Author Alex Hutchinson

Photos by Rob Taylor The moment the Florida Cup awards ceremony was over you could already hear people talking about next year. When you live for a sport like BMX, regret is a worthless commodity. The next goal is always close to your thoughts, the next lap is only a weekend away. For myself, training has been a long term exercise in overcoming stubbornness. I have a tendency to reinvent the wheel, come up with my own training systems instead of listening to the Pro's suggestions. As each race passes with a less than desired result, the walls of stubbornness fall one brick at a time. The most recent brick was that of the local race. When I started racing I held locals to be of the utmost importance. I figured that I needed to try my hardest in every race, pushing my body to the limit in every lap. I would build up to a local and gave too much credence to the outcome. Now my focus has changed. Proper pre-race warm-ups including Plyometrics and practice laps hav

It was Friday afternoon, I had just finished work and returned home to prepare for the trip. It was to be my second SSA Championship. The car was packed and the cameras were powered up but I till had one last test to see if my injury was finally healed. I shut the door to my exercise room, turned on Nine Inch Nails and started warming up. Ever since I pulled a muscle in my back just before the Sarasota qualifier I had been unable to jump and unable to touch my toes. After fifteen minutes of pilates and stretching I reached for the floor. I could feel the muscles elongate as I exhaled but it worked. Shortly after I was doing plyo jumps and with them a small part of my confidence was restored. I wasn't healed but it would have to be good enough. There was no time left. Terri and I arrived at Tampa BMX roughly two hours later and just in time for 14 and older practice. I took my time pedaling slowly and easily. Having been off the track for two weeks I was rusty on

Racing bikes, like any other athletic competition, requires perseverance. If you happen to be good at it right out of the gate, that's great but you won't stay on top forever. Eventually water reaches its own level. For us older riders it often happens sooner rather than later. Having come into BMX from a Mountain biking background, I was able to utilize my fitness for quick gains in the Rookie division. My naturally fast pedaling allowed me to win the Championship race last year. I've learned that Intermediate is a whole different animal. Forget the natural advantages, this is where real skills start to matter. My 2012 season has been rough. It started sweet with 2nd and 3rd place finishes in Jacksonville. Naples, however, was a bust. I was getting used to a new bike so I stayed away from risks. This safety first tactic left me in 4th place on the first day and then I faced the 41+ crowd the second day missing the main by one point. I couldn't afford