Training For Trials

[alan bechard]

Lane, you sure have a way with words man......

The scary part is that some will read this and believe it all.....

Refresh my memory on the printing of your book again if you would and how you and Len were splitting the costs please.

Thanks Man, your a bud.

Al B

[james111089]

After the lifting weights for quite a while I can jump the bike around quite a bit now. I found curling, bench press and peck workouts were great for pushing the bike around.

My riding stamina has gone up and I don't feel sore/weak/tired at the end of a full day of riding as much as before when I was scronny. I know leg excercises are essential for trials aswell, but with the upper body workouts, I've noticed my ability to trow the bike around has improved a lot.

why are all the champs small and skinny then

ragas not big and strong is he

[gasgas]

The scary part is that some will read this and believe it all.....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, some will read this, but to say believe it all.......

Anyway, i like people with a opinion, especially in the country where normally everything is soooo good.

Mich Lin wants the american riders to beat Raga...... and to do so, one will have to train hard, with lots of talent.

Do you have the talents available? Yes?

Than,.. will they train hard with a idea?..... and after that they probably must come to europe to compete with the riders since only then they can become better.

Yes, hard competition will make yr riders better...

[mich lin]

Good minder?

I feel that the Lampkins are the greatest trials team of all time! There is a lot to learn from these amazing people. They have passion for trials, love of family and a good head on their shoulders. But their biggest plus is that they learn from their mistakes and ajust.

In todays trials perhaps a 5th factor needs to be added into the four other rider improvement areas I've detailed, a great minder team! Atom that's an amazing observation on your part, without a dynamic combination of a great rider/minder, nobody is going to have a big impact on the world championship today, no matter how much talent they have.

The success of Lampkin or Raga is amazing but how good would they be without Jordi and Martin? Really the men behind the men don't get enough credit, the greats of today always stand on the shoulders of the pioneers of yesterday.

[mich lin]

Skinny or strong, which is better?

That's an interesting observation and question! I'm not sure I'd call Dougie Skinny and he's done OK!

Yes it is true that the machines need a bunch of power today with the rev and dump technique used by the Spanish. That takes horsepower and small riders have a better power to weight ratio. Check out the size of the roadrace riders sometime to understand power to weight ratios!

In the end, strong riders are always better in my view but hey I give just one man's opinion. The bikes will generate more horsepower as designs get better taking away the advantage the light riders now enjoy with their current power to weight ratio advantage.

I BELIEVE, strong riders can fight in the tough spots better, get more grip because they carry a little more weight and can have better endurance if they are trained right. Their only disadvante is power to weight ratio!

The question is, can good tuning and design overcome the power to weight ratio of the light weight but not as strong riders? I do believe that being taller is always an advantage for footing, again the extra weight is always a trade-off.

In the end, fate is a big factor in who's world champion! Physical advantage or disadvantage depending on current bike design, current social conditions in a nation and a host of other uncontrolable factors plays a big part in championship success. Overall it's a cocktail of factors deciding who will be top of the heap at any current moment in time.

The trick is simply taking whatever cards you are delt, playing them with all your skill, knowledge and passion you have and letting the cards fall where they may.

I've often wrote on this board, it's better to have aimed high in the game and failed than to never have played at all. Otherwise you will have never enjoyed the journey along the way which is really the joy in the sport afterall.

[mich lin]

Alan, when it was time to print the book I was flat @ss broke and didn't have two dimes to rub together. Len and I had labored over the book for over a year when I was on payroll with Bultaco, my contract ended right about the time of printing which put me in a horrible finatual position. I was unable to invest in the project, which cost me a lot of finatual returns of the book. It would have been a good investment.

Len paid for the printing and published the book alone, paying for everything! Then paid me royalties as they sold. He was working at Dirt Bike as editor at the time and must have really believed in the project.

This one book sparked a whole series of books! One with MX world champion Brad Lackey, another with the wheelie king Doug Domocas and of course the Bernie Book. So this flegling trials book project started a whole business for Len and created a revolution for riders everywhere in understanding trials technique.

Why I was able to create and explain the text to Len was simple. Not living in Europe it became nessicary for me to figure out technique for myself, alone without riders better than me to learn from. Then doing schools and training camps for Bultaco I spent a great deal of time explaining and teaching the techniques to others.

Together, Len put my theories on paper, took amazing pictures and had the courage and resources to put it out on the market. He gambeled and won! I'm simply glad to have been a part of the whole process.

[jackman]

why are all the champs small and skinny then 

ragas not big and strong is he 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Haha, I'd just like to add that my bike is a lot heavier than the champs bikes are, and doesn't have the power. Plus I don't have their skill to back it up lol. But in my experience with the bike, more muscle = more power to move it around. Being that I only way 120 lbs and can benchpress almost 200 lbs, isn't that an advantge for lifting the handlebars? I can see what you mean though, they do look kinda small in the videos I've seen.. Maybe that's in perspecive of what they drive over!!

