Happy New Year Radsters! It’s January 2025, which means it’s time for a new race blog - my ninth since I started racing again! Tbh, I did question whether to keep going with these but this site is going to die a sad, lonely death if nobody posts anything, so here we go again for another year of racing in the Land of the Racing Sun and beyond.
My BMX year has already kicked off with a practice session down at Gonzo Park in Mie Prefecture. I hadn’t been there for a year or so, and although more modifications have been made to the main track (to make it even more mtb friendly), there’s still plenty there to keep me occupied, so it’s worth visiting once in a while, just to mix things up a bit.
Looking ahead, KBU has announced its annual, three-race winter series in Osaka, with the first at Oizumi on 19th Jan, so am looking forward to that. Am also planning to hit up the new pump track that’s opened not too far away, possibly next weekend if the weather plays ball. Beyond that, I intend to sign up for my two, regular race series at Oizumi and Joetsu, both starting in April. After last year’s exploits in North America, I’d also love to race abroad again in 2025. I have various ideas, the most ambitious (not to mention expensive) of which is to race at the Grand Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in November. That’s definitely a bucket list goal, so I’m not sure it’ll happen but it’s nice to imagine, at least.
Bike-wise, I’m still undecided whether to race the Redline or GT this year, but will keep tinkering with the former for the time-being, to see if I can make it feel as good as the latter. If not, I’ll revert back to the GT and try to sell the Redline. Race kit and gear-wise, I’m basically happy with what I’ve got at the moment, though will no doubt pick up more bits and bobs during the year.
So that’s it for this first post of 2025. As always, I will update the thread with news as and when, and feel free to chime in along the way. In any case, keep it Rad in ‘25! Cheers!!
Mick
