UtahBMX.com

So here you have a guy who hasn't raced in 20" for over a year, hasn't been on his 20" for a very long time & is thinking about reclassing back to inter.
How much crap is this rider going to take? Do you care? Concerns?

I'll post my opinion after I see some feedback. Don't be shy.

Thanks,
b.

Bruce,
Your gonna reclass? Why?
You can ride with us ......come on

i would not see a problem with it. i would just run it by the aba so you dont get any out of class notices.

Ok loyal UtBMX.com readers, here is your Friday night reading assignment, courtesy of Vintage BMX. I saw this thread yesterday & saw how it turned in a different direction with the first Greg Hill post (about 8 down). Along with that, a few guys that race nationals chimed in & opened my mind about what's really important to me & the older guys (over 40) when it comes to BMX racing.

http://www.vintagebmx.com/community/ind ... c=27011878

b.

You may not be the only one Bruce.

28+ Inter might just get a whole lot interesting

More on this later.....

Ok B I have read the posts and here are my thoughts............. take it or leave it.
The problem with the theory of reclassing is this...........taking from the VBMX thread that all these riders are (rupe, Hill, Tennett etc) reclassing to the am ranks, so some of the mid pack experts say "I cant hang with those guys" so they (the expert guys) reclass to the inter ranks. Well the inter guys go " Hey I cant hang with these former experts" so they reclass to the novice ranks. Now all the novice guys who we sell this sport to are racing guys who are not really novices but former I's and x's.
My point is if this is what we are here for......winning no matter what then ok maybe we need to look at ourselves and say what do i really value.
Also isnt the goal suppossed to be to move up and not back...... what is the example we are setting for the rest of the kids out there.

I know I am taking this the extreme but it is a point to look at........

Also the whole theory behind the thread on vintage is to have fun and race to race........... well then stick with the class you have moved up to and have the fun you can. Take me for example, I am super competitive and LOVE to win but locally I am usually racing the 19-27x class...... Thurs night at Rad Canyon, I got worked by that class, 6 riders and only one other guy over 21 in the class and he was 29, I am 39! I am twice as old as most of them.......... Barely made the main! Do I like that? HELL NO!!!!! Will I be back out on thurs to get worked again............yeah LOL

One more thing, I see it from all sides, I face the fact that I will probably see Barry, Rupe, Hill, Thompson or even Parry lined up in my moto at a national. Is it fair that they can race the am ranks after having been pro, not to me, but thems the rules. If I was an inter would I want some former x guy in my class to take the glory........ no! The inters want the glory too.
Just my 2 cents
So now that B has forced me to read some thread that has smacked me with the realization that I will never grow up to be Kyle Bennett or Donny Robinson and that I am long past my prime as a Bad A** rider, I am off to cry myself to sleep and dream of a gold medal! The only way an old man BMxer will ever get one

Excellent points Jason, even though I see where your coming from I hope you can see where I'm coming from with my next post. I hope that I am able to convey my point here.

I think I started back into 20" racing in 99' & turned expert (went up on my own) around 02'. I was still pretty much gung-ho about racing & trained to win. Slowly though over the past few years I've settled into very part time racing, you guys know that. I still love racing but life has caught up to me & a million other things take priority over going out to ride. So now let's take a look at your post......................

The problem with the theory of reclassing is this...........taking from the VBMX thread that all these riders are (rupe, Hill, Tennett etc) reclassing to the am ranks, so some of the mid pack experts say "I cant hang with those guys" so they (the expert guys) reclass to the inter ranks. Well the inter guys go " Hey I cant hang with these former experts" so they reclass to the novice ranks. Now all the novice guys who we sell this sport to are racing guys who are not really novices but former I's and x's.
My point is if this is what we are here for......winning no matter what then ok maybe we need to look at ourselves and say what do i really value.
Also isnt the goal suppossed to be to move up and not back...... what is the example we are setting for the rest of the kids out there.

