- Oct 13, 1999
- 2,807
- 0
I’d been told that the Cockaponset Enduro is the easiest on the NETRA schedule. Well it may be easy for a NETRA enduro, but it was definitely not an easy enduro although it wasn't difficult either. I signed up and ended up on minute 28. They had five riders on every row and I don’t know how many rows. The only information I had was 63 ground miles and it was going to be tougher after the gas stop. With that piece of information I decided to take it easy on the first loop saving my energy for the second, longer loop.
I left the start control on time and had a 3 mile ride down the road before we jumped off onto some trail. I led my row into the woods, but decided to get my first crash out of the way early. Everybody passed me, but I did catch one guy before the reset at mile 5. I left the reset on time and continued down the trail. This first section was a mixture of short single-track mixed with faster two-track and woods roads. The speed changed from 24 to 18 so this was basically a time-keeping section. For once I was actually riding the possibles. I hit the first check right on the 30-second mark of 28. This was the check-in to the first test section. It was a good mix of single-track, mud and my personal favorite New England Rocks. At the emergency out-check I slid through at 33:33, five minutes down. I pulled over and did some quick calculations before heading down the transfer section. At this point I was riding with a guy on an XR and we went into the next section at the top of our minute. This section was a good mix of easy rocks, high-speed trails and mud holes. There were quite a few riders floundering around in the mud, so passing in the slop became a requirement. I kept swapping back and forth with the guy on the XR until all of a sudden he was sitting on the side of the trail. I slowed down, but he waved me off. I hit the out-check on minute 37, dropping another four points. We then had a transfer section back to the start where the gas stop was located. I did manage to take the deep line through a mud hole and totally soaked my jersey.
This had to be my quickest gas-stop to date. Fill up the tank, fill up the Camelbak, change jersey and gloves, change goggles. Two riders I know, Ben (BRush) and Bob, came in about the time I was getting ready to leave. Both had also dropped nine points so I was feeling good about my riding up to that point. In hindsight, I should have waited and gone back out with them. The next check was a known control and under Brand X rules I could check in between my original minute, 28, and my last minute, 37, without penalty. As it was I rushed to get back out, got stuck behind some slower riders in the transfer section and didn’t go through the known control until minute 30. I went racing down the trail only to blow a turn, miss the wrong-way marker, continue on and get lost in the woods. Eventually I came to a spot where the trail I was on crossed the marked enduro trail. Being an honest person I back-tracked to the point where I left the marked trail and continued on. I was extremely late at this point, stuck behind slow riders and the faster I rode the slower I went. At one spot I passed a guy then just as I passed him I stalled on an off-camber trail, with my left foot on the downhill side. He couldn’t get around me and I couldn’t get the leverage and footing to start my bike. Finally he pushed me over. I rolled about 20 feet down the hill from my bike shouting expletives the entire way. I climbed back up, started my bike and got going my adrenaline was in overload and I was going to catch that SOB and take him out! Well a quarter-mile down the trail my revenge was enacted. Not by myself, but by a tree that this guy had his bike wedged between. I let out a little snicker and suddenly started riding better. Then came the hill where Dan (DANIEL JOSEPH) was helping riders get up. There were stuck riders at the top, stuck riders half-way up and a traffic jam at the bottom. One rider came down the trail, bombed through the jam and cleared the top. I spotted a line and passed three riders at the bottom and two on the hill as I gave it everything I had. The front wheel just barely cleared two roots at the top and Dan reached out and grabbed it. It took three of us, but we got it up and over and I continued on my way shouting out a big thanks to Dan. Another emergency out-check awaited at the end and I bombed through at 44:03, 14 minutes down.
I had a couple good sections, including the one through a gravel pit. I kept my speed up and rode hard. By now I was riding with a guy on a YZ. He was setting a good pace and I figured that hanging with him kept me going. We went through another section together, then I had another crappy section. I crashed twice. Once while trying to pass a slower rider and another time in the rocks. That second time my foot got stuck underneath the bike. At least someone was kind enough to stop and lift my bike up rather than use me or my bike for traction. There was also a nice little 4-foot ledge where three guys on four-strokes had the path completely blocked trying to bulldog their way up. More riders were coming up behind me so I had to get going. There was no way I could make it up the only line left, so I ghosted the bike up and passed all three guys. Two-strokes RULE!
The rest of the ride was pretty much uneventful, but I had a good time. I was able to use my timekeeping skills and didn’t burn a check-in all day. In the end I dropped 54 points which wasn’t too spectacular, but considering the depth of talent in my class I was happy. My scores were pretty good except for those two sections where I screwed up. Ben dropped 46 points and took home some hardware in his class. Reflecting back it was a good enduro. There was some tough stuff, but the sections were short enough to give you a break. Had I not missed that one arrow (or had I cheated and cut the course) my score would have been a little better. However that main thing is having fun and I definitely had fun. Thanks to the Salmon River County Riders for putting on this event!
