I had so much fun at the Sparkplug Enduro two weeks ago that I found myself once again driving north to the western side of Puget Sound to test my skills in a new arena. I arrived the night before and found a few of my friends had ridden the beginner enduro on saturday. Pegasus was there on her BBR200, she got third place in her first ever enduro, good job! Another friend did the saturday ride and, along with countless others, lost the ribbon and extended the course mileage by a considerable amount. Bonehead showed up too, he couldn't ride on Sunday but stuck around to pit for me, what a chum. We walked around the pits later that night and gleaned as much information as we could from the local riders. Apperantly the Shelton Valley is quite different from Belfair, a little more open but also had some choice gnarly spots. By all accounts, the Puget Sound Enduro Riders are a great club. The event was very well organized and the club members themselves are really nice people. After going through the bike and checking out the route sheet and Watchdog, I turned in for a few winks.
I had pre-entered and got an early minute so getting the business done the night before paid off. Still, after setting the keytime and scarfing raisin bran and fussing around with all the last minute stuff I got to the start in a hurry. Such is racing. The course consisted of two loops, the first being fifty miles and the last being thirty. The gas stop was only ten minutes and there were NO RESETS. Setting out at minute five with perfect weather and bitchen trail conditions, I couldn't help but grin, it's so much fun riding in new places. With two other riders on my minute I decided to ride ahead a bit and see if I could establish the pecking order with me in the front. My minute partners were very friendly and didn't cause any problems or try to play games. Even before the first check I knew that the mileage was off a bit so I had to keep adjusting my odometer, not a problem with the Watchdog but still a little unnerving. I zeroed the first couple of checks and started to feel relaxed and ready to rip. The next check was a bit tricky as it came right after a tight section with an 18mph speed average, I missed an arrow going into it and had to push hard to get back on my minute. I had a feeling that a check was coming up. Sure enough and luckily enough I passed through the flags with seconds to spare, whew! Still riding on a zero card I began to feel even better, the course odometer was very erratic, however, so I adjusted my odo at every speed change or milemarker. The fourth check was an emergency check after a long and technical special test. It began shortly after the last check where the speed average jumped from 15mph to 25mph, but only for 1.1 miles, then it "mellowed" out to 18mph. It was impossible to go 18 through the woods we were hitting and I dropped three minutes and twenty seconds at the end of the special. Still, I thought I had ripped it pretty good and I knew that others would do worse, some better. The fifth check was a very tricky timekeeping affair that came after a long section where I couldn't adjust my odometer. According to my odometer I was riding 20 seconds into my minute when I passed the flags but,alas, I didn't look at my keytime, which was 10 seconds early. I BURNED a check! Yikes, 2 points. The last check of the first loop was another emergency check which I did well on but I was still mad at myself for burning check four. I came into the pits for the brief gas stop. I scarfed a banana and a king sized Hershey bar, chatted with Bonehead who was fueling the bike, didn't even change goggles or gloves because of the awesome conditions/no dust or dew, and then set off on the second loop. The amateur classses were done at this point so I knew that the race would change it's face now. The first speed average out of the box was 21mph. Ever go 21 in the woods? After doing 18s and 15s for the first three hours I figured it was time to whoop it up. It was funny the way it happened but I managed to zero the sixth check after running 2 minutes late just a few miles before, thank goodness for speed changes. At this point the course abandoned all timekeeping skill and turned into a deep-woods hare and hound. The last 25 miles were high speed averages in really tight and hilly terrain. The course marking were great and the 520 was setup perfectly for this type of gnarl. Big hillclimbs and pucker-factor downhills with drop-offs were the featured attractions. The seventh check came and went in a blur. I was 11 minutes down and still had to run the 24mph average in some wicked stuff. In other words, it was a GREAT RACE! Hammering out for another hour I finally came to the last check/finish, I was 17 minutes down! Yeah, that was a point taker. I figured out my card and turned it in, a 33. I had a really good feeling about my ride though and a lot of the guys coming in looked pretty beat up. I must have done alright and I still felt pretty fiesty. I packed up the trialer for the long haul home, thanked every club member I could find and hit the road. After a few days of waiting I found out I got 3rd Vet Expert out of ten, I guess I'm not dissappointed. It sure was fun and I can't wait for the River City M/C's enduro on May 5th. Anyone up for some fun?
