Andrew Fulton on turning Pro
I will be turning pro next year. For the remainder of this year, I will be riding Expert. I started the year as an Expert after NORBA denied my Pro application.
I rode Motorama and Sea Otter as Expert, before being told I had the
option to move up to Pro. Since neither NORBA or NATS make provisions
for transferring points for the series from one category to another, I
am locked into Expert for the NATS. NATS overlaps NEPS at some events,
so I can't ride Pro in NEPS either without upgrading and downgrading,
which is unacceptable on so many levels.
If the Pro class were invitational in the U.S. as the top class is in
most BIU countries, we might see some different faces competing there.
In order to improve the sport of Biketrial in the U.S., perhaps we
should re-evaluate the way we view and rank its riders. In almost
every class there is a wide gap in the middle of the point spread.
(Ex: 1st-15 pts, 2nd-17 pts, 3rd-42 pts, 4th-48 pts) Often it is
perceived that the better riders should advance to the progressively
harder level; I feel differently. I think that the riders on the lower
half of the gap should be riding the lower class until they hone their
skills. But the American ego is a fragile thing. All too often riders
seek instant gratification through advancement. A large drop-off or
big side hop are impressive, but are not the essence of Biketrial.
Mastery of mental focus, physical skills and consistency are overlooked
in the U.S. culture. Just because a rider performs a few moves well,
there seems to be a push for him to advance instead of perfecting other
moves AT THAT LEVEL. Hats off to the riders like Zak Maeda who further
refine their skills instead of rushing to advance to the next class. I
realize this may be frustrating to lesser riders in that category, but
instead of complaing about featherbedding, they should take the
opportunity to learn from the better riders. One can learn from
watching the way a better rider picks lines, and then riding those
lines oneself. Focus on LEARNING, not winning. Winning is good, but
learn first and winning will follow. Experience counts for a lot in
this brutally mental sport. (For those of you following, this is only
my second year of competition, with only 2-1/2 years total on a trials
bike.) So I'm relatively new to this sport.
Trials would be better in the U.S. if more riders were riding where
they should be instead of worrying about their labels. It's more
impressive to boast of a higher competition class than to humbly admit
that you have a lot more to learn before advancing. Once a rider
consistently gets fewer than 1/4 of the points possible on the day,
then progression to the next level is reasonable. As an example, I got
32 points at Seven Springs out of a possible 60. Over 1/2 the points!
There's tons of room for improvement, and I recognize I have a lot to
learn. Nobody really wants to watch "Pros" five their way through
section after section.
As you can tell, I'm passionate about this sport. I set very high
expectations for myself and my riding. Sometimes I fail. I am human.
And I wear my emotions on my sleeve. If I clean a difficult section,
I'm pumped. I've beaten the SECTION. It's me and my bike versus the
section, not versus the other riders. And if I don't ride to my
potential, then I'm angry with myself for letting myself down, not
because I might lose the competition. I have only gotten my bike
airborn once. It was at Seven Springs after I fived the first section
of the day, also the easiest section. Unfortunately, 2 spectators and
a handful of riders saw this unprofessional display of anger. I do
apologize to all who witnessed my venting. I was extremely frustrated,
though I did take enough care not to damage anyone else's persons,
properties or belongings. Fortunately enough, I suppose, my bike
withstood my immature 3-foot toss. Again, I apologize.
If you've read this, you probably care for this sport as much as I do.
Maybe not to the same degree, or as competitively, or as seriously.
You might differ on some points, but I feel that what I've said here
would improve the state of Trialsin in the U.S. If anyone else has a
concern with my riding Expert the rest of this season, instead of
making snide, juvenile comments on the web or behind my back, please
talk to me directly. I am more than willing to discuss this.
|
