- Oct 28, 2001
- 4,704
- 0
After 3 years of DNFs as a C-rider, I was looking forward yet again for the privilege of driving 15+ hours, spending several hundred $$$ on gas, and busting up bike and body for a mere $45 entry fee.
I had taken Friday and Monday off in order to enjoy the full experience. Gave me time to prep the bike (hose off mud from Jack Pine, drop in a new clutch pack), load up, and leave at a decent time. And it would be nice not to drive 8 hours home after the race, arrive at 1am, and attempt to work (or even walk!) the next day.
Thanks to the generous 1pm Mini Moose key time, we rolled into staging around 10am in a steady rain that had been falling since early morning. Within 5 minutes of getting the rig setup and bikes unloaded, the clouds parted and the rain stopped… perfect! We got signed up for row #1 (what was Zach thinking :coocoo: ), and were ready for the final FES event in the series. The trail conditions and weather were perfect. I thought the overall course was a little short, and the loops were pretty easy compared to the tighter sections last year. Arrowing was excellent. I would like to see a longer course next year… although it’s not always the best thing riding a 40 mile kid’s enduro before the big event on Sunday.
The Saturday night pot luck dinner was excellent per usual… great chicken by Fred and Nathan, along with good eatin’ side dishes… even had cake and ice cream (it was Magoo’s birthday too). DW… You gotta post those pics of TrailBoss Nick joining us at dinner! :rotfl:
Sunday morning arrived at 6am with a heavy rain… damn, it’s going to be long day on the course. Just as the day before, the rain stopped before key time, and it stayed dry during the entire ride. Perfect trail and weather conditions. For all those that stayed home because of weather reports (3 riders on my minute were no-shows), you really missed out. :|
The first section started out OK. I took it easy trying to loosen up, but with enough of a pace to avoid getting passed. Within 5-7 miles into the tight stuff, my Sidi’s were soaked from the wet underbrush… and these boots rarely get wet. I was getting wet too from all the leaves, and was glad (at the time!) I wore safety glasses, as even they were fogging up a little. I was feeling pretty good in the section until I clipped my right knee on a tree, same knee I banged up at the Jack Pine. It spun me around and knocked me off the bike. I went to stand up and it was a no-go with any weight on the right leg. Thought “damn… out of the race in the first section”. I quickly dove into my fanny pack and threw down 800mg of Motrin, hoping to keep the swelling down. I hobbled onto the bike with the thought to at least creep down the trail and keep the weight off my knee. After a few miles or so I started feeling better, or the adrenaline was kicking in, so I picked up the pace a little. Needed to finish the race. :bang:
Arrived at the restart of the second section with about 20 minutes to spare. B/C’s were off to the right, with A’s on the left and on a different schedule. We merged soon after the restart, and I had 2 A riders just ahead of me. I thought I’d see how long I could keep them in my sights, and I must have lucked out with a couple of the slower A riders. I eventually caught and passed them, and was flying in this section… it was more open. This is where bad crash #2 happened.
There was a large tree that had broken off about 7’ up, but was still connected at the trunk. It hung across the trail at about a 30° angle from the trunk, but did have a black and white danger sign. Well, I was clipping along at a good pace (3rd gear), and went to duck under the tree as I passed underneath it. WHAM! It must have hit me just above the visor, and violently removed me from the bike. I’m surprised I wasn’t knocked out or didn’t break my neck. I landed on my left side, and was immediately numb from the neck down to my left hand… just that side. I was pretty scared and shook up, so just laid there to make sure I could move. I slowly got up and started moving to make sure that I still could. This is where the first several rows behind me passed on by. I was standing, but hurting, so got back on the bike to just crawl down the trail. Soon after that I came around a right-hand turn that led down a slick, twisty downhill. As soon as I turned right, the trail went left a little, and still not feeling quite right, I couldn’t turn the bike. I proceeded to careen down a steep, tree filled ravine. Feet came off the pegs in a panic reaction, and I bailed off the bike just before hitting a tree head on. The bike went to the left and got wedged under a fallen set of trees, and I hit the tree hard with the front of my helmet. I was surprised again that I wasn’t knocked out. There must have been a branch, or maybe it was my handlebar, but something hit my safety glasses hard, and knocked them off my face in the crash. I got up, couldn’t find the glasses, and had blood pouring down my face. Now the rest of the single-digit rows were passing me by. At this point I was down a ravine and off to the far right side of the trail. There was no way the bike was going back up, so I dragged it back, up, and over the fallen trees, trying to make my way down and to the left to get back on the course. Up and over a few more fallen trees, and I made it. Went back up the hill to search for the glasses, and eventually found them. A lot of riders did notice me off in the deep stuff and asked if I was OK. Unfortunately none of them had a winch, tow strap, or anything to stitch my face with. I was offered a spark plug though. :cool:
By now I’m pissed, hurt, exhausted, and really disappointed. Now it’s just about getting back to staging. I remembered the good advice from Young Ted… “The first rule in Enduros is to finish”, so off I went. Made it back to staging, and got the cut cleaned up and bandaged. Now it was off to the third section.
