(Fly fishing directory) Are You Interested in BMX Racing?
No commentsBy Daron Soto
BMX racing is a fun sport for young people. For kids, the basic bike should have 20-inch wheels. Riders under age six can use whatever type of bike they have, even if it’s not a true BMX freestyle bike. These little folks might still be riding bikes with wheels as small as 12-inches. Some tracks even have races for Big Wheel bikes.
A cruiser or mountain bike with 24-inch or 26-inch wheels might be okay, too, but check ahead of time with your local track for advice. Many tracks will let you race a mountain bike in the “Cruiser” class.
Whatever bike you use should be equipped this way. Remove all reflectors. Take off the kickstand and chainguard to prevent injury in a wreck.
The bike should have pads on the top tube, stem and crossbar. Most BMX freestyle bikes already have these pads. If your bike doesn’t have them, adding this safety feature will cost about $5.
The bike should have at least one working brake. A coaster brake is fine if that’s all the bike has. The bike should be in safe working order.
Finally, tie a paper plate to the handlebars. This will be your number plate. When you get to the track, they’ll give you a number to put on it. That number will identify you to the judges and fans as you are racing.
Safety is important
For head protection, a helmet is essential. Depending on the track rules, this may need to be a full-face helmet or a helmet with a separate mouthguard. Other tracks will accept any type of inexpensive motocross-style helmet.
Wear protective clothing. Regular long pants or jeans will protect the rider’s legs. For arm protection, wear a long-sleeved shirt. Since riders will use their feet, they should wear good sturdy shoes they are comfortable riding in.
Although you can race without gloves, wearing them is a good idea. Be sure they fit well and don’t interfere with moving your hands. Finally, bring bike tools and an air pump in case repairs are needed.
Ready to race
To race, a potential rider needs to find a track. Local bike shops may have information on where the nearest track is. Otherwise visit the National Bicycle League (NBL) or American Bicycle Association (ABA) websites. These are the sanctioning bodies of BMX racing. They provide advice and insurance to local tracks. As an NBL or ABA member, you will have some medical insurance if you get hurt on the track during a race and do not have other insurance.
A parent or guardian must accompany the rider to give permission for the child to race. A birth certificate must be shown as proof of age. Most tracks charge between $15 and $35 for a racing license that is licenses good for a year. There is also an entry fee for each race, which is usually between $6 and $10.
For your first visit to a particular track, get there about two hours before the first race starts. Find the registration tent or trailer and sign up.
Then take a walk around the track. Try to remember where the jumps are. Next it’s time to practice. Put your helmet and other gear on and follow the others to the starting gate. Watch what everyone else does and where they go. A beginner should put his front wheel against the starting gate, keeping one foot on a pedal and the other one on the ground. Start pedaling when the gate drops. Go slow the first few times until you feel comfortable.
After practice, the races will be posted. The people at the registration tent can tell you where your particular race will be posted and how the race actually works. You will be in a group or “moto” with other riders about your age. Line up with them in the staging area. When your group is called, go up and race! This will probably happen three or four times, depending on the system the track uses, and then it will be over. If you win, you might get a trophy. Even if you don’t, you’ll have fun.
Learn about badminton grip and badminton facts at the Badminton Tips site.
Scuba Diving and Safety
By Daron Soto
Scuba diving is one of the great adventures that one can take to explore the vast wonders of the underworld that cannot be seen on the surface of the water. This is an underwater activity where the diver utilizes breathing equipment or scuba apparatus to be able to stay underwater for longer period of time. To those who are less knowledgeable about scuba, the name was actually derived from its acronym of “Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus”. Scuba diving can be both a recreational and professional diving activity.
Scuba diving activities are present where open waters and reefs are located. It is mostly ideal in clear tropical oceans where you can gaze from a long distance and see the sea life that inhabits it. Although there are many famous scuba diving spots around the world, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to limit your adventure to these vacation destinations. There are still multitudes of oceans, lakes, and seas that are perfect for scuba diving. The only thing that you should remember is the right scuba equipment, the proper scuba diving suit, and other scuba diving accessories, and how to survive underwater.
You can experience all the fun that scuba diving promises provided you are able to understand what safety is all about underwater. Although scuba diving activity can be most exciting and thrilling to think, once you confront the seascapes beneath the seawater the experience could be a lot different. If you’re not experienced enough in the activity, you might find yourself lacking the ability to embrace the true essence that diving should suppose to provide you with. Even professional and experienced divers do not think they have enough knowledge. In fact, they never contradict the idea of continually equipping themselves with a new knowledge or two.
The sea world is not for humans, but rather to sea creatures. Humans are not like these creatures that have full understanding on the world underwater which accounts on how they survive on their own. The sea masks a very deceptive faade. It may be captivating to look at on its surface but when you descend into its real world you will find its true inhospitable nature where sea creatures that inhabit it can be traitors to humans. It is for this matter that divers should be able to learn of the unreceptive sea world because safety is the real issue here.
If you think you are not capable yet to carry on with underwater activities, it would be best for you to take scuba diving lessons. You can enroll in scuba diving schools and there you can acquire all you need to know about the seawater adventure. Classes will tackle everything starting from the proper wearing of the scuba diving gears such as the air tanks, gauges and facemasks to jumping into the water with full gear on. If you’re a neophyte in the activity, you may feel weird and strange swimming with those suits and gears on but you will outgrow this feeling.
Scuba diving schools typically use pool dives as their facilities from which scuba diving students are trained first. This is the part of the lesson from which you can discover if you got the potential to become a professional in the industry. The average starter scuba diving course will usually take four to eight weeks of training. During this time, you should be able to learn enough to take your first recreational scuba diving activity. Failure to do so would mean taking another course of the lesson.
Read about badminton shoes and badminton tutorial at the Badminton Tips website.
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Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 2:30 am and is filed under sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