[bikespace]

Psychological analysis - You blame everyone but yourself Lane, because in your own mind you are Wonderful. How the hell does anyone put up with you?

I often wonder if there had been someone in the USA to help me in the mental and timing part of my training, just how far I could have gone?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How could anyone possibly give you any advice - you know it all.

Obviously it was someone elses fault for not helping you though.

Being US naitonal champion but not world champion creates a lot of problems. First off you have nobody better than you to train with unless your off to Europe, which I did a lot of.

Then you face the homesick problem, the fact that the Euros really don't want you there and a host of other issues. I took the scientific approach to training, so much so that I wrote a book on technique and training for trials. Did a bunch of schools and week long training camps and generally tried my very best as national champion to bring up the US riding levels to international standards.

The program was a great success, so much so that one year at the US world round 6 of the top ten riders at the US world championship round were from the USA.  My book also revealed the foundation of championship riding for the very first time for the normal rider to understand in plain wording and concepts. Raising the standard of clubmen riders worldwide which I'm very proud of.

Today in the USA we have nobody working to raise the bar for American riders on any level.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Homesick you big tart, was this the man that talked about fighting spirit and a hard man killer attitude a few months ago - homesick.

The Euros don't want you there? Come off it! Funny that the Americans don't want you there now? You've got a bloody chip on your shoulder. Maybe you should stop gobbing off and try to get on with someone?

Gee. I'm a little surprised that nobody has responded to this tred or asked me to break down the four areas of developement even more! Well, guess that's why we are in the state we are in here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep - US Trials is in **** state because they didn't ask you what to do.

The Len Weed/Lane Leavitt book revealed the foundations of championship riding! It for the first time in history revealed in plain English the fundamentals that unlock everything to come later. If you watch E-Bay the book comes up for sale once in a while. Hey, if you have a copy, I'll even sign it.

The information today is now common knowledge but in the day it was a revolution. Nobody had ever revealed it before, which raised the level of clubmen riders worldwide.

My two nationals I rode this year gave me tremendous insights on todays US pro riders. It was my plan to compete in this class and watch and learn where and how each of these riders sized up. Learn their mental and physical strong and weak points, plus study their bike set-up and minder interaction. Sadly this plan had the rug pulled out from under it by our short sighted national organizing body.

I was also doing research on physical conditioning for the sportsman rider, having already great insights on how to train as a pro. This also was blown out of the water by the NATC! Since I've not trained a single day since having a call from the head of the NATC banning me from the US nationals.

So the sportsman training project was put on hold,perhaps never to be picked up agian. I feel this would have been as big a revolution as the riding techniques that I revealed in the Trials Techniques and training.

Sadly I feel that one of the biggest handicaps for American riders reaching their full potentual is the US national organizing body, the NATC.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You just can't stop blaming other people. If your students hadn't become World Champion, it would have been because they hadn't listened to you enough, or didn't have the natural ability, or your killer instinct.

I'm not surprised the NATC want to keep you away from them.

I've no doubt you were a great rider in your day, but you don't seem to be too positive these days. Is it everybody else's fault?

How about looking at your personality, and seeing if there is something that you could change so that people didn't automatically want to cut their own ears off rather than listen to you. Maybe then you could actually get involved, as on a physical ability, riding ability, knowledge front you seem to have something to give. Maybe you just need a personality that has something to give.

Well maybe I'll end up banned for having a pop at you, but after a few beers your constant negativity and self praise gets right on my man boobs. I would think it's water off a ducks back anyway, you never seem to listen.

How about trying for just a few months some modesty, and maybe even some positivity?

[mich lin]

Good reply bikespace, your comments didn't hurt my feelings! Having an opinion is good but does open you up to cross examination. Thankyou for bringing up the important topic of attitude first before anyone else.

I will not ask for you to be banned, I doubt anyone else will either. You have opened up too interesting of a topic.

Of course fighting sprit is important but no man is an island as Atom pointed out. A great support team is perhaps the most vital link in an athletes progress. Look at boxing as an example, you need good trainers and cornermen.

Question everyone, Do the British riders get the same support as the Spanish youngsters? I know the Americans don't and it effects their performance.

If the Brit riders don't, does that effect their future performance?

You have raised some interesting questions, plus your tough approach shows how heated emotions can get in sport. Without superior attitude, plus great support, nobody can survive the pressure of top level trials. NOBODY! So trials is really a team sport, look to how good a riders team is!

Do you feel that emotions got heated when Raga lead the strike against Fugi and Lampkin riding the Spanish Championship? There's an example of out of the country riders not being welcome by the locals. How much passion was there with Raga when he was banned from the world championship in retrobution to their strike?

