Rattlesnake Enduro - Fun, sun and (cough) DUST.(LONG)

LoriKTM and I rode the Rattlesnake enduro in Cross Fork, PA. Lori has been working hard to try and finish these enduros. She usually hours out about halfway through. Her first enduro finish came at last years Beehive enduro in southern New Jersey. Which was very cool for her but didn't quite count as a "real" east coast enduro finish since its south Jersey and EVERYBODY finishes the Beehive, it really truly is C rider friendly.

Lori and I rode the 'Snake like 4 years ago and she only made it 1/2 way before the combination of heat and trail wore her out so bad she could barely stay on her bike. The Rattlesnake is usually one of the easier east coast events but has enough rock and tight trees to qualify as a "real" east coast enduro. (At least by our standards:)). This year Lori was riding to finish and make as many resets as possible with time to spare.

You pretty much have to camp when you go to the 'Snake because it is seriously out in the middle of nowhere PA. Plus the town is super tiny, so there aren't a lot of hotel rooms to be had. That's OK though 'cause its usually plenty warm enough to camp and BER knows how to entertain the campers.

We pulled in about mid-afternoon and cruised the pits looking for other STER club members after bumping into the 2nd carload of club members to arrive we settled on a spot and set up camp. After awhile we've got 5 or 6 carloads of riders and families. I have a moment of panic when I realize that the headlight on my KTM isn't working. :yikes: Lori verifies that the taillight is OK, so I pull the headlight and discover that at some point an impact had pushed the headlight against the steering stem and bent off one of the terminals on the head lamp. I twist the connector around to cover the other two terminals and use the other element and we're back in business.

At 7:00 BER starts the entertainment.:laugh: Its time for the grass track fiddy race! Parts flew. Stakes were taken out, Riders were taken out, and a blow-up doll won a new tire. A good time was had by all. The BER guys had another treat up their sleeve though, fireworks. Not your HUGE July 4th show but very impressive none the less.

We did keep our eyes open for Farmer John all afternoon and all evening but we never did see him. At this point we're starting to wonder if he's going to make it.

6:30am rolls around, Lori and I have gotten a halfway decent amount of sleep which is about all I can ask for since I rarely sleep well before and enduro. We gear up and go get some pancakes. Lori's cant finish her pancakes on account of a raging case of butterflies.

Still no sign of Farmer John.

We got signed up on minute 36 so about 20 after 8 we're fired up and headed to the line for tech and the start. The other two riders on our minute are bereft of clue. I give them a few quick pointers, or at least as much help as I can give two guys with virtually no timekeeping equipment four minutes before we start.

We pull up to the line and 5..4..3..2..1..and we're off at a 24mph speed average, eep. A quick shuffle through 30 yards worth of trees and I break out into the huge grasstrack, time to moto. I check my computer a couple of times on the grasstrack and I'm not only still on my minute but I'm making up time, suhweeeeet. Man is this grass track ever long, (cough) and dusty. We have been having a really dry summer and there is a standing cloud of dust over most of the grass track. The track seems to end in a straightaway along a line of pines which ends in a sharp left into the trees. Its like a tunnel in here, pines to the right pines to the left and planted in arrow straight rows. after a couple of sharp tight turns the course makes a run down one of the rows and pops out onto . . . MORE GRASSTRACK?!?!?!

OK. more grasstrack. I'm motoring hard trying to avoid getting passed and having to suck a bunch of dust right off the start. We go up and down, 180 left, 180 right, jumping over runoff ridges. A few more turns a long straight and we're into the trees.

Ow man this trail is rough and my forearms are pumping up. Arrrgh. I settle down and try to find my woods groove but the rough trail is beating me up. Now we're dropping minutes. After a bunch of rough beat up trail we are sent down a chute and into a veritable forest of tight planted pine trees. It's dark in here, like riding into a tunnel, and there's very little manuvering room. After a few turns I come up on one of the club guys from minute 33, I recognize him because he's got to be the only one on a Suzuki DRZ dual sport. He crams his bike into the outside of a corner to let me by as I go I give him the club cheer; "No one drinks more beer than Southern Tier."

I pop out of the trees at around mile 6 and lo and behold there's the check. 6 minutes down. Not bad given the physical impossibility of maintaining 24 mph in a half grown pine forest. I roll out of the check and pull up to the reset at mile 6.5. It's a 20 minute reset, the first of six we would get, so I've got plenty of time to adjust my computer and wait for lori to pop out of the trees.

While I'm waiting I try to clear my arm pump by holding my arms up over my head and opening and closing my hands. The section of trail I'm sitting on while I do this is along side one part of the grasstrack, I get to sit there in the dust as the last of the minutes work their way through. I'm glad when after just a couple of minutes I see a sweep rider come over the crest of the hill. He sees me and starts heading my way. I'm still flexing my hands trying to let my forearms bleed down. Doh, the sweep probably thinks I'm signaling for help. I shout "Arm Pump" as he pulls up and he nods and rides off. My arms are starting to feel better tho.