Now look at this in a 40+ year olds eyes (or any part-timers) & re-read your post & put yourself in their shoes. I agree that there are guys like that out their that look at the new comp coming in, re-classed Pros & don't want to step it up & take on the challenge but, you also have guys like Gallo & myself who don't fall into that list because of famlly & life getting in the way (it a good thing!). Two other good examples of guys like us are Ian & Rick Eglintine. If those two could or wanted to race or have the time to ride as much as they wanted to, they both would be top experts/cruisers racers for sure but it goes back to my original point, no time because of other things.
Now, is this all about winning? Cherrypicking an easier class? HELL NO! I'm fairly certain that I can speak for all 4 of us, it's about going out & having fun without killing yourself trying to keep up or qualifiying. Remember, I haven't been on my 20" since last Oct. & Gallo hasn't been on his since the SCF's!
Now to the "What example are we setting for our kids" statement, do kids really care what a 41 or 36 year old guy that hardly races, does? I don't think the local 10x, 14n, 16i or 21x cares what the old geezers do or what class they race honestly.
Anybody our age, mid-30's & over know that with every passing year it's harder to stay at the level you were at the previous year. Add in no practice, hardly any bike time & around 6 locals a summer, can you really expect racers to maintain their skills & speed in the their respective expert class?

Also the whole theory behind the thread on vintage is to have fun and race to race........... well then stick with the class you have moved up to and have the fun you can. Take me for example, I am super competitive and LOVE to win but locally I am usually racing the 19-27x class...... Thurs night at Rad Canyon, I got worked by that class, 6 riders and only one other guy over 21 in the class and he was 29, I am 39! I am twice as old as most of them.......... Barely made the main! Do I like that? HELL NO!!!!! Will I be back out on thurs to get worked again............yeah LOL

All BMX racers are competitive by nature. I know when I get on the gate I still get pumped up.
You cannot compare you & me, you just can't. You eat, sleep & live BMX 24-7. You train you butt off on & off the track to be as fast as you are. I am the total opposite as are the other guys I have mentioned. You CAN hang (worked? C'mon!!) with the younger crowd &, like I have mentioned in the past you could turn Vet Pro & have success in it. You have that in you.
Some of the ex-pros stated that they reclass because of the same points I've pointed out & that's where I'm coming from too. Do I think I can race inter locally & mop up? I'll probebly make the main but definalty not a show in for the win night in & night out. Elliot, Callor, Kelly, Alvey(?) & a few others might have something to say about that. I do know that Id be able to race in my comfort leval & not out of it just to get that last transfer spot.

One more thing, I see it from all sides, I face the fact that I will probably see Barry, Rupe, Hill, Thompson or even Parry lined up in my moto at a national. Is it fair that they can race the am ranks after having been pro, not to me, but thems the rules. If I was an inter would I want some former x guy in my class to take the glory........ no! The inters want the glory too.

Sorry Jason, I don't agree with you on any of this. Your talking about guys who are 41, 46, 44, 49 & 40........time catches up to even ex-AA, former #1 champs. Can you really expect Greg Hill to compete with Kenth Fallon?
The inters want glory to? That's the LAST thing I want............."glory" in the inter class, LOL! If your in your late 30's or over 40 & looking for that spotlight then that's messed up. All I want is to race comfortably with guys at MY level (yes, I just swallowed my pride) & enjoy myself.

Jason, guys like you, Spencer & Parry are the minority in our sport. Guys that have the time train or talent or both to keep racing at a high level & up to their standards heading into their 40's. As much as I love racing & pushing myself I can't keep the high level or performance I've been used to over the years. To give you an idea of when my best years were was back in 01-02' when we were doing those NBL races down in Mesquite. Ever since then it's been slowly downhill for me because of other things.


...........Please continue.

b.

Man, I forgot to mention why I bring this up. Some might wonder why I would want to do this when I'm one of the faster guys in 41-45 locally & defending State Champ ......................

I hate racing my cruiser. I love racing my 20".

b.

The problem with the theory of reclassing is this...........taking from the VBMX thread that all these riders are (rupe, Hill, Tennett etc) reclassing to the am ranks, so some of the mid pack experts say "I cant hang with those guys" so they (the expert guys) reclass to the inter ranks. Well the inter guys go " Hey I cant hang with these former experts" so they reclass to the novice ranks. Now all the novice guys who we sell this sport to are racing guys who are not really novices but former I's and x's.

From my understanding of the ABA rule...NO rider should be reclassing back to Novice. "Novice is for riders new to the sport", at least that's what I get told when I try and reclass my daughter who has not won a single main event in her life and barely makes her main at the local level...maybe that's why she's decide to cheer for her dad from the stands.

