Ode to BMX

Finally!! I have started to use my new website. From this site you can only find memories :)

www.odetobmx.com

Oh, those green days are past...

BC -period

This time BC doesn't mean Before Christ. By BC -period I mean "basic condition -period". I have had hard time with learning that you should not neglect bc!

Some time ago I was truly thinking that I do not need any long-running or cycling. Race lasts less than one minute, so best way to get myself handle it was doing uphill-sprints. Or in Kungsbacka we did two laps without stopping, after that racing one lap at the time is easy. I always was able to make it to finnish line without problems.

Season has ended times ago. Since that I have been doing everything to recover. But still I'm not there. I have been practicing without recovering for too long. I have learned for good why it's important to have good basic condition! Without it I can't practice on track as much as I want.

When I got my last races I got so bad pain in my leg muscles that I was not able to sleep at night! Now when I started to practice little more pain came back. Still I'm not doing miracles with my practicing. Here is the basic week program to run thru BC -period:

Mon: 75min jogging, averige heart rate 130-140
Ti: Gym (7 drifts 20 x 3, every different drift once, 60sec pause between rounds)
Wed: 75min jogging, averige heart rate 130-140
To: Gym
Pe: 45min jogging, AHR 150-160
La: 60min easy sports (jogging, playing..)

On gym ofcourse need to warm up and warm down. And stretching should be done with every practice.

RedLine2013

I have ordered my bikes for next season! Riding with RedLine, there is no doubt about it. Only small change from last season: this time I ordered carbon flight :) Just amazing bike!!!

http://www.redlinebicycles.com/bikes/bmx-race/2013-flight-team-carbon-pro-xl

Expo

Retkikunnan paikka

I were at Arena expo. BMX track was invited to come and show out their track at expo. There was competition about building sports arena using some old. Bmx track in Lahti is made on old trotting track. Track has been in action 10 years only by volunteering efford!

There were many other cool things, too bad I didn't take any photos. Forexamble there were climbing wall which worked like treatmill, frisbee gold places, minitennis..

I also sell my both bikes (ilmari and Nestori). I would like to give both bikes as a memory but those will get bored when they don't get to the track.. and my mum is still having some hard time with my staff :)

KlingKlingKling...

Horrible crash!! I woke up? I hear nothing; I guess they would scream if someone got hurt. Again nothing, almost too silent. I'm about to fall a sleep, but then I realize that it sounded like my bike which I have left in kitchen. (My mum and dad has been super patient with me and my things while I have been at their home). Anyway, idea of my bike falling over, gets me up.

Now my consciens is bothering me, cos it was only my bike what fell down. Also I feel bad cos I haven't have time to practice enough, almost not at all. I started to import Strider bikes to Finland so that business is taking my time. And making new sponsor-deals has been pretty heavy job too.

Sponsor, co-operation deals. It's not that what many people thinks. For me it has been hard to make new deals, because I'm not in one place that long. Commonly you need to go to ask someone if they wants to be your sponsors. They take your flyer and tells you that they gonna think about it. Before you can do that you have to think what you have for them to offer and what you are asking from them? After couple weeks you can go back to the same place and ask them what they have decided. After they like your idea and wants to start co-operation with you, starts the real work. I think that is important thing to know. Pretty much only sponsor what you gonna have in your life, who is sponsoring you just because of being you, is your parents.. Sorry.. :)

How ever, it's not absolutely impossible. When I was kid I had one car sales being my sponsor. I just walked in and ask. I got 500marks (our currency before euros) and nice products :)

Thank you for my sponsors for the last season! Fox Head, RedLine, Suunto, KooKenkä and Intersport!!

Next

So season 2013 have started. I have made new website for myself. Future Champion of BMX -blog is history. New websites are almost ready, soon I'm gonna start to use those. You can go check those out:
www.odetobmx.com

Like I told it's not 100% ready. At the same time I'm making new sponsoring deals. It's tuff!! I wish you all welcome to help me out with getting sponsors for next season :) Atleast you can try to sell some Striders thru Strider Finland website. That would help me out :)

Also I'm checking out for new bikes. Still I haven't decide if I'm gonna have carbon model. RedLine I'm going to have, that is for sure. I think I'm never gonna change RedLine. My last season bikes are on sale. So if someone wants those just let me know.. It's RedLine Flight Pro XL 2012 and RedLine Flight 24' 2012.

Diggerland

Olympic park made of Legos. BMX track is on front

On vacation in London. After I started race random gates, my life has been full of random set :) I came to London just because of diggerland. Diggerland is theme park is place where everyone can use excavators.

I don't skip practice even on holydays

 There was all kind of different things (works) to make and also "normal" theme park things, like sitting in bucket and witch spins.. After that you can go puke :) Kids where totally crazy about these. Well I was going crazy too.. Some machines you had to be shorter than 140cm that was pretty lame. To not make this sound too fool I can tell you that some of those where designed for adults..



I was trying to get to see Olympic BMX track, but it's gonna take 1-2months that it opens for public.

