Derek E. Goode Jr. #75

Derek E. Goode Jr. (DJ) is a dirt bike rider with a goal of becoming a professional dirt bike rider. He is a student at Bessemer High School.  His dream is to become #1 in Supercross. He has had many falls and a few trips to the hospital. He practices throughout the week to ride on race day as hard as he can. One bad experience was when his two dirt bikes (125 cc) were stolen.  DJ had a positive attitude despite the situation. So I interviewed him to get a better grasp of this young man's interesting life.

When did you start racing? how?

• I got started racing when my dad bought me a dirt bike when I was 7

What is your favorite brand of bike and what kind do you ride?

• My favorite brand is kawasaki and i ride a 2012 kx250f

Why do you like racing dirt bikes?

• It a self reliant sport except for your mechanic but when you're on the bike its all up to you. Racing is also a disciplined sport that takes a lot of practice that's why I like it.

What is the most important part of a race in your opinion?

• Preparation, because if you're not mentally and physically prepared you can't win.

What do you do to prepare for races?

• I run atleast 2 miles a day, I do 200 push ups, 200 sit ups, and I jump rope with a 5 pound jump rope

Have you had any success recently?

• Yes, I got second in the South Carolina state championship.

How often do you ride?

• I ride two to three times a week

Do you plan on quitting racing soon?

• No, I love to race.

Who has helped you with your success in racing?

• My dad has helped me a lot he is the one that motivates me to do better. My Grandma’s cooking and my friends also helps motivate me to do better.

Do you plan on making a career out of racing?

• Yes, I plan on going pro in three years.

The whip

The most prestigious trick in racing is the whip. I'm going to tell you the way I do the whip and hopefully it will help you.
Picture of Justin Barcia whipping available at http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/PhotoGallerys/Justin-Barcia-unadilla.jpg

When going up the jump your body should be slightly forward on the bike. Being forward on the bike helps in bringing the back of the bike up and around. When approaching the jump let off on the gas. And begin to preload the suspension.


Next, start angling your bike towards the left side of the lip. If you are going to do a right turn your bike is already leaning towards your right foot. When you are at the base of the lip, you’ll want to twist the throttle throttle quick and then let go. This will give you more pop off the lip instead of powering through the lip like you think you would need to do. It is also important to let off the throttle right before the lip and preload the suspension to give you more lift.

Just after you leave the lip of the jump your head and shoulders will choose where your bike is going to go. As with any trick your body and bike will follow where your head and shoulders are aimed.

You should already be starting to look at your landing. There is no throttling here at all.
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Your bike should start to lay over easy now. You should not have to muscle a whip. It is more of a flow kind of thing rather than a muscle thing. Only your hands should be controlling the whip; it should flow the whole way through. Holding onto the bike with your right foot will help ensure you don’t lose the bike. Still, there is no throttle in this section of the jump.

Now you should be focused on your landing. Right when you get ready to land the whip, give it gas which will help straighten the bike up

Ricky Carmichael Riding Tips: Starts

Ricky Carmichael Riding Tips: Starts
Great tips for the starts

The Holeshot

The holeshot refers to the first person to the first corner in racing. The holeshot is the key to the race. If you are last to the first corner, but you’re the best rider you still might loose. So you want to be the first person to the first corner. So im going to tell you the way I do it so maby it will help you inprove your starts.

The importance of a good start is accurately addressed by Gary Simics:

There are two races in motocross ; one is from the starting gate to the first corner. The other one is from the first corner to the checkered flag. When you do well in the first one the second one is normally a lot easier

First I choose a good gate to start at. I like to be in the middle or the left side. That puts you closer to the first corner because most of the first corners are right turns, because it allows you to keep you right foot on the back break.

Second I pack down the dirt were im starting to help me get more tracktion. When it’s a concrete start I sweep my gate and make sure there isnt any dirt on it because it will make you spin.

Then I slide up so that im sitting on the gas tank so that the bike want flip. By the time you do all this they should have the 30 second card up. When it goes sideways it means the gate could drop anywhere between 5 and 15 seconds.

When the card goes sideways I put the bike into second gear by clicking uo on the gear shif once. Then you turn the throttle about three fourths of the way and wait for the gate to drop. While im waiting I watch the pen that holds the gate up because it has to move before the gate drops.

Then when the gate drops you drop the clutch and hold it wide open. During this I don’t let out of the throttle until I get to the first corner. Once you get there you want to use your front and back brakes. The front brake stops a lot faster then the back so if you use it you can stay in the gas longer. If you use my tips you should be able to grab the holeshot and it will make your race results a lot better.

The Scrub.

Well first you need to know the difference between the whip and the scrub, which are commonly misunderstood. A whip is when you turn the bike sideways in the air which is used to look cool or set up for the corner after the jump.

The scrub is used to scrub off height which makes you stay lower to the ground. Some people believe is reduces speed to but it doesn't it just reduces the height.

When whipping you turn the bike in the air. The scrub is when you turn the bike while going up the face of the jump.

When racing dirt bikes your goal is to get around the track as fast as possible. If you could find a way to stay lower over jumps you would be able to go faster.

When you go up to a jump and your behind someone you can scrub a jump which will keep you lower to the ground so you will be able to go faster. Basic physics prove that you lose speed in the air unless you do something like riding off of a building on your dirt bike.

Therefore you can be on the ground and accelerating why the other rider is still in the air. That could be the difference between winning the championship and getting second.


The scrub will allow you to go faster. The the Dirt Bike Blogger said "whip for show, scrub to go" which is a correct accusation because the whip is to look cool and the scrub is to go faster.

The scrub is a very hard trick to master. It can take a lot of practice to master the scrub. If you master the scrub it can be the difference between first and second place.

Property of Brandon Hargrave