I had pre-entered and got an early minute so getting the business done the night before paid off. Still, after setting the keytime and scarfing raisin bran and fussing around with all the last minute stuff I got to the start in a hurry. Such is racing. The course consisted of two loops, the first being fifty miles and the last being thirty. The gas stop was only ten minutes and there were NO RESETS. Setting out at minute five with perfect weather and bitchen trail conditions, I couldn't help but grin, it's so much fun riding in new places. With two other riders on my minute I decided to ride ahead a bit and see if I could establish the pecking order with me in the front. My minute partners were very friendly and didn't cause any problems or try to play games. Even before the first check I knew that the mileage was off a bit so I had to keep adjusting my odometer, not a problem with the Watchdog but still a little unnerving. I zeroed the first couple of checks and started to feel relaxed and ready to rip. The next check was a bit tricky as it came right after a tight section with an 18mph speed average, I missed an arrow going into it and had to push hard to get back on my minute. I had a feeling that a check was coming up. Sure enough and luckily enough I passed through the flags with seconds to spare, whew! Still riding on a zero card I began to feel even better, the course odometer was very erratic, however, so I adjusted my odo at every speed change or milemarker. The fourth check was an emergency check after a long and technical special test. It began shortly after the last check where the speed average jumped from 15mph to 25mph, but only for 1.1 miles, then it "mellowed" out to 18mph. It was impossible to go 18 through the woods we were hitting and I dropped three minutes and twenty seconds at the end of the special. Still, I thought I had ripped it pretty good and I knew that others would do worse, some better. The fifth check was a very tricky timekeeping affair that came after a long section where I couldn't adjust my odometer. According to my odometer I was riding 20 seconds into my minute when I passed the flags but,alas, I didn't look at my keytime, which was 10 seconds early. I BURNED a check! Yikes, 2 points. The last check of the first loop was another emergency check which I did well on but I was still mad at myself for burning check four. I came into the pits for the brief gas stop. I scarfed a banana and a king sized Hershey bar, chatted with Bonehead who was fueling the bike, didn't even change goggles or gloves because of the awesome conditions/no dust or dew, and then set off on the second loop. The amateur classses were done at this point so I knew that the race would change it's face now. The first speed average out of the box was 21mph. Ever go 21 in the woods? After doing 18s and 15s for the first three hours I figured it was time to whoop it up. It was funny the way it happened but I managed to zero the sixth check after running 2 minutes late just a few miles before, thank goodness for speed changes. At this point the course abandoned all timekeeping skill and turned into a deep-woods hare and hound. The last 25 miles were high speed averages in really tight and hilly terrain. The course marking were great and the 520 was setup perfectly for this type of gnarl. Big hillclimbs and pucker-factor downhills with drop-offs were the featured attractions. The seventh check came and went in a blur. I was 11 minutes down and still had to run the 24mph average in some wicked stuff. In other words, it was a GREAT RACE! Hammering out for another hour I finally came to the last check/finish, I was 17 minutes down! Yeah, that was a point taker. I figured out my card and turned it in, a 33. I had a really good feeling about my ride though and a lot of the guys coming in looked pretty beat up. I must have done alright and I still felt pretty fiesty. I packed up the trialer for the long haul home, thanked every club member I could find and hit the road. After a few days of waiting I found out I got 3rd Vet Expert out of ten, I guess I'm not dissappointed. It sure was fun and I can't wait for the River City M/C's enduro on May 5th. Anyone up for some fun?