Yes, and I feel little bit bad that I haven't been writing that much lately. Actually I have had too much thing to say and that makes me think that I can't write every day.. Suddenly I notice that I haven't write anything for long time..or like a week I mean :)

Some photos of BMX race in Lahti. Race where organized by eliminator system. The one who loses the heat is out of the competion.. It looked fun but maybe next time you could have two chances. Then it's gonna ask some physical condition :)

Even the weather wasn't special there where pretty many riders.

Promo

My tournee in schools continues. Today I had just an great day with visitng one more school with my RedLine bike, Fox race jersey and photos and video, all about BMX racing. Students were paying attention for my "show", because they were truly interested to hear. Almost right after I started one small boy lift his hand up, eyes wide open he asked: can I have your autograft? Ofcourse, I answered :)

I was spending the art lesson with the kids. So after I finished I gave students instructions. They were meant to plan their dream sport area. Ofcourse almost half of them draw a BMX track :) You wouldn't need to do much before going to have some kind lecture about BMX racing in school.. I find this really important. Atleast here in Finland! I hope everyone could go and do the same in their local schools!!

One man gate

Wuhuu! I stink so I got to write fast :) I just came back from icehockey practices.. so that causes the smell..

I got finished my one man gate. That is the first automatic gate in Finland!! And I made it by myself :) Total costs were about 360 euros. And it works like dream.. well it depends what are you dreams about..

Like you can see from the video, the gate doesn't talk. That's because it's a cheap version. Sound when the gate is peeping faster is replaces talking. Saving is about 1000euros between talking and peeping gate!

Building the gate:
1. Drawings :) and welding were shown in earlier posting.
2. Automatism in the gate is really simple. I ordered the machine from Great Britain. It can be used with air ram or with magnet. I decided magnet, because:

- It's REALLY much cheaper
- That's how you are able to use gate without electricity, I mean with battery, so you can have it everywhere (like tracks in Finland doesn't normally have electricity)
- It was much easier to build
- I don't think air ram would have make gate any better (spring can pull gate down cos one man gate is so light)

Gate up side down, you can see magnet and spring

Battery and the brains (automatism is build inside the lights)

magnet had to be attached to the gate (with screws) and the brains had to be connected to magnet (two wires, that you can't connect wrongly) 

Our youngest rider at weekend :)

One other thing. Strider things in Finland are rolling out perfectly! Last weekend I was having Strider track in my home town. Right in the middle of the center. Weather wasn't that good, but there was really many people checking out the Striders! You can help me by going to check out Strider Finland facebook site. www.facebook.com/stridersuomi. I truly belive that this is what BMX race needs to be able to build up the sport. And Strider just are so super cool!!

In between

Season ended and the next one started. The most important thing in this is that my rush ended too. It's interesting, because I still have to do all same "works", but the everlasting rush-hour is history now.

At the moment the story with training is just basic fitness exercises, so there is not much more to tell. But today and yesterday I have been working with sponsoring things, new websites, also some new coaching things.. Setting up new websites is pain in the ass (if I may say the truth). But at least I have got flyer for next season. I got to do it also in english, but for now this is in Finnish:

Turku/Åbo

Finally I have got myself back to road after race weekend in Turku. Few words about weekend wouldn't be too much I guess..

Last Thursday I was having hard time with deciding should I race or not. I hadn't signed in for race till midnight, so that means that I can't race. It would have been nice racing with two tuff women.

Anyway I rode to Turku, because I wanted to see the happening and there was Strider Cup to run. Few times I had to help people to understand why I'm not racing.. Saturday comes and I keep myself busy with working on Strider Cup. I don't even go to look for warm-ups cos that makes me to want to race..

Some kid comes to ask me that who was taken with ambulance. I haven't seen any, I think no-one, I answer. Then I hear that it was one of the ladies. She is DH rider and this would have been her first BMX race, but she got broken collarbone. I'm very sorry for her, but at the same time I see girls' moto missing one rider.

I end up pulling gears on and heading to the track. Saturday was pretty much warm-up, second day was better, until after 1,5 heats I was too tired to pedal no-more.

I can't say that racing wouldn't be fun! And again whole race were organized well..thanks toTurku!

My season has been ended, but let's talk more about that on the following week :)

Racing or not?

After the Nordic Champion I was totally ready to get some rest. Season in Finland was just about to start. I told my coach that I really would need a rest, that my body can't take this much longer.. Somehow I was feeling little bit stupid to not race in Finland. Like I would be too proud to compete in Finland. So I signed in. Same feelings for next races. My legs have been unrecovered since Birmingham Worlds, so there is not much what I can do in those races.

It was APRIL, when I got my highest point with training. Since that it has felt kind of dragging myself to do more and more. In any given moment I might split in to parts.. probably my legs are dropping out. There is one more weekend to go, obs, actually two. Can I do it? I really don't know. Yesterday I went to have massage, it helped a bit, so I'm gonna have new anohter today..

My week has been full of nice BMX things: On Tuesday we had the first practices on new track in Helsinki. There were some new beginners and also some experienced riders getting know the new track.

Top point of the week was probably when I visited the first grade class to talk about BMX racing. I was holding their lesson of Finnish language with theme: listening and asking questions. So I told them about BMX racing. Teacher told that it was the first time that the class remained in order for whole lesson. I had my bike and some photos with me. That was good experience for me too!!