Lori pops out of the trees with plenty of time to spare on the reset so she pulls up for a rest. We confer on our strategy for the rest of the ride, and we agree that I'm going to ride like I do when we trail ride. Ride my pace and periodically stop and wait for her to catch up and then I take off again. This works better than me following her as she gets stressed out from hearing me back there.

Still no sign of Farmer John.

We get a good rest and then fire up and head out as our minute comes up. The next bit is all gravel road so we get a chance to rest. After a while we catch the other two guys on our minute, they had ridden past the reset and were waiting partway into the gravel road section before stopping to figure out whether or not they were on time.

After a while we turn into the woods, zero the check in and go riding into the next major section. It's all tight trees. Precious few passing opportunities (mainly a problem for trying to get out of the way of those coming up behind us). Its fun trail but so tight there's no way were any where close to the 24 mph speed average. We dice our way through. The KTM 450 is very effective, even in these tight quarters, though the weight does make itself appearant when you have to thread the machine through the trees. We're losing time. I watch as the computer counts up to -20:00 and beyond. Well there goes that reset I just hope this section doesn't go on too much longer. We pop out of the trees at 22 minutes down. We get 20 back for the reset immediatly after the check and we're on a road section. WooHoo no problem making up time.

We move out, it's a good long bit of gravel road. After a few minutes we pass the other two guys on our minute again. Only this time they're on the side of the road working on one of the bikes. Bad sign. Another mile or two and we turn on to a paved road with a 45 mph speed limit. We are on zero again in no time. We turn off the blacktop onto another gravel road that climbs up into the hills. After a few minutes we catch a guy who is struggling with a flat tire. The back of his bike is waving all over the road. We're on zero so I hang back to avoid getting pelted with gravel. After another couple of miles of gravel roads we've made it to the 1st gas available and another 20 minute reset. :aj:

(Y'all are just going to have to wait. . .as this is To Be Continued).

Lori is thrilled to have made it to the first gas in time to get the full 20 minutes to rest, fuel and rehydrate. Some of our club members are pitting for us so we have plenty of help. 20 minutes slips by and its time to get back on the trail.

Still no sign of Farmer John.

The next section starts off with a start control. We pull up to the flags and wait for our minute to come up, we notice that we one bike short one of our newbies is either really late or has dropped out. Minute 36 come up and we take off, the trail is ATV wide, fast and rocky. It turns back towards the trucks at the gas and begins going through a series of hill climbs and descents. Spectators line the trail for the next little bit. Then we dip back into the tight trees. This is a mix of fun trail and tight trees and we're doing well. I keep whooping at Lori trying to keep her motivation and energy level up. We catch and pass a couple of slower riders on minutes ahead of us.

We come into a rugged and somewhat more open area, I'm well ahead of Lori when I tag a large rock with my rear wheel. The back of the bike hops and swings out to the right. For a moment I'm visualizing a nasty high-side then the back of the bike slams into a tree on the side of the trail. The impact bounces me back into shape, I throttle on and keep riding without a second thought. When we got home I discovered that the impact snapped the fender extension off just under the tail light taking my license plate with it. Doh!

Some time later we catch up with Chuck, the STER clubber with the DRZ 400 dual sport. We're in a tight tree section and Chuck is having a tough time. He lets me by and I motor off into a nightmarish section tight trees and loose 5-6 inch square rocks. Not a few rocks, lots of rocks, like somebody was making a gravel driveway with oversized gravel.

On the far side of the rocks we get back onto more normal trail. I ride into a 90 degree right that a lot of riders are missing so I stop and wait for Lori. And wait, and wait, and wait. Bikes are going by and minutes are counting down. There are so many KTMs I cant tell if Lori has passed me with out me recognizing her. I ride back a ways parallel to the trail calling out for Lori at the top of my lungs. No answer. Now I'm thinking that she went by me in a cluster of riders. She hasn't been this late yet, even after a tip over. I whip around and speed off down the trail. Several minutes later I arrive at the check more than 20 minutes late.

I roll into the reset looking for Lori. She's not there. She must still be behind me. So I wait.

To be continued.

Lori rolls in and we're 8 minutes down after the 20 minute reset. She looks beat so I tell her to take a couple to collect her wits. She asks how far down we are and I tell her. Lori takes a breather and a couple of swigs off of her camelback and we start back off on the trail.

Lori tell me later that she spotted Farmer John on the trail and then again at the reset.

We need roads, we get and 18 mph speed average and jeep and ATV wide trails, but they are intermittantly full of rocks. I'm pushing to make up time and for a while we do. Then the trail starts getting more rocky and we're working hard just to stay where we're at. I start heading down a rocky down hill that is turning to the left when all of a sudden I see a blue fender hurtling through the air in front of me. I round the corner a bit more and there's Chuck again, stopped, without his front fender. I stop and ask if he's OK. He says he's allright aside from the MIA bodywork so I head on down the trail.

Chuck catches up to me as I'm adjusting my mileage at a corner. Now that he has his wits about him he's moving faster than Lori. Lori catches up and we continue down the trail. The rocks are sapping our energy bad. The previous section was a long one and we didn't get to rest much at the reset. Lori is riding tough though and with one final section of tight trees we hit another check and roll into the gas.

We have 5 minutes and 30 seconds before we are scheduled to leave. We quick throw gas in the bikes grab some liquids and are back underway. Much thanks go to Matt for pitting for us and the other club guys, it really is a huge help.

Our minute comes up and we're off again. Gravel road until about mile 92 where there is a turn into a woods trail. I have been having to adjust my computer a fair amount the whole ride. I've been thinking that my wheel size may not be 100% accurate. Hopefully it's close enough. We come to the turn at mile 92 and I adjust the computer, pause for a moment and then head into the woods. less than 100 yards in there's a check and, Eeep, the cards are still on 35. I quick stand up and bust out my best slow ride. I'm not allowed to weave or stop and put a foot down but I can ride slow straight for the flags and hope that my minute comes up before I get there. Slow. Slow. Slow. Slow. They turn the card and wave us in. Whew a zero. They mark our cards and we dive into another woods section.

This is a fun section and I'm having a good time despite the fact that we're nearing the end of the race. This part is smoother with less rock than the last sections. Lori is doing well too. However the section is fairly long and we check though the back side still 10 minutes down after the last reset.

Fortunately we have a lot of road ahead of us. We're slowly making time back up as we work our way down several gravel roads and onto a short stretch of pavement. Here we encounter the only rattlesnake I've seen all day. He's road pizza but I can tell as I zoom by that its definitely a rattler.

Still trying to make up time we turn off the pavement and back onto gravel roads. This is a neat one that climbs through a dark ravine up towards the top of the hill. I'm periodically passing whole minutes worth of riders as I work my way back up to our minute. Lori is now experiencing major brain and body fade and is falling back a bit. I recognize where we are and I can tell that we are headed back to the campground. Just one trip around the grass track and were done!

I enter the camp grounds and ride to within sight of the grasstrack which is almost impossible to see as it is obscured by a thick, dull orange dust cloud. Yeah, this will be fun. I follow the trail along the edge of the grass track. They're running us backwards so we get to start with the dark maze of overgrown Christmas trees and that rough trail from the morning. Ugh.

I roll into the trees, passing a WR426 who is just spinning his electric starter without much effect. After about a mile of trees I hit a short chute, a right turn and a check. 37 not bad.

Another couple of easy straights and its back onto that rough woods trail. I'm fading fast but still trying to push a good pace here at the end. I'm carefully trying to pick the smoothest lines as I'm nearing the exhaustion point and my hands are starting to hurt. My attention fades for a moment and I low-side a corner. I'm to tired to get mad or even say, "Doh!" I pick the bike up and thumb the starter and I'm back underway. I REALLY like electric start at times like this. I have a few tenths of really ragged riding before I get back in my groove but I manage to get out of the woods and onto the grasstrack without any more stupid manuvers.

A near miracle occurs as I roll onto the grasstrack. The dust has largely cleared and I manage to circulate the track with good vision and no lungfuls of central PA's finest topsoil. Woo. Fatigue nearly bites me again though as I hit the first jump on the track. My throttle hand is lazy and the bike noses over into a scary front wheel landing. Yikes, note to self watch those jumps don't need any ugly crashes now.

A couple miles later and I'm ever so relieved to make it to the finish and turn in my card. Enduro finishes always seem anti-climactic, you have no idea where you finished and you're usually just glad its over.

I park my bike and crash into a chair under our canopy. It's hot out, probably mid 80's and I'm whipped that last bit took the last of my energy. I sit there watching for Lori. At last I see her and I walk up to the ribbon to cheer her on as she goes by. She's beat, I can tell from watching her ride, but she makes it to the finish and gets a cheer from the rest of the STER guys who are waiting there.

We're tired and we take our time packing up in the heat. Matt cooks us some burgers and we eventually get everything back in the trailer. We drive the truck up the hill to the pavilion to check on the scores. Hey we both got wood, Lori earns a third in the Womens class with 109 points I get a 2nd (out of 2) in C 4 stroke with my 96 point card.

All in all we had a great time. :) Good weather, good trail, and Lori finished a non-Jersey enduro without assistance.

I never did see Farmer John.

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Problem: Feet are cold and wet, glass is empty.

Cause: Improper use of glass.

Solution: Turn glass so that open end points to the celing and refill.

Sorry FJ, I think I remember the spot, I was waiting for Lori on the outside of a corner and totally didn't recognize you in your gear.


RM_Nancy, anytime you want to to get spanked like a red-headed step child at an enduro just name the event. I use maple trees for toothpicks and girly men like you for traction.:aj:

Wintermute
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Enduros; Those who can do, those who can't talk smack about those who can in online forums.:nener::laugh: