A bad crash is one you don't get up from on your own, the coaches say at the Langley BMX track in Brookswood.

So the first crash of the first day of practice wasn't a bad crash.

Malcolm Kemp, 14, sped through a dusty corner of the track and went down, sliding on some loose dirt. He got up and rode back to the finish line quickly, a little dusty, a little sore, and dabbing at a bloody nose with a paper towel.

"It kind of hurts, but it's fine," he said.

Kemp didn't make the rookie mistake of sticking his arms straight out. That's a natural instinct when falling, but you can break your wrists falling like that, said coach and pro rider Rosemary Adams.

Everybody falls, she said, but riders are taught to roll with the fall. They also wear gloves, full-face helmets, and long sleeves and long pants at all times.

The practice Friday was to familiarize the out-of-town riders with the track, but even a rider who knows a track well can go down. Kemp is a Zone 3 rider, a Langley resident who lives just a few blocks away from the track and rides it regularly.

Kemp has been riding for half his life, since he was seven years old.

For this competition, he'll be facing older and younger riders than he normally sees. The BC Summer Games rules have all the boys in BMX Cycling facing off together, from ages 12 to 16.

Kemp said it will be different, racing against boys two years older than he is, but he's hopeful a bit of hometown advantage will help.

"I know the track pretty good," he said.