How can I start cross-country mountain biking?

[anderzoho]

[COLOR= rgb(51, 51, 51)]I'm 18 years old and I looove mountain biking. I do track, so I have a lot of endurance and I have good muscles from gymnastics, which will help me a lot with my biking. I bike a lot but I just do it for fun-- I'd really like to compete in a race, but I've never done a biking race before. How can I start? Where can I find a local race? How do I figure out what ability level I should enter in? I know track helps a lot with training for biking, but what else can I do? We also weight train a lot--which is good because I don't do gymnastics anymore. Any answers are greatly appreciated [/COLOR]

 

[bmoberg337]

 
[FONT= 'Arial']Assuming you live in the states, the following link to USA cyclings website can help you get started: http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=2622.  Also you can search for events by region on Bikereg.com.  Any races sanctioned by USA cycling will require you to have a USA cycling license.  You can apply for one online, or most races will allow you to sign up at the event.  Given your athletic background, I would say you should start at the Cat 3 level.  Some events do offer a "first timers" category, but this is usually for people with 6 months of riding experience or less.  It doesn't sound like you fit that description, nor do I think you would be challenged in that category.
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[FONT= 'Arial']Your gymnastics and track background will definitely help your development as a cyclist.  Balance and core strength is essential in any discipline of cycling, especially mtn xc.  Take it easy and enjoy the process of building endurance slowly.  A lot of people rush into the sport wanting to be pro yesterday and burn themselves out.  Becoming a good endurance athlete, as you may know from track, is about consistency over a long period of time.  A lot people do not realize their potential until they have put in 8-10 years of solid training.  
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[FONT= 'Arial']Some may argue for or against weight training, but keeping your fitness well rounded definitely has its benefits.  Maintaining some muscle mass in your upper body will make you more resistant to injury, and in xc racing can help you maneuver the bike to meet the demands of the terrain.  Most of the world cup xc racers, especially the swiss who are dominant at that discipline, incorporate core and balancing strength into thier training.  However, you will notice that a lot of them still maintain very lean upper bodies.  This is because the optimal amount of upper body strength is the minimal amount of mass needed to meet the demands of the competitions you compete in.  In other words, having the physique of a body builder will do you no good because the benefit of that muscle mass is greatly outweighed by the extra weight you now have to carry around.  Other than that some riders incorporate lower body workouts in the off season such as squats, lunges, deadlifts, leg curls, etc.  There is a lot of research that shows positive, negative, and negligible gains related to this type of weight training in terms of cycling performance.  However, lifts of these types, especially those that focus on the neglected muscles of cyclists i.e hamstrings, vastus medialis, can help you prevent overuse injuries caused by muscle imbalances.    [/FONT]
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[FONT= 'Arial']Good luck and have fun!
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[vspa]

i wanted to add road cycling for your training plan, lots of xc riders train on road bikes too for endurance & aerobic training reasons