B- here's the way I see it. There are many factors that would make a rider want to reclass and I say if that's what the rider wants to do...then do it! Submit the paperwork and let the sanctioning body decide if you should be reclassed. I'm kind of in the same boat. When I came back from Korea I decided that I wanted to try racing cruiser, so I did. we all know that the 36-40 cruiser class is no joke...local & national level. Now, fast forward a few years later...2 arm surgeries from broken left radius, right ACL reconstruction and a 5 month Iraq deployment. Tell me how in the world I'm suppose to make a local main with comp like Spencer, Melton, Alvey, Smith, Edwards and many more fast cruiser riders?

Maybe it's a good thing I'm still an intermediate. Can you say 20" for a few months.

Handle your buisness bro! I'll see you in the Intermediate ranks, along with reclassed Mr. UtahBMX...at least that's the way I read between the lines.

Geddo

Ok, I'll chime in here with a few more thoughts from my perspective:

I don't train for BMX, I just don't have the time. And at this point, I'm lucky to get in 4-5 races per year.

Based on this, I'm pretty much done with "competitive" racing. I just want to be able to come out and have some fun on my bike. For me, it's a mental thing; expert vs intermediate. Since I'm no longer "in it to win it", reclassing back to Inter for me takes the edge off and I'll be able to relax and enjoy riding. Plus, with a few of our current Inter's, I'll just be moto fill anyway

In addition, my back hasn't been right since the SCQ's last year. I doubt it will get right anytime soon, so I'd really like to ease back into riding.

I think it depends on your overall reason for racing. If you are in it for the challenge, or to win, or to see how fast you can get, then you should stay in expert. If you are going to just come out for fun, and don't care so much about the results, then race in whatever class matches your speed the best.

Bruce- I think the main thing you have to decide is if you reclass to inter, and end up winning most of your races, are you going to start looking at the experts and wonder how you would do in ex again? If so, you should just stay in x. What if you drop to Inter and realize that you can go 90%, not train, not learn anything new, and not ride as fast as you know you could with a little more work, and still end up winning most of your races. Are you going to be happy with that? If so, you should ride whatever class you want.

We have the same issue in pro MTB racing where there isn't a vet pro class. People turn pro when they are in their 20's and can hang on often to their early 30's. When you get to your late 30's you can train harder every year and get slower compared to the new group of 20 year olds each year. This made it so that people would just stop racing. Now, USAC allows you to downgrade yourself automatically to semi pro (our equivalent of A pro) or expert once you turn 35. So now at an MTB national, you'll see a lot of fast older former pros in the semi pro and expert classes. This hasn't seemed to really impact the riders in those classes in any negative way having people downgrade into their group.

B weren't you the one calling out sandbaggers in the 28+ Novice class a few months back? Now you're saying you want to reclass?
I don't remember you being so thoughtful then whether or not some of the guys racing Novice are in their mid to late 30s or if they only ride their bike on race day, or have any number of excuses that you are throwing out.
If you are riding to have fun not to win then what difference does it make to stay in the class you're in? The only reason I see for you to move back is so that it's easier on you.

Hello kettle, this is pot....

Sandbaggers, yep I don't think to highly of them. You know, the guys that are NAG cruiser plate holders & racing inter or novice at nationals or locally. The guys that are winning by whole straights in either novice or intermediate day in & day out & refuse to class up. I'll call out a sandbagger that fits that discription everytime as will Mike Redman at any ABA national.

Me a sandbagger? HA!!! Give me a freaking break! I can name 5 inters I could not beat right now, Ian, Rick E., Mike Kelly, Doug Callor & Mike Oblad.


Do you think that just because I'm testing the public opinion waters on this subject I'll be racing anymore than I currantly do which is next to nothing? Nope. Am I racing the national this year? Nope. Am I going to go out to RC more than 3 times this summer? Probebly not.
Do I want to be able to show up once in a blue moon on my 20", be able to race & not kill myself trying to keep up? Yep.

Yeah, once an expert, always an expert? Once a Pro always a Pro?
I'll only guess how much crap T.P. is going to take when he reclasses to 41-45 & takes that ABA National #! cruiser title.

It's time to get out of the water because for every "D" out there, there's probebly 6 more hiding behind the scenes saying the same & I don't ever want to be known as something i'm not.



b.

Good luck Gallo!! LMAO!

b.

Ok I have spoken to the Track director and he has given following decree. Anyone wishing to reclass to any class can reclass to the following class: The whiney baby class! You will be required to wear a diaper to race. You will also not be allowed to wear any mouth protection, you will be require to race with a binky!
ROTF LMAO