Dirt/street - either, or, both?

[Gary856]

I'd like to see how many people:

a) started on street first then got into dirt (regularly),
b) started in the dirt first then street (regularly),
c) street only
d) dirt only

I suspect a) would be a smaller number than b)

What does "regularly" mean - you decide for yourself.

Edit: This poll is sort of tied to the following thread in the Training section:
http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=352364

 

[explorin]

i started on dirt(7+yrs)then street(3yrs). and honestly, i dont know how more people dont die on the street more often.its a rediculous thought to put someone on a 100hp bike and put them in the middle of traffic when they hardly know how to use a clutch. with dirt you gain tons of experience on how the bike reacts and you simply get handlebar time without adding the extra danger/stress of other vehicles.

 

[Junkie]

I started on the street, then rode dirt some, then got hurt too much, and now it's only street again.

 

[Caddywumpus]

Rode dirt as a kid. took a 10 year break. came back swinging on the street, and i ride both.

 

[kingbee777]

started on street, now on dirt for the fam

 

[Gary856]

I started on the street, then rode dirt some, then got hurt too much, and now it's only street again.

How come you got hurt too much in the dirt? People say it's safer... and how much did dirt riding help your street riding?

 

[Caddywumpus]

Dirt riding can be safer, i.e. no cars to worry about. However, theres cliffs and bad traction and rocks and all sorts of shit that you can hurt yourself on.

 

[Junkie]

How come you got hurt too much in the dirt? People say it's safer... and how much did dirt riding help your street riding?

first time: broke my collarbone, fractured my C7, a fair bit of abrasion, and a serious enough head injury that they transfered me to a hospital with a neurologist and kept me there overnight. spent around 26 hours in the ICU that time.

second time, just a decent concussion. lost a few hours.


not really sure that it helped my street riding, I didn't do much dirt riding.

 

[jrbruin]

How come you got hurt too much in the dirt? People say it's safer... and how much did dirt riding help your street riding?

you're falling much more often than you would on the street, so it's easy to get hurt. It's safer than street because you're not going as fast and you're not likely to be run over or go head on into a car when you screw up.

 

[ThumperX]

Dirt riding can be safer, i.e. no cars to worry about. However, theres cliffs and bad traction and rocks and all sorts of shit that you can hurt yourself on.

You left out the freaking trees. I swear nature hates me

The neighbor had mini bikes that all the kids played on. Then the Trail 90's, and the roads were dirt then (Subdivided McMansions now with wide paved streets)

Then one day Daddy up and says-"the girls will be less inclined to hop on the back of those motorcycles with boys if they know how to ride...."

Then no riding for decades

Then as this kid is walking out the door the ex says "suppose you're going to go out and buy a motorcycle..."

 

[OldFatGuy]

I started riding dirt regularly about 25 years ago, then started riding street 18 years ago. Now, I hardly ever ride on the street because I find the dirt to be a lot more fun.

FWIW, I've been hurt doing both.

 

[Rob]

"You may get killed on the street, but you'll definitely get hurt in the dirt."

 

[louemc]

Terms like street and dirt have such wide definitions...they are rather meaningless.

Dirt for instance can be pretty casual on groomed trails in a California Park...or it can be on wet red clay in the mountains of Oregon where logging was done, and dirt bike riders cut trails/hill climbs, or in Idaho a trail made by animals, crosses a rock face on a cliff, with a ledge just wide enough to make it do-able on a bike...but...only if you have the balance, and hold a precise line...make one mistake and fall to your death.

Riding dirt can be doing 100 mph over un-prepaired desert ground.

Riding dirt, presents a challenge, there are trees and boulders and ruts and drop offs, and the dirt, has tire slip that pavement doesn't.

Learn dirt, and you learn how to cope with pavement in it's worst situations.

 

[Roadstergal]

Terms like street and dirt have such wide definitions...they are rather meaningless.

+1 Dirt can be hairy or laid-back, street can be a droning commute or a tight goat trail. In general for both, the more tight and technical it is, the slower you're going and the less momentum you have when it all goes tits-up.

You can get hurt doing anything. You're just a lot less likely to have a car run you over afterwards on the dirt.

 

[V4]

for the basics of learning the controls and general principals, learned on the street then started to ride the dirt...

where one can get complacent and cocky on the street, the dirt can definitely bite back...

"You may get killed on the street, but you'll definitely get hurt in the dirt."

troof...

 

[ob1ventura]

dirt as a kid then street later.

wish I had time to go play in the dirt again and that it was more accessable as in the "good old days".

 

[Iceman9r]

for the basics of learning the controls and general principals, learned on the street then started to ride the dirt...

where one can get complacent and cocky on the street, the dirt can definitely bite back...



troof...

I disagree, you have it turned around.

learning on the street bike will get you killed making the simpless of mistakes.
You can make a simple mistake in the dirt and just drop the bike. Then get back up and dust yourself off and do it again with out breaking a couple of hundered dollars of parts.
In the dirt you will learn how to control a bike alot faster than on the street in all conditions. On the street you may only get one chance to do it right!

 

[V4]

I disagree, you have it turned around.

learning on the street bike will get you killed making the simpless of mistakes.
You can make a simple mistake in the dirt and just drop the bike. Then get back up and dust yourself off and do it again with out breaking a couple of hundered dollars of parts.
In the dirt you will learn how to control a bike alot faster than on the street in all conditions. On the street you may only get one chance to do it right!

depends on what you're doing in the dirt..

 

[Gary856]

There's a theme here that you "will" fall and get hurt on dirt. Now, for street riding, we say that there's no intrinsic reason for a rider to crash - it usually comes down to rider error one way or another, over-riding the ability/condition. Is it not the same with dirt? With proper training, equipment and using your head, is one pre-destined to crash and get hurt in the dirt? (I'm not talking about a simple low-speed drops, but bad crashes that lead to serious injuries.) Is this a matter of some people treating dirt riding as a fun free-for-all, caution out the window kind of activity, which naturally would lead to crashes and injuries?

 

[jrbruin]

I look at dirt riding like skiing, you could go out there and just cruise around all day and never fall - but you're probably not improving much by doing that. Similarly, there are easy and hard trails you can take. You're much more likely to crash trying to get up or down a steep, narrow trail than on a flat wide fire road for example.

I don't think you're necessarily doomed to serious injuries though.. of all the dirt crashes I've had, the worst was a sprained wrist.