As was pointed out, attitude is perhaps one of the key factors for success! Attitude includes confidence, a possitive outlook, how to handle negative comments or scoring calls, knowing when to carry on and when to pack it up. this of course is only scratching the surface on the topic.

Then of course with a strong support team around you, it will help you make those tough choices, deflect unwarrented critizisim and keep your focus on what's important at the moment. In the Raga incident, I blame his support team or lcak of one as much as him.

Onto another interesting topic, When do you think Dougie should pack it up?

[the artist formerly known as ish]

go have a few and come back BS.

[atomant]

>>><<< BS , That was wasted on him I think.. Its interesting how when you hit the cider you can come on here and vent all lifes frustrations on the the nearest recipient!!

Love it, keep it up !

(by the way, who has to suffer the consequences of the chemical reaction of the cider & curry in ya belly )

[mich lin]

I think BS hit the nail on the head! The toughest part of the game is not on the course.

Often I consider, is this sport worth the effort? If a youngster puts half the effort and expense into another sport sanctioned by the schools. They will be popular with their peers and teachers. Plus in most cases get a free college education which will lead to a nice middle class life.

A trials rider trains really hard, spends a huge amount of money and emotional engergy, then in the end there is usally not a payday. Maybe, just maybe they are better off doing school sanctioned sports and going for that free college education and popularity with their classmates?

Then in the end they may even have the opprtunity to play Pro ball or go to the Olympics and make some money. Plus have the advantage of a free college education.

[neonsurge]

Lane, I can kinda see what you're saying (sometimes) but the general impression you give is of someone who has a chip on both shoulders and an assortment of axes to grind.

BS made one particuarly accurate observation that could be rephrased as "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

That about sums it up, I think.

[mich lin]

Neo, your a wise old sage!

Maybe I've got chips on both my shoulders? Maybe they are there for good reason? Maybe unseen forces are at work behind the scenes in our sport that hold it back for personal gain?

Maybe my job is simple, to protect the youngsters coming up in the future from abuse, disappointment and exploitation.

For real, I'm angry for being banned from TC for speaking my mind but not resentful.I understand Free speech and change always scares some people. The internet is indeed a revolution and we must expect some to resist that.

Of course I'm disgusted that I was banned from the US national championship after having my entries accepted with 7th overall within my sights. If those who banned me lost the amount of money I did on their decision they would be a lot madder than I am.

Sure I'm disgusted that our national organizing body refuses to move to the world standard and put our youngsters on the same displacement bikes as the rest of the world. Yet in the same breath they claim they want US riders to make an impact on the world championship again.

Sure I'm disgusted that our top riders are not allowed to contest the US world round without losing national championship points this year. It's their best dress rehersal for their A class Debut at the TDN, an oppertunity now lost.

I agree that if your not part of the solution your part of the problem. Also consider, you can't solve a problem you don't know you have. In America, our national organizing body sees no problem with their actions. The internet for the first time forces them to be accountable, don't blame them for not liking that.

I wish I was the cause of all the problems, that would give me the power to fix them. I'm simply a guy pointing the obvious, with nothing to gain or lose. Other than the satisfaction of a lot of youngsters not having to suffer a lot of the headaches they will if they pursue the sport in earnest.

A lot of them are in for a huge letdown and a huge crash in life. I'd like to see that crash minimized or made into a jump to future success. I know because I lived it and prospered but I was lucky.

Edited February 19, 2006 by Mich Lin

[mich lin]

Now this does have a great deal to do with trials training! Is there a pot of gold at the end of the quest? Is a total effort for trials worth the extreme sacrafices a youngster will have to make to get on top of the sport?

Each individual must ask themselves that question! For me the answer was easy, I rode my first trial at 18 years old. I had no interest in college and decided to ride trials for a while before going into Moto-Cross.

Trials came easy for me, within little more than one year's intensive training I was the best trials rider in the United States. So I skipped an MX career. I'd also earned suppport on the Bultaco Enduro team.

I'd decided to pack it all up and go car racing because I saw nothing else that could be done with trials, when the phone rang offering me a paid job riding trials. I quit my regular job and went off on a five year paid trials trip, had a great time and had the chance to meet some great people. Including my future wife! When it all ended, wow, what a crash!

Each young rider will face this same challenge! The rise, flight and fall of a competition trials career. The question is simply will there be a payoff at the end of the rainbow?

For some there will be, for others there will be a horrible crash and burn! Today there has been created a support system for pro ball players who have been through this rise, flight and crash of professional sports. Our sport however does not have such a safetynet yet.

Simply another interesting and important factor to consider during trials training.

Edited February 19, 2006 by Mich Lin