I Ride: Carlos Maurel - Dirt Rider Magazine

www.galfer.es

I've always ridden dirt bikes because first of all I love it, and second it's very good help to be strong. It's the cheapest way to practice because to go to a circuit is very expensive. With a motocross bike you can go alone, you can practice and learn a lot. Then you can improve your speed.I practiced dirt track a lot because for the front wheel it's very important. Without brakes sometimes you push the front wheel in the dirt and you understand how to be very, very fast at the start of the corner. But motocross is always very good for the difficult conditions, of course.Every time you're riding you try to improve, you try to do better. You go with other riders who have very good technique. I tried to practice with motocross riders not with roadrace riders because you can improve as long as you are riding motorbikes.Sometimes I practice speed and try to do a best lap time. Sometimes I try to do heats to practice an actual race. I usually do three 20-minute motos.The jumps are the most difficult for me. You need to start very, very young and I started a little bit later, and for me the jumps are a little more difficult than the corners. I try to understand the technique and I try to learn.My cousin was a motocross rider. I would go to the circuits with him and I started riding when I was 5 years old. My cousin bought my first bike for me. It was a trials bike, but I never loved this kind of bike. So I did motocross with a trials bike. I love the speed.If you go to jump and you can't see the landing like on a big , you have to go flat out, or if not, you're going to ride into the next jump. This is very exciting. It's very similar to going around a very fast corner at 150 mph. The speed is completely different but the sensation...you need to have big to do that. In motocross this is very important and in roadracing, too.