2025 Race Blog - Year 9 - Still Lunging for the Line!

[hotdog]

Thanks mate! I sometimes wonder whether I should keep posting these reports in what is essentially an old school forum, so it's good to know that they're being read. Plus I am an old school BMXer at heart and it was a RAD member who originally sorted me out with my first new school race rig (thanks Dan!), so I'll probably keep reporting on my exploits for as long as I keep racing.

To me,bmx was,is and always will be rad as hell whatever the genre. I ride old school but rarely miss a National when it's in Manchester. The racing is well gnarly!

[Mikku]

Thanks guys!

BMX is most definitely RAD. I don't have kids, so can continue being a big kid on a kid's bike!! Or rather, bikes!!   Tbh, I probably spend just as much time on a BMX now, be it riding, racing or at the skate park, as I did back in the heyday. When you factor in online BMX such as forums or just watching stuff on YouTube, I probably spend more time now. And I certainly appreciate it more now than I did then.

This Sunday's race in Osaka is looking a bit dodgy, weatherwise, but I'm off to see a bit of Rally Japan on Saturday, so am going to take my race bike and gear with me, so I can get in some pump track action in case the race is rained off. Just to cover my bmx bases.

[Mikku]

Today's race was, as anticipated, rained off, so I'm glad I took my bike for some pump track action beforehand.

The next (and final) round of the Osaka series is on 7th Dec but before that, there's a chance I may be able to go to Shonan Speedway in Chiba for the final round of their series. Being the other side of Tokyo, it's a bit of trek for me, so we'll see if the work and weather fronts align for that.

[Mikku]

Well that didn’t quite go as planned!

Drove the 333 miles to Tokyo with the intention of entering the Sunday race at Shonan Speedway in Chiba, the other side of Tokyo. The master plan was to ride at a pump track en route on Friday then go to the race track on Saturday for a practice session before racing on Sunday. All was fine until 2 minutes into the Friday pump track session when I twinged my back!   Didn’t think it was too bad, so took a breather, did some stretches and continued riding on and off for about an hour. Then packed up and drove a further three and a half hours on to Tokyo by which time my lower back was killing me. After an uncomfortable night’s sleep, I scrapped the idea of a track session and went for a walk then light ride in the local park, just to see how the back held up. Walking and riding were fine but as soon as I tried anything more strenuous, my back cried foul. With the long return drive home in mind, I therefore gave up on the idea of racing, though decided to go and spectate instead. I’m glad I did because I was able to meet some old friends and faces, including some riders from my racing days at Midoriyama. So although it was disappointing not to race, it was worth going.

I now have a fortnight to rest up and take it easy before my next race in Osaka. That probably means no skate park riding for a while but hey, such is the reality of life as a 56-year-old BMXer!