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O.K Lets start an open forum for parents and riders to discuss the first straight away this year. I only spent a few minutes at the track today and saw several people take diggers going into and over the triple.

My first observation was the lack of an obstacle for the 50' before the jump. Since we have the steepest starting hill in all of BMX it seems to me there needs to be a another obstacle there to scrub some of the speed for the little kids. Would the older kids still be able to carry enough speed into the triple?, not sure. I know Sky can't clear the triple and had to scrub some speed before the lip to double in or he would have faced the bump for the triple.

My problems with the triple are these:

Only maybe 10 of our riders will be able to clear that obstacle all year.

The face seems too steep and is making it impossible to roll into the first roller without grabbing a hand full of brake.

The little kids are getting thrown all over the place. I understand it was pretty windy today but it seems like wind plays a factor in "the pit" for at least half the races.

The depth of the rollers seems to be too much. The lip of the 2nd one seems too high, making it even more difficult to double in for those right on the edge.

The 50' runway to the lip without an obstacle just looks and feels out of place for the rest of the track. I don't feel like there should be any part of the track that is longer than the starting hill without an obstacle, it just doesn't flow. If you gear your kid to max out on the first straight that same gear will be too tall for the rest of the track.

I would like to see a return to the step up table that we had in 2005, (I just saw it watching the video on the front page). There definately needs to be an obstacle before whatever is done there. Maybe we make it a double and build a good size table before it. Maybe we fill it in and make it a table with a roller into the corner.

I saw a kid crying at the starting hill today and was afraid to ride because he didn't want to go over that triple. We should build a track that is fun and racey for the masses. Lots of our new riders spend all winter riding on an indoor track that is fairly simple and not to technical only to come out to outdoor and find speeds and obstacles they are not ready for.

Lastly I want this to be a FORUM. I am not trying to critisize anyone's efforts, I just want to voice my opinion and hopefully others will do so. I know that I want Skylar to learn to be a better rider and want a technical track for him to ride on but I also want to see BMX continue to grow in our community. I believe we can accomplish both by making some subtle changes.

Thanks for everything all the volunteers do for our kids.

Adam

Ok, here was my first thought going over the triple today:

"Looks like I picked a bad day to quit wearing adult diapers".

Honestly, it scared the hell out of me. But, I've also been off the bike for awhile, and it was REALLY windy down the first straight, so I was definitely grabbing ALOT of brake. As my bike skills progress, I will probably enjoy jumping into it, but I know that is not an option for alot of kids.

If I had my way, I'd love to mellow out the takeoff so you can "float" over the jump more, or keep the back tire down to manual. However, I know that as is it will definitely challenge me to become a better rider.

I love the idea of going back to the big step up of 2005. Tame enough for the kids (and non-jumpers), yet it had distance to clear for the expert jumpers.

No matter what happens, I'm just happy to have a facility to race at like RAD Canyon. Triple or no triple, I will never take the facility, volunteers, or the people for granted because I know EXACTLY how good we have it.

"So-Cal? Uh uh.... it's So-UTAH!"

Quote -
"I saw a kid crying at the starting hill today and was afraid to ride because he didn't want to go over that triple."

I TOLD Mike Kelly to stop crying or somebody would notice. There is no crying in BMX.


As someone who rode the track today.........the first straight is just fine as it is, it's a refreshing change NOT to see an obstacle every 50ft'.
The triple has been brought to the RC crews attention & something is going to be done about it.

I personally would like to see it turned into a table top. Top riders could bomb it & everybody else could ride it out safely. The resulting momentum would carry you into the 2nd straight with plenty of speed to do whatever you wanted to do.

Want to be more challenged in the upcoming months? Wait 'till the 2nd track is finished then set them loose on that track. In the meantime, keep the main track so 90% of the riders can jam on it without worry of getting hurt.

I think, other than the triple, the track is awesome.


b.

From the perspective of past rider an now parent of a rider I know that anyone that masters the obstacle, regardless of taking it as a triple, double-single, or coasting, will be a better rider for doing so-- not much else will scare you after that. With that said, I watched a bunch of riders, including my son, get trashed on that thing.

Slowing the speed before the triple may not be the best thing. For the younger riders, it may be that putting an obstacle in the gap to slow speeds may make getting up the face of the tipple a challenge. And as for those that tried to clear the triple as is, I watched many bang the top of the last bump pretty hard suggesting slowing things down may make it impossible to clear.

So for my 3 pennies...
Make the face a lower grade, go back to the step up, or leave it alone and let the kids figure it out.

I think putting something in the gap without changing the obstacle may cause other problems.

-Brian

Thanks to all for the input on the triple, I spent 3 hrs out ther today fixing the problems. The face has been fixed with the slope not being so abrupt, the bowl between the 2 rollers has been filled in and smoothed out. It looks and rides much betterand just to be sure I put my dad on the bike and made him go over it a few times. We seemed to have fixed the problems. I got the official approval from TO that it rides much much better!

edited double post

By filled in and smoothed out do you mean it is now a table into a roller for the triple or the first cavity is just not as deep.

Thanks again Jason for all your volunteer time at the track.

Adam

its not so shallow now

the only trouble i had going over the triple was the first part of it was really deep. I could double into it fine but manual in the deep part was pretty hard. but im glad it is fixed now.

was that picture taken today?? it looks like the 2005 RC.. I sure hope it is the 05 track.

ya thats the 05 track. i thought that was the best one.. haha but i heard they changed the triple into a table on saturday is that true?

Sorry about that. Somebody e-mailed me wondering what the 05' step table looked like going into the first turn. This was the best pic I could find of it.


b.

Punk-Biker940 wrote:i heard they changed the triple into a table on saturday is that true?

Yes it is true we have a 34' table now

"Come to Rad Canyon and see the ABA's ONLY 34' Table top!" ~Future headline in May's BMXer.

Of course, I am kidding. I have no idea about what the BMXer would say. I do know that many people were struggling with the triple and I respect that. I am just not so sure that putting a 34' table down there was the right answer.

This got me thinking: what is we put an appropriately shaped step up/step down in that spot? We could make it so the faster riders could jump the whole thing, the medium-fast riders could hop over the middle hump, and the slower riders could just pump it. The other solution would be a step up double.

Keep in mind that the problems are always going to happen with the riders that are moving up or down in thier skill level. Any rider pushing a track will find a way to crash, and any rider fast enough without the right skill will too.

What are your thoughts? How did everyone like the 34' table?