One tip for learning tricks

[Ken NJ]

It doesn't Necessarily require that much time.. It depends on your balancing skillz and BMx iq.. Keep in mind though if yOu spend 10,000 hrs on anything you will be an expert.. Supposedly

[Lam47]

I've found this thread helpful. After getting out of shape and riding in the last 10 years I feel my progress has slowed. But I intend to stick with it and as much as I can each day. As I get slimmer and fitter I'm sure my riding will improve. If the thought of doing something for two hours a day makes you want to quit; then it can't really be something you care enough about to succeed at.

[oldmanjoe]

I've found this thread helpful. After getting out of shape and riding in the last 10 years I feel my progress has slowed. But I intend to stick with it and as much as I can each day. As I get slimmer and fitter I'm sure my riding will improve. If the thought of doing something for two hours a day makes you want to quit; then it can't really be something you care enough about to succeed at.

It's not that the thought of doing it for 2 hours a day makes me want to quit. It's the fact that I also race my BMX bike, and dirt jump it too. So managing all three plus work and a family, and a little down time off a bicycle leaves me with little time.
Is this flatland thing supposed to be life encompassing? Does it need to become the only thing you do in order to have success at it?

[ortho]

We all have other hobbies i'm sure, but flatland is my big one. I mean it's not like getting into mopeds or car stereos or learning esperanto or something. To become an average decent rider from just starting out basically at age 45 with a job and family, well you have your work cut out for you. It's going to be hard as crap. Totally worth it and not necessarily overwhelming. Only you will know what it's gonna take ultimately.

[ortho]

maybe i'm overstating it. I believe you can keep riding flat well past middle age (not sure about BMX racing or dirt jumping lol), so if you keep at it how you are now, without 'rearranging your life', maybe in 5-10 years you'll be comfortably allright at it and you'll have yourself a rad hobby for another couple decades. I'm really not sure since i've only been doing this for 2+ years.

[jpoliti]

The upside about flatland is that it is totally free. While you can decide to be a 'good' rider or not, you can also decide on what you want the definition of 'a good rider' to be.

What i mean, is that you don't need to pull all the tricks invented on this planet, you also don't need to go for the hardest ones. having a high bmx IQ as someone said here is not just about beeing smart when you learn some trick, it is also beeing smart with the tricks you pick and want to work on.

May be it is just me but i always placed style and trick combination (links) over difficulty. Difficulty is not what makes flatland interesting to me, it just comes with it but to me it is not the point.

So, i'd say beeing succesful also starts by picking your tricks in a smart way. It's even before starting to practice. i think progression should be very organic, it grows from what you already learned, foundations and basics...

Well sorry i am not really sure what i am saying here, it's early in the morning and i just woke up !!!

[SurfonFlatland]

2 hours a day? I have school and tons of homework. I don't feel like doing the same boring stuff over and over 2 hours a day. Maybe in the weekends, but when i have school 1 hour is about enough I guess.

You are doomed, sir.  You want to learn tricks, but you don't want to put in the work/time that it takes to really get them.  If you want the tricks badly enough, you'll learn time management skills so that you can take care of your "ton of homework" and have plenty of time to ride.

[tod miller]

Flatlands a journey, not a destination.  Enjoy the journey.  I've found that if you are having fun on your bike, you will progress...even if it's only a few hours a week.  I also try not to "compete" against other riders(comparing my progress to others).  The challenge of flatland for me, is competing against myself.  I like that challenge. 

[tod miller]

I also like to remember, "it's not how many times you fall, it's how many times you get up."  That basically describes flatland for me...lol. 

[datisstom]

2 hours a day? I have school and tons of homework. I don't feel like doing the same boring stuff over and over 2 hours a day. Maybe in the weekends, but when i have school 1 hour is about enough I guess.

You are doomed, sir.  You want to learn tricks, but you don't want to put in the work/time that it takes to really get them.  If you want the tricks badly enough, you'll learn time management skills so that you can take care of your "ton of homework" and have plenty of time to ride.

Doomed? Why would I be 'doomed'?

[jpoliti]

Two hours, six hours, all day and so forth. Sometimes it takes YEARS to master one single trick and i am pretty confident many of you will agree. When i was younger (in my 20's) i had no problem riding up to 6-7 hours a day, IF i was on a roll. The average was few hours. Now, much older i am happy whenever i can pull of a solid 1 or 2 hour session. The bottom line is, you have to WANT to ride and progress, not forgetting about the FUN of it either, otherwise it will not happen.

I really feel what you are saying, me too i could ride a lot in my twenties, i could ride all day, had the time and the energy.  Now that i am turning 40 this summer  all i can ride is between 6 to 12 hours a week depending on the season and the workload i have...12 hours  beeing the very absolute maximum i can achieve without dying from exhaustion or injuries...i'd even say the average is closer to 9 hours a week.

[wookie]

Flatland is funny.  You can love it so much that you want to think about it and talk about it all the time and you may get the impression that you are more of a rider because of your obsession with it.  But the reality is you have to go do it!  Sure dialing your bike in and thinking about tricks may help a little.  But really its the focused time on the bike that makes all the difference.  That level of focus may be as hard to learn as many tricks. 

[SurfonFlatland]

2 hours a day? I have school and tons of homework. I don't feel like doing the same boring stuff over and over 2 hours a day. Maybe in the weekends, but when i have school 1 hour is about enough I guess.

You are doomed, sir.  You want to learn tricks, but you don't want to put in the work/time that it takes to really get them.  If you want the tricks badly enough, you'll learn time management skills so that you can take care of your "ton of homework" and have plenty of time to ride.

Doomed? Why would I be 'doomed'?

You saying you don't feel like doing the same boring stuff over and over for 2 hours or more.  First of all, it the trick is boring, why bother?  Secondly, if you want a trick badly enough, two hours is nothing.

[Cyborg]

I am going to go out on a limb here, but I think the older you get, the more you should also just make sure to stretch well. Like if I couldnīt ride a lot, then just maybe stretching a little everyday and keeping my body a little more warmed up would keep the sessions i could have better just because I wouldnīt have to work up to it so much. I think even riding 15 minutes a day can help keep you from totally forgetting everything. The worst is not riding for weeks and then getting on your bike and sucking sucking and itīs a bigger climb to get back to a good level. The opposite can also happen, that you get on your bike after a break and itīs all fresh fresh, but this happens to me less. I like what Alexis Desolneux says in an interview that over time his goals on a bike have gotten more long term.. Like more control centered instead of trick centered.

[oldmanjoe]

maybe i'm overstating it. I believe you can keep riding flat well past middle age (not sure about BMX racing or dirt jumping lol), so if you keep at it how you are now, without 'rearranging your life', maybe in 5-10 years you'll be comfortably allright at it and you'll have yourself a rad hobby for another couple decades. I'm really not sure since i've only been doing this for 2+ years.

Funny you should say that as this was one of the reasons I started riding flat.


Progress, motivation or time, are all subjective.
So thinking about this more and what my personal goals are, for you that might not be considered much progression for your riding. What it takes to keep you satisfied for your definition of progression is different than other riders.


So while this thread initially got my feathers up, I gave more thought about my riding, and my commitment, and fell OK about it. I recently joined a gym close to work so I can cram in a workout at lunch and I can ride after work. Cake and eat it too!