Now the third section was a fast, sweeping course out in the plains area, and was an absolute blast. I got my second wind out here, and had a great time…. Didn’t want it to end. After the checkout, there was a little moon rock section with gas available and some spectators…. What a rush riding through the end of that section with people scattered up on the rocks… felt like pro rider! This would have been a nice way to finish off the day.
I was pretty amped coming out of the third section, so was hot-dogging it to the restart of the fourth section. Went over a moon rock that had an off-camber downside, and my backend slid out, and promptly put me on my ass. Nice reality check for this spode. Got to the fourth restart, and realized that my rear brake pedal was bent up. Must have happened when I low-sided off the moon rock. The pedal was way up on the side of the case, above my foot. I tried bending it back down with the few minutes I had to spare, but it wouldn’t move. Damn. So off I go into the fourth section, which was some more moon rocks, and a tighter, more gnarly, technical course. My foot kept getting hung up under the brake pedal, and I was limited to pretty much front brakes only. Not too bad for the technical climbs, but the slow, tight, downhill, nasty stuff was friggin’ stressful and exhausting. A third of the way through I was completely tapped out of energy, and was just concerned with getting through it without getting hurt or plunging off the side of section…. Not much room for mistakes here, and a mistake costs you big-time.
I finally get to an OB manned by Jabba the Nick. I politely asked him how to get out of this god-forsaken hell hole… or something to that effect. He pointed to the arrows, and said “… Follow ‘dem”. Sage advice from an enduro war veteran. It was a slow, brutal, exhausting pace to the finished, and I just crawled along. It would have been nice (and a lot safer) to have the 4th section as the 3rd, and save the plains for the last section. You can go fast or slow on the plains depending on how you’re holding up, but you won’t get hurt like you could in that moon rock / AA section.
In the end I was extremely glad that I finished, although a few bad mistakes cost me a lot of time and energy. I suspect a lot of guys didn’t come back this year because of last year, and there are even some who came this year that won’t be back as well. But I will….
Overall, the course was marked very well, including the mixing bowl at staging. It’s good to clearly mark “1st Loop This Way”, “2nd Loop That Way”, etc. Lots of bike, people, and truck traffic. I only missed a few arrows…. Early on heavy, wet leaves were blocking some, and right near the clear cut section where you were supposed to veer off to the right (missed arrows at the exact same spot 2 years ago). The moon rock section was also lacking in orange spray paint and arrows to clearly point you to the right direction as you climbed to the top of rock section. Spent some time searching for the trail at the top, and there wasn’t always enough notice as you approached the top as to which way you should be shooting for.
The weather and trail conditions were perfect. Shame on those who missed out because of weather.com. It was slick in first section, and the moon rocks were a little slicker than in years past, but the traction out in the plains was sweet!
Thanks to all the volunteers and club members who put this on. You guys really hit the mark this year (and not just because I finished!) and had the right mix of terrain and section length. Definitely easier for C riders, and the B section didn’t discourage me too much from coming back next year.
The really nice part of the weekend was not having to rush out after awards. The place cleared out, the clouds parted, and we had a beautiful sunset that evening. It was very peaceful being out there. Hooked up with a national B-Senior rider and his 9 year old son, along with Dick Liberty, his 2 sons, and their buddy. Dick was a great trail host, taking all of us out with the boys to ride part of the 4th section. His boys are excellent riders, and very experienced riding the technical stuff. Zach had a small taste of moon rocks and getting through some gnarly stuff… we had a great time hitting that section, then railing some of the plains trail on the way back. Put in about 23 miles on Monday.
Some Pics
http://wurx.com/Albums/2006_Loose_Moose?page=1
Slideshow
http://wurx.com/Albums/slideshow.php?set_albumName=2006_Loose_Moose
(...scroll down for pic captions)
I had taken Friday and Monday off in order to enjoy the full experience. Gave me time to prep the bike (hose off mud from Jack Pine, drop in a new clutch pack), load up, and leave at a decent time. And it would be nice not to drive 8 hours home after the race, arrive at 1am, and attempt to work (or even walk!) the next day.
Thanks to the generous 1pm Mini Moose key time, we rolled into staging around 10am in a steady rain that had been falling since early morning. Within 5 minutes of getting the rig setup and bikes unloaded, the clouds parted and the rain stopped… perfect! We got signed up for row #1 (what was Zach thinking :coocoo: ), and were ready for the final FES event in the series. The trail conditions and weather were perfect. I thought the overall course was a little short, and the loops were pretty easy compared to the tighter sections last year. Arrowing was excellent. I would like to see a longer course next year… although it’s not always the best thing riding a 40 mile kid’s enduro before the big event on Sunday.
The Saturday night pot luck dinner was excellent per usual… great chicken by Fred and Nathan, along with good eatin’ side dishes… even had cake and ice cream (it was Magoo’s birthday too). DW… You gotta post those pics of TrailBoss Nick joining us at dinner! :rotfl:
Sunday morning arrived at 6am with a heavy rain… damn, it’s going to be long day on the course. Just as the day before, the rain stopped before key time, and it stayed dry during the entire ride. Perfect trail and weather conditions. For all those that stayed home because of weather reports (3 riders on my minute were no-shows), you really missed out. :|
The first section started out OK. I took it easy trying to loosen up, but with enough of a pace to avoid getting passed. Within 5-7 miles into the tight stuff, my Sidi’s were soaked from the wet underbrush… and these boots rarely get wet. I was getting wet too from all the leaves, and was glad (at the time!) I wore safety glasses, as even they were fogging up a little. I was feeling pretty good in the section until I clipped my right knee on a tree, same knee I banged up at the Jack Pine. It spun me around and knocked me off the bike. I went to stand up and it was a no-go with any weight on the right leg. Thought “damn… out of the race in the first section”. I quickly dove into my fanny pack and threw down 800mg of Motrin, hoping to keep the swelling down. I hobbled onto the bike with the thought to at least creep down the trail and keep the weight off my knee. After a few miles or so I started feeling better, or the adrenaline was kicking in, so I picked up the pace a little. Needed to finish the race. :bang:
Arrived at the restart of the second section with about 20 minutes to spare. B/C’s were off to the right, with A’s on the left and on a different schedule. We merged soon after the restart, and I had 2 A riders just ahead of me. I thought I’d see how long I could keep them in my sights, and I must have lucked out with a couple of the slower A riders. I eventually caught and passed them, and was flying in this section… it was more open. This is where bad crash #2 happened.
There was a large tree that had broken off about 7’ up, but was still connected at the trunk. It hung across the trail at about a 30° angle from the trunk, but did have a black and white danger sign. Well, I was clipping along at a good pace (3rd gear), and went to duck under the tree as I passed underneath it. WHAM! It must have hit me just above the visor, and violently removed me from the bike. I’m surprised I wasn’t knocked out or didn’t break my neck. I landed on my left side, and was immediately numb from the neck down to my left hand… just that side. I was pretty scared and shook up, so just laid there to make sure I could move. I slowly got up and started moving to make sure that I still could. This is where the first several rows behind me passed on by. I was standing, but hurting, so got back on the bike to just crawl down the trail. Soon after that I came around a right-hand turn that led down a slick, twisty downhill. As soon as I turned right, the trail went left a little, and still not feeling quite right, I couldn’t turn the bike. I proceeded to careen down a steep, tree filled ravine. Feet came off the pegs in a panic reaction, and I bailed off the bike just before hitting a tree head on. The bike went to the left and got wedged under a fallen set of trees, and I hit the tree hard with the front of my helmet. I was surprised again that I wasn’t knocked out. There must have been a branch, or maybe it was my handlebar, but something hit my safety glasses hard, and knocked them off my face in the crash. I got up, couldn’t find the glasses, and had blood pouring down my face. Now the rest of the single-digit rows were passing me by. At this point I was down a ravine and off to the far right side of the trail. There was no way the bike was going back up, so I dragged it back, up, and over the fallen trees, trying to make my way down and to the left to get back on the course. Up and over a few more fallen trees, and I made it. Went back up the hill to search for the glasses, and eventually found them. A lot of riders did notice me off in the deep stuff and asked if I was OK. Unfortunately none of them had a winch, tow strap, or anything to stitch my face with. I was offered a spark plug though. :cool:
By now I’m pissed, hurt, exhausted, and really disappointed. Now it’s just about getting back to staging. I remembered the good advice from Young Ted… “The first rule in Enduros is to finish”, so off I went. Made it back to staging, and got the cut cleaned up and bandaged. Now it was off to the third section.
