodness I am feeling muscles that I didn’t know I had, I am sitting here with my legs screaming at me, “what the hell have you done to us” what torture did the evil one devise this week you may ask, pump drills. We start off from the start gate, pedal to the first jump and pump the rest of the track, which probably wouldn’t be so bad if I would actually commit to the Knox
Knox retro series results
The Knox BMX club has been a great supporter of retro racing in Victoria, so much so that it is known as the unofficial home of retro BMX racing. In fact in 2015 when retro was not added to the Victorian state titles, Knox Thunderdome was pushed as the unofficial retro state championships, keeping in mind though that this push was created and endorsed by the retro riders rather than the Knox BMX club itself. Through to 2016 and the retro BMX racers were once again welcomed back with open arms, the highlight of the year being the special club meet they put on, when BMX legend Harry Leary visited Australia, I was lucky enough to be a part of the training session that Harry put on, which was both very informative and very enjoyable. The training session was then followed by a huge night of retro BMX racing, with
One winters night
Going back in August of this year, I happened to go down to Frankston BMX track on a Friday night to drop off a few parts and inadvertently ended up racing, the following is the story of the evening, but included in the pictures below are the Facebook comments which had me in tears where I read them, I have taken screenshots of the comments and blurred out the names, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. The spoils of Victory. Popped down to Frankston tonight to pick up a bike and drop off some pedals, I had zero intentions of racing. With only Scott and Don entered into retro, they looked at me with a forlorn look on their faces, saying, “mate we need 3 for a gate”. I tried to explain that I had no race gear with me, just my bike in the