Tag Archives: retro bmx racing
Retro racers, turning it on at Knox
Friday night 3rd of March 2017 saw the Knox championship series get under way with round 1, class sponsors Bicycle Works have come on aboard as sponsors of the retro series and if round 1 is any indicator this years Bicycle Works Retro series is going to be a cracker. With the relaxation of the retro rules in Victoria and the removal of the pre 1986 rule that is stifling retro racing in many other states, retro is now going from strength to strength. Other states and the National body should take note on what we are doing and adopt our rules, if they want to see retro BMX racing flourish. Twenty retro racers made their way to the Knox BMX track in the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne Australia to race retro BMX for the night, with a few doubling up and riding 2 classes. With this many riders,
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
Brutal punishment by the evil one, James Tait
In a flash of inspiration earlier this afternoon, I decided to head down to Knox BMX track and do a training session under the tutelage of AA Pro rider and coach James Tait, oh how I wish I stayed home or maybe I should have taken up lawn bowls. The session started off well, with the request from James to do a couple of warmup laps, after 2 laps I was gassed, I knew I was in trouble and it was going to be a long hour, the training session starts and we are divided into two teams, two relay teams that is, which involved relays of running, side ways running, kicking in yourself in the butt with your heels running and high knees running. Immediately I felt bad for my team as I was quite obviously going to be the weakest link and I apologise to tall the 8
From criterium racing to retro BMX racing
What a difference, 4 years makes, back in 2012 I was racing 1 hour criteriums on a road bike and loving it, the criterium is a very tactical race and is not always about the person that has the fastest sprint. Break aways are common as are spells of hard riding, that are designed to take the sting out of the sprinters leg. I personally had a decent sprint, but couldn’t mix it in the end with the pure speed demons, but I could take out a race from along way out and make the race difficult for those behind me, I also loved breaking away out on my own and challenging myself, most often my solo break aways would not work out, but from time to time I would spring a surprise and hold on. With these tactics I found myself at the pointy end of the field
Rider Bio: Ashley Grange
Name: Ashley Grange Home Club: Knox, Vic. Classes: 40+ Retro Bike: 1983/84 Profile Champ Best Retro Results: 3rd Lilydale back to the valley 2016 3rd Frankston Helltrack series 2016 4th Frankston Helltrack open 2016 6th Vic riders cup Wyhndam 2016 6th Park Orchards open 2016 8th Knox Thunderdome 2016 12th overall Victorian State Titles. About Me: I’m 40 years old and started racing bmx in 1982. Numerous race wins and state plates between then and when I stopped racing in 1988. My best effort was 4th in the 9 boys expert state title and 7th in my last state titles in 1988. Raced Australia titles in SA in 1986 and missed out on a spot in the final due to a heavy crash in the semi while leading. Fast forward 28 years to 2016 and I’m back out on the bike racing and loving it. Sponsors: Old School BMX Progressive
Rider Bio: Adam Moules aka Retroracer31
Name: Adam Moules Home Club: Knox, Vic. Classes: Retro 40+ Bike: 1988 Vortex Cruiser Best Retro Results: 3rd South Eastern Cash Dash 2017 3rd Battle on the Border Wodonga 2017 3rd Portland Pandemonium 2017 2nd Frankston Summer series 2016 3rd Sunbury Stars Open 2016 3rd Geelong Spectacular Open 2016 3rd Knox Club Championship 2015 About Me: As a kid I always wanted to race bikes in some form, I lived next door to the Edithvale Velodrome so spent quite a bit of time there, alas my sports that I participated in had nothing to do with cycling, they being swimming, lifesaving, karate and tae kwon do. Fast forward 25 odd years and at the age of 40 I bought myself a bike and became a member of the Southern Masters cycling club. When I first started riding I was incredibly unfit and unable to ride 5 kms without having to
Retro racing into the future
Retro racing to date, has been a long time lobbying effort, not only by those that started it all about 8 years ago, but also by the people who revived the class and started laying the ground work, to build the class over the last couple of years to what we have today. It is the people who are racing today that need to push the necessary adjustments and fine tuning so that the class prospers in the years to come and as such here are a few of my personal thoughts of what I would like to see, not only in Victoria but Australia wide. Removal of the pre 1986 rule Australia wide, this one change alone has increased the sizes of the retro fields in Victoria to the point where we regularly see 2 gates of rides at a clubby, full gates at open meets and 48 entries