2019 Race Blog - Continuing to keep it Rad in Japan!

[Mikku]

Happy New Year Radsters! It’s January which can only mean one thing - yes, the start of another season of trials and tribulations on the race tracks of Japan. My summer move across the country has mixed things up a bit, with my nearest track now a 3 and a half hour drive from home rather than 30 minutes!! On the plus side that will force me out of my comfort zone to try some other tracks. The plan is to make the occasional trip back to Midoriyama and possibly Kawaguchi, interspersed with visits to the tracks in Niigata and Osaka. Niigata’s season doesn’t kick off ’til April (as its based up at a ski resort in the mountains) but both Midoriyama and Osaka have their opening races on January 27th, so hopefully I can make it to one of those, winter weather (and post-Christmas lethargy) permitting.

Bikewise, the Crupi is unchanged from last year though I’ve recently been offered a set of carbon forks (Answer Daggers), so may possibly give those a try. Maybe. The same seller has also offered me a Chase RSP 3.0 but as nice it is, I have neither the skills or spare cash to justify replacing the Crupi, so will most probably give that a miss unless the deal is too good to refuse!!

So that’s it for this first post of the year. As previously, I will try to update the thread with developments, pics and race reports. Comments, advice and suggestions are always welcome!

[Mikku]

A couple of updates. Firstly, I've received my new JOSF race number, 52, as per the list below. That means changing the number on my UGP plate or busting out another plate for this year! I have one waiting in the wings, or rather, buried in a box somewhere, so may give that a whirl if I can find it.

Secondly, I've found another bmx track. It's not much nearer than the others, at over 3 hours by car, but looks quite good. Here's a link to a few races:-

[Mikku]

New year - new shoes! Well, secondhand actually but what the hell, you can't go wrong with Vans!

[Drawn]

Interesting that your race number changes.
Taking a guess that's the way they run it in Japan? Goes on a regional ranking or similar?
Would be pretty stuffed if that was the case down here, have a few too many Jerseys and Plates with numbers on them 

Hopefully you get out to a few races this year.

[oldtired]

top stuff Mick  i like these reports,  keep us posted on your exploits throughout the year

[Mikku]

Thanks guys! I'm not sure about the numbering (as all the rules and regs are written in Japanese!!) but from what I can gather, if you register in time it's based on your ranking from the previous season, though if you miss the cut-off date then you lose your slot. So in my case, I placed 66th out of the 156 registered Novice class riders last year, but got bumped up to 52 because some of those who finished above me didn't register in time. At least I think that's what happened!

We've had some unseasonally good weather here recently, so I've been hitting the quiet, rice paddy roads for some training. Not sure what the locals make of a foreigner guy sprinting back and forth on a strange-looking bike (no-one rides BMX around these parts) but it's good to be blowing away the cobwebs!

[In2bmx]

Love these . Keep them coming 

[Mikku]

Thanks Carl! Am all set for the first race of the season on Sunday. Report to follow next week! Hopefully!!

[Mikku]

Last Sunday saw my first race of the year and also the first in 4 months. Needless to say I was rusty as hell but it was a nice, sunny day, so a perfect way to get back into the swing of things. There were also a couple of practice sessions before the racing started, so I could brush up on my gate technique, which was woefully poor to begin with but I gradually got back into the groove. The track was super hard, having received little rain for a number of weeks. It was therefore running really fast, so I pumped up my tyres and got ready for some fun in the sun. The fine weather also meant there was a good turn out, with 11 riders registered for my class which was therefore split into 2 heats, with yours truly in the first heat of six. There were quite a few new faces, which was good to see as well.