Now where's the number to my Optometrist. :confused:
I left the start control on time and had a 3 mile ride down the road before we jumped off onto some trail. I led my row into the woods, but decided to get my first crash out of the way early. Everybody passed me, but I did catch one guy before the reset at mile 5. I left the reset on time and continued down the trail. This first section was a mixture of short single-track mixed with faster two-track and woods roads. The speed changed from 24 to 18 so this was basically a time-keeping section. For once I was actually riding the possibles. I hit the first check right on the 30-second mark of 28. This was the check-in to the first test section. It was a good mix of single-track, mud and my personal favorite New England Rocks. At the emergency out-check I slid through at 33:33, five minutes down. I pulled over and did some quick calculations before heading down the transfer section. At this point I was riding with a guy on an XR and we went into the next section at the top of our minute. This section was a good mix of easy rocks, high-speed trails and mud holes. There were quite a few riders floundering around in the mud, so passing in the slop became a requirement. I kept swapping back and forth with the guy on the XR until all of a sudden he was sitting on the side of the trail. I slowed down, but he waved me off. I hit the out-check on minute 37, dropping another four points. We then had a transfer section back to the start where the gas stop was located. I did manage to take the deep line through a mud hole and totally soaked my jersey.
This had to be my quickest gas-stop to date. Fill up the tank, fill up the Camelbak, change jersey and gloves, change goggles. Two riders I know, Ben (BRush) and Bob, came in about the time I was getting ready to leave. Both had also dropped nine points so I was feeling good about my riding up to that point. In hindsight, I should have waited and gone back out with them. The next check was a known control and under Brand X rules I could check in between my original minute, 28, and my last minute, 37, without penalty. As it was I rushed to get back out, got stuck behind some slower riders in the transfer section and didn’t go through the known control until minute 30. I went racing down the trail only to blow a turn, miss the wrong-way marker, continue on and get lost in the woods. Eventually I came to a spot where the trail I was on crossed the marked enduro trail. Being an honest person I back-tracked to the point where I left the marked trail and continued on. I was extremely late at this point, stuck behind slow riders and the faster I rode the slower I went. At one spot I passed a guy then just as I passed him I stalled on an off-camber trail, with my left foot on the downhill side. He couldn’t get around me and I couldn’t get the leverage and footing to start my bike. Finally he pushed me over. I rolled about 20 feet down the hill from my bike shouting expletives the entire way. I climbed back up, started my bike and got going my adrenaline was in overload and I was going to catch that SOB and take him out! Well a quarter-mile down the trail my revenge was enacted. Not by myself, but by a tree that this guy had his bike wedged between. I let out a little snicker and suddenly started riding better. Then came the hill where Dan (DANIEL JOSEPH) was helping riders get up. There were stuck riders at the top, stuck riders half-way up and a traffic jam at the bottom. One rider came down the trail, bombed through the jam and cleared the top. I spotted a line and passed three riders at the bottom and two on the hill as I gave it everything I had. The front wheel just barely cleared two roots at the top and Dan reached out and grabbed it. It took three of us, but we got it up and over and I continued on my way shouting out a big thanks to Dan. Another emergency out-check awaited at the end and I bombed through at 44:03, 14 minutes down.
I had a couple good sections, including the one through a gravel pit. I kept my speed up and rode hard. By now I was riding with a guy on a YZ. He was setting a good pace and I figured that hanging with him kept me going. We went through another section together, then I had another crappy section. I crashed twice. Once while trying to pass a slower rider and another time in the rocks. That second time my foot got stuck underneath the bike. At least someone was kind enough to stop and lift my bike up rather than use me or my bike for traction. There was also a nice little 4-foot ledge where three guys on four-strokes had the path completely blocked trying to bulldog their way up. More riders were coming up behind me so I had to get going. There was no way I could make it up the only line left, so I ghosted the bike up and passed all three guys. Two-strokes RULE!
The rest of the ride was pretty much uneventful, but I had a good time. I was able to use my timekeeping skills and didn’t burn a check-in all day. In the end I dropped 54 points which wasn’t too spectacular, but considering the depth of talent in my class I was happy. My scores were pretty good except for those two sections where I screwed up. Ben dropped 46 points and took home some hardware in his class. Reflecting back it was a good enduro. There was some tough stuff, but the sections were short enough to give you a break. Had I not missed that one arrow (or had I cheated and cut the course) my score would have been a little better. However that main thing is having fun and I definitely had fun. Thanks to the Salmon River County Riders for putting on this event!
Now where's the number to my Optometrist. :confused: