You know, there is a shortcut at the very start of the course. It will take a while to master though. But this is what you do:
When you start, instead of taking the normal road you take a left and use a mushroom before you go off the cliff. This is the hard part: land as close to the middle of the top of the mushroom as you can. Trick off the mushroom, and you should land on another mushroom, trick off of that mushroom, and you should land on the bridge with the ramp to bounce on to the mushroom ahead of it. Trust me it helps.