So onto the racing, apart from some pre-race nerves, the first moto was ok. I was a bit slow out of the gate and went into the first berm in 5th, which I held to the end. At least I wasn't last! The 2nd moto was a bit more exciting with a new guy to my left getting squeezed, leaning into me and then falling, thankfully without taking me down with him. I continued and again finished in 5th. The final moto was an interesting one. I had 2 faster guys either side of me on the gate but managed to beat them to the bottom of the start hill but they then nudged ahead of me over the first set of jumps and began dicing in front of me. At this point I made the mistake of backing off, fearing that they were going to take each other out. Sadly that didn’t happen and the speed I’d scrubbed off allowed the guy behind to beat me into the berm. I went high to get back some speed for the straight and started to catch up with both him and the 4th place guy but couldn’t get close enough to them to challenge. I therefore rolled in 6th, which was a bit disappointing given my good start but once again, highlighted my lack of racecraft. Or at least the need to keep racing as much as possible. I have all these ideas about what to do in this or that situation, which I often think about up on the start hill, but it all goes out the window when the gate drops!! I’m therefore keen to get back out there again, which I hope to do at the next scheduled race on 17th Feb, in 3 weeks time.

In other news, I’ve bought the forks mentioned above. I don’t need them but man they’re a lovely-looking set and are quite a bit lighter than the Sinz, so it’ll be interesting to see if they make a difference to the feel of the bike. I’m also on the look out for a smaller stem, as I think the 53mm I’ve got on there at the moment makes the front end a little too roomy. The forks might make the bike more agile, so I’ll see how I get on with those first then may pick up a 48mm stem. We’ll see.

[oldtired]

   top stuff Mick, nibbling away at the places, soon be in the  top 3 every race   

[Mikku]

Thanks Jim!

A few bike upgrades to report. Swapped out the Sinz alloy forks for those carbon Daggers! Also changed the grips and brake lever. Took the bike for a spin today and it feels great, but we'll see what that translates to on the track, with the next race scheduled for the 17th.

[Mikku]

Was back out at Midoriyama on Sunday for the second race of the season, and keen to see how the Crupi felt with the carbon Daggers. In short, the bike felt great! & surprisingly, so did the rider!! I could definitely notice the lighter front end, as the bike just felt more nimble aka chuckable than before. Not sure how much of a factor this was, but I had a great day's racing. The over-30s was once again a popular class, with a full gate of riders. Some of the regulars were missing and there were a couple of new faces, so I had no expectation of how I’d do. In view of past experiences, where I’ve lost out in the first berm, I’ve now got into the start hill routine of visualising the lines I want to take based on my lane position and whose riding either side of me. Basically trying to predict where I’m going to be and who’ll be around me. Anyway, I got away quite well in the first moto and was 4th going into and more importantly coming out of the first berm but got overtaken on the 2nd straight. I therefore finished 5th but was happy to be mixing it in the middle of the pack. Moto 2 saw a similar start but this time I held onto 4th until the finish. The 3rd moto was a cracker, with a race-long battle with a guy who’d finished ahead of me in the previous two motos. I beat him to the first berm but could hear him just behind me all along the 2nd straight, then he draw level on the 3rd and tried to pass me on the fourth. However, I held my line and managed to keep him at bay ‘til the finish. With 5th, 4th and 4th-placed finishes, I qualified into the main as of right, which I was well-chuffed with. Sadly (there’s always a sadly!), I couldn’t replicate those results in the main. I got away a little late out of the gate and ended up having a race-long battle for 5th, which I just missed out on in the lunge for the line. So a 6th place final finish was a little disappointing given the motos but overall, it was my most competitive race meeting to date. Yes, some of my regular (and faster) rivals were absent but I really enjoyed the battles with not one but a number of different riders and although I ran out of steam at the end, I couldn’t have done much more than I did on the day. Onwards and upwards!

The next race at Midoriyama is the Kanto Open in March, but unfortunately I can’t make it, so my next outing will probably be in April and possibly at one of the other tracks in Niigata or Osaka, which should be fun! In the meantime I can concentrate on some fitness training and am also still toying with the idea of trying a shorter reach stem, so may pull the trigger on one of those soon.

[bmxmatt1974]

Great reading cheers. Got my first race in about 8 years this Saturday at Bristol club race. Should be fun as I'm no where near fit enough 

[Mikku]

Nice one! What you riding? In any case, good luck with it and let us know how you get on!

