Magellan

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Mar 14, 2001
193
2
Well, this was my first real enduro. I ran the beginner enduro in Shelton 2 or 3 years ago. Then I had a son and finding time to ride my bike was difficult. Well, he's over 2 now and I'm starting to get some weekends back! So a few weeks before the Black Bear, I decided to ride it.

First, I had to get my bike ready. I'd only taken it on a few trail rides the last 2 years, and it was showing some neglect. I ordered up some fresh rubber, new chain and sprockets, and then stripped 'er down to check the conditions of the bearings in the wheels and swingarm.

Thins were OK except for the front wheel. I had to pound the axle out due to corrosion between the axle and the sleeve. Well, I got it out and replaced the bearings since they were out.

While the wheels were off I through them on a truing stand and trued them. I got the back pretty straight (well within spec), and got the front almost as good. I realized that that crash I had a while back did more damage to the rim then I thought, and the flat spot was hard to work with, but I got it pretty straight.

I mounted the tires and went to put the front wheel back in. I noticed I was having as much trouble putting the axle in as I did taking it out. A quick roll down the workbench showed it was bent. Wow, I guess that was a hard crash after all. Off to Yamaha for a new axle.

Hmmm. I need an odometer. I had gotten mud in my odo drive a while back and it wore out the gears. $90 for a new drive from Yamaha, or $80 for the Endurance computer from Trail Tech. Being a gadget guy, I opted for the TT unit.

Bike back together, speedo/odo mounted, and I'm off for a test ride. SH$T. No juice in the battery and Yamaha didn't include a kick starter on the TTR250. So my buddy pushes me a couple of times that day and when I get home I order a battery. Another $50. This is getting spendy.

But, I'm ready (or at least my bike is) to go. I contact Dean of Cascade MC Club to get the details. Nice guy. He asks which course and class. I tell him I'm a beginner and want to run the long course. He tells my beginners don't run the long course. I take his advice. I get a flyer in the mail with a note that my key time is 8:59 and he signed me up in advance so I got the discount. Just pay at the race...

Day before the ride...
I get the bike loaded, load my gear and then head to my bud's surprise b-day party. Mental note: don't drink too much.
I do OK at controlling myself and am on the way home by 10pm. Gotta stop for a battery for the cheap clock I have taped to my handlebars. What size was it? Oh well, I bought three batteries and another clock just in case none of them work. One does, so I've got 2 batteries and a clock to return.

Next morning....
Wake up at 4am. Don;t have to be up for another 30 minutes. Back to sleep till the alarm goes off...Open my eyes and oh sh$t, it's 5:15. Now I'm running 45 minutes late.

Roll out of bead, jump in the Jeep, and I'm off. Good thing I was loaded up and ready to go. Foggy morning hampers my ability to make up lost time. I make it to Capitol Forest outside Olympia Washington in about 2 hours (it's about 120 miles from Portland) and have enough time to unload my bike, sign up, and just make the riders meeting.

Now I have about an hour to get ready to ride.

Ok, now the ride report (I know, it took a while to get here)...

I'm in the C class and riding the short course.
My minute comes up and I'm off. Conditions are great after a few days of rain and I'm loving the ride. I zero the first check (hey, this isn't so hard), then get so wrapped up in riding in a new area that I forget to watch my time and before I know it I'm early to check 2 by about 20 sec. Damn...That's no good.

The next section is a bit tougher and includes a long rocky, rooted, sloppy hill. the guy in front of my gets stuck and I stop too cause he's in my line. I burn a minute waiting for him to get going and then I'm off without too much trouble. It's a long section and I show up at the next check 6 minutes late. Got my card marked and I'm off like a herd of turtles....

Now I'm warm and cruising at a good clip. Nice woods riding for a while. Typical NW stuff. I zero check 3.
I'm having a hard time reading the TT computer because it is mounted too low, so I have to slow down to check my mileage. I also notice that my odo is not calibrated to the course and I find myself doing math as I ride through the woods.

Check 5 comes up and I'm 3 minutes late. I take off from the check determined to make up the time. I do and then some and burn check 6 (41 miles in).

OK, now we get to rest. 15 minutes of free time. I stop log enough to put my jacket in my pack, eat a Cliff bar, and realize I've gone through 100 ozs of water and don't have any in the Jeep. Oh well, I can make it the remaining 15 miles for the short course.

I take off and figure I'll stop and rest when I get close to the next possible. Good thing I left early, cause I missed a turn and had to back track.

As I'm riding I'm thinking, "I don't feel so bad....I could've done the long course."

I show up near the next possible and see two guys waiting on the trail. I stop to talk and burn some time. Next thing I know, I'm late! I take off down the forest road towards the next check and show up 1 minute late. Damn, I should have been paying more attention to the clock.

Off again. The trail has some slippery areas and I drop my bike in a few places. I seem to be feeling the effects of over 3 hours on my bike without much rest. I start to understand the Endurance part of an enduro.

Thinking I'm late I try to make up time and burn another check.

The next section is another long woods section with a 22MPH average. I mile into it I realize there is no way I can keep up the pace, so I forget about the clock and just ride my best. I show up at the last check 19 minutes late. That hurt.

But I was happy to hear the words "this is the last check...follow the arrows back to the start." Now I'm thinking "No way could I have done the long course."

This was the best ride ever. I loved the excitement and mental game of time keeping. I'm planning to run all 5 enduros in the NMA next year. Maybe I'll even get a computer.

Many thanks to the Cascade Family MC Club for a great time!

Oh yeah, I came in 4 of 8 for my class. That includes 2 DNFS. Really, the class could have been split into 2. There were 3 riders all under 20 pts, then me at 35, another at 38, then the 2 DNFS.

I was happy to finish, but want to do better next time. In looking at my scores, I learned 2 things. Overall, I rode fast enough to be competitive. If I can get smarter about the time thing (and don't burn 3 checks), I think I can do OK. The second thing was that I was definitely not as consistent as the good guys. Either I don't have the stamina, or the higher averages separated the poker run guys from the real racers.

Oh yeah, I have tons of respect for you guys on the long course. Maybe next year....
Mag
 
L

LukeRips

That's an awesome report. Keep at it, the hardest part of an enduro is learning how to keep time. It sounds like you've got that part down.
 

KNeese

Member
Nov 19, 2001
110
0
Nice report Magellan. You should definitely come up for the enduro series next year. They are really good events and the clubs do an awesome job with all the enduros.

The Black Bear is one of my favorites each year. The club throws just about everyuthing they can at you as far as timekeeping and racing hard. They always have a good mix of sections.

The long course included more of the technical, rocky, rooted, slippery sections of Capitol Forest while pushing us at 24 for 10 miles of that stuff. I was really late!!! But I then they had a section where I was able to make up and get back on time.

I was totally wiped at 91 miles. They thrashed me good. I rode back to the finish as best I