I'm definitely not a beginner but I'm not great at jumping, mostly because I've never spent enough time consistently working on it. So my plan is to find some stuff that's fun and at my level and build into it safely. I've ridden at mt creek consistently for about 15 seasons now and I have a crash maybe every other year if that gives you a sense of my general risk/reward calculus.
Ray's Advice
- Thread starter ebarker9
- Start date
I'm definitely not a beginner but I'm not great at jumping, mostly because I've never spent enough time consistently working on it. So my plan is to find some stuff that's fun and at my level and build into it safely. I've ridden at mt creek consistently for about 15 seasons now and I have a crash maybe every other year if that gives you a sense of my general risk/reward calculus.
The micro rhythm section is pretty much my speed. This place totally makes me wish that I'd gotten into this kind of riding as a kid, they're all just having a blast and the level of rising is so impressive.
So I rode at Ray's Friday/Saturday for something like 5-6 hours each day (with quite a bit of resting and eating thrown in).
My general takeaways:
-The place is great. I have a pretty low tolerance for a lot of the macho BS that goes along with some riding spots, but Ray's was super welcoming for everyone. In spite of the wide range of riders, everyone was respectful and I barely saw any crashes or near misses, which is impressive considering the number of people there.
-I rode a 26" dirt jump bike that I mostly own for "chase the dog around the backyard" duties. This was definitely the right bike for the place, but I'd be curious to try some taller bars on it in the future for something a little bit closer to my other bikes in terms of hand - foot distance.
-I was mostly happy with how I rode. I did not grow up racing BMX or anything like that so jumps are still not where I'm the most comfortable. My instinct from trail riding is always to get the wheels back on the ground as soon as possible, but it's also limiting not to have that option to really generate a lot of power and clear a section in the air where that makes sense. The micro rhythm section was perfect for me to try to improve on. I probably should have tried the mini, but I think that would have just been discouraging.
-Even the expert jump line didn't actually look that scary/out of reach. Will get there someday, maybe.
-I love riding pump tracks and the Ray's track was a lot of fun.
-I need to do more of this kind of riding...hopefully High Bridge returns in full force in the spring (and I'll be looking for volunteer opportunities) and I'll try to get to Vernon as well. Maybe one of those folding ramps for the yard to get some more practice getting off the ground? I'm a person who needs to session something slightly outside of their comfort zone over and over to get better and before moving on to something more challenging.
-Riding that stuff is a great workout and probably some of the better training that you could do for downhill/enduro.
My general takeaways:
-The place is great. I have a pretty low tolerance for a lot of the macho BS that goes along with some riding spots, but Ray's was super welcoming for everyone. In spite of the wide range of riders, everyone was respectful and I barely saw any crashes or near misses, which is impressive considering the number of people there.
-I rode a 26" dirt jump bike that I mostly own for "chase the dog around the backyard" duties. This was definitely the right bike for the place, but I'd be curious to try some taller bars on it in the future for something a little bit closer to my other bikes in terms of hand - foot distance.
-I was mostly happy with how I rode. I did not grow up racing BMX or anything like that so jumps are still not where I'm the most comfortable. My instinct from trail riding is always to get the wheels back on the ground as soon as possible, but it's also limiting not to have that option to really generate a lot of power and clear a section in the air where that makes sense. The micro rhythm section was perfect for me to try to improve on. I probably should have tried the mini, but I think that would have just been discouraging.
-Even the expert jump line didn't actually look that scary/out of reach. Will get there someday, maybe.
-I love riding pump tracks and the Ray's track was a lot of fun.
-I need to do more of this kind of riding...hopefully High Bridge returns in full force in the spring (and I'll be looking for volunteer opportunities) and I'll try to get to Vernon as well. Maybe one of those folding ramps for the yard to get some more practice getting off the ground? I'm a person who needs to session something slightly outside of their comfort zone over and over to get better and before moving on to something more challenging.
-Riding that stuff is a great workout and probably some of the better training that you could do for downhill/enduro.
Ian F
Well-Known Member
One of these days when I go to Ray's I'll rent a proper DJ hardtail. I usually just ride my 20" but it always takes me a solid hour or so to get used to it since I pretty much only ride it at Ray's or when I know I'll be riding a pump track. And since it's geared for a BMX track, it's not the easiest bike to ride there.