Now the third section was a fast, sweeping course out in the plains area, and was an absolute blast. I got my second wind out here, and had a great time…. Didn’t want it to end. After the checkout, there was a little moon rock section with gas available and some spectators…. What a rush riding through the end of that section with people scattered up on the rocks… felt like pro rider! This would have been a nice way to finish off the day.
I was pretty amped coming out of the third section, so was hot-dogging it to the restart of the fourth section. Went over a moon rock that had an off-camber downside, and my backend slid out, and promptly put me on my ass. Nice reality check for this spode. Got to the fourth restart, and realized that my rear brake pedal was bent up. Must have happened when I low-sided off the moon rock. The pedal was way up on the side of the case, above my foot. I tried bending it back down with the few minutes I had to spare, but it wouldn’t move. Damn. So off I go into the fourth section, which was some more moon rocks, and a tighter, more gnarly, technical course. My foot kept getting hung up under the brake pedal, and I was limited to pretty much front brakes only. Not too bad for the technical climbs, but the slow, tight, downhill, nasty stuff was friggin’ stressful and exhausting. A third of the way through I was completely tapped out of energy, and was just concerned with getting through it without getting hurt or plunging off the side of section…. Not much room for mistakes here, and a mistake costs you big-time.
I finally get to an OB manned by Jabba the Nick. I politely asked him how to get out of this god-forsaken hell hole… or something to that effect. He pointed to the arrows, and said “… Follow ‘dem”. Sage advice from an enduro war veteran. It was a slow, brutal, exhausting pace to the finished, and I just crawled along. It would have been nice (and a lot safer) to have the 4th section as the 3rd, and save the plains for the last section. You can go fast or slow on the plains depending on how you’re holding up, but you won’t get hurt like you could in that moon rock / AA section.
In the end I was extremely glad that I finished, although a few bad mistakes cost me a lot of time and energy. I suspect a lot of guys didn’t come back this year because of last year, and there are even some who came this year that won’t be back as well. But I will….
Overall, the course was marked very well, including the mixing bowl at staging. It’s good to clearly mark “1st Loop This Way”, “2nd Loop That Way”, etc. Lots of bike, people, and truck traffic. I only missed a few arrows…. Early on heavy, wet leaves were blocking some, and right near the clear cut section where you were supposed to veer off to the right (missed arrows at the exact same spot 2 years ago). The moon rock section was also lacking in orange spray paint and arrows to clearly point you to the right direction as you climbed to the top of rock section. Spent some time searching for the trail at the top, and there wasn’t always enough notice as you approached the top as to which way you should be shooting for.
The weather and trail conditions were perfect. Shame on those who missed out because of weather.com. It was slick in first section, and the moon rocks were a little slicker than in years past, but the traction out in the plains was sweet!
Thanks to all the volunteers and club members who put this on. You guys really hit the mark this year (and not just because I finished!) and had the right mix of terrain and section length. Definitely easier for C riders, and the B section didn’t discourage me too much from coming back next year.
The really nice part of the weekend was not having to rush out after awards. The place cleared out, the clouds parted, and we had a beautiful sunset that evening. It was very peaceful being out there. Hooked up with a national B-Senior rider and his 9 year old son, along with Dick Liberty, his 2 sons, and their buddy. Dick was a great trail host, taking all of us out with the boys to ride part of the 4th section. His boys are excellent riders, and very experienced riding the technical stuff. Zach had a small taste of moon rocks and getting through some gnarly stuff… we had a great time hitting that section, then railing some of the plains trail on the way back. Put in about 23 miles on Monday.
Some Pics
http://wurx.com/Albums/2006_Loose_Moose?page=1
Slideshow
http://wurx.com/Albums/slideshow.php?set_albumName=2006_Loose_Moose
(...scroll down for pic captions)
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