[griff]

Great progress Mick - thanks for keeping us up to date 

[bmxmatt1974]

Nice one! What you riding? In any case, good luck with it and let us know how you get on!

Picked up an ssquared complete for £150 few weeks back. Mainly to ride with my 5 year old who has just started racing. Will post pic later 

[Mikku]

150 squid for an SSquared complete sounds like a deal to me!! Look forward to seeing some pics!

Great progress Mick - thanks for keeping us up to date 

Thanks mate!

[bmxmatt1974]

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[Mikku]

That's a sweet-looking rig!!

[bmxmatt1974]

That's a sweet-looking rig!!

  it rides nice too

[Mikku]

So.... how did you get on with Saturday's return to the track??? Get that race report posted!!

[bmxmatt1974]

So.... how did you get on with Saturday's return to the track??? Get that race report posted!!

Ha ha sorry I forgot. I ended up getting 6th out of 10 riders. Had 2 thirds and a fourth in motos then into A final. Decent enough gate but not the power to keep up with guys who have done lots of racing while I haven't done any. Main thing though I didn't crash and I didn't come last either 

Pic with my lad who got a 4th in his A final, his best race yet.. Only his 5th ever race.
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[Mikku]

Nice one Matt!! Sounds (and looks) like you've done this before. When's the next outing?

Back to Japan, it looks like I'm heading to Osaka for my next fix. Osaka has not 1 but 2 bmx tracks, which means I have twice the chance of racing there! This week I’ve been in touch with the track organisers and they both have classes I can enter, with a race coming up on March 24th. I was intending to visit Osaka this month anyway, so am now planning to drive there instead, putting my bike in the back of the Forester and having a quick butchers at and possibly a spin around both of the tracks. If they look ok, then I’ll try and make that race on the 24th. Otherwise there's another on 14th April. Hopefully by that time the Niigata track's season will have started, increasing my "local" track choice to three.

[bmxmatt1974]

Nice one Matt!! Sounds (and looks) like you've done this before. When's the next outing?

Back to Japan, it looks like I'm heading to Osaka for my next fix. Osaka has not 1 but 2 bmx tracks, which means I have twice the chance of racing there! This week I’ve been in touch with the track organisers and they both have classes I can enter, with a race coming up on March 24th. I was intending to visit Osaka this month anyway, so am now planning to drive there instead, putting my bike in the back of the Forester and having a quick butchers at and possibly a spin around both of the tracks. If they look ok, then I’ll try and make that race on the 24th. Otherwise there's another on 14th April. Hopefully by that time the Niigata track's season will have started, increasing my "local" track choice to three.

Ha ha yeah done it before about 10 years ago. Never stopped riding just stopped racing. I may race again in summer series, not yet ready to race any regionals.

Keep up the good reports from your racing, I'm enjoying reading about it and look forward to see how you get on 👍

[Mikku]

Made the 3 and half hour drive down to Osaka on Wednesday to check out those 2 tracks. Unfortunately I couldn't ride on either of them due to unsafe conditions at Oizumi (overnight rain, though it didn't look so bad to me) and lack of insurance at Kishiwada (you need to buy their insurance before riding there) but I was able to have a good wander around them. You can see some pics in my "Osaka Calling" thread but both tracks look super fun to ride. More challenging than either Midoriyama or Kawaguchi, with some big jumps, a huge start hill at Kishiwada (they used to hold UCI races there) and asphalt berms. I'm definitely going to need some practice sessions there before racing, so with that in mind I've decided not to race there next weekend but will instead travel down to Osaka again early next month and try to ride at both tracks in one day. I'll then enter the Oizumi race on 14th April. To that end, I've joined the Kansai Bicycle Motorcross Racing Union (which runs Oizumi track) and paid for next year's insurance policy at Kishiwada!

Here's the Osaka Calling thread:- http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,194754.0.html

& here's a bike pic showing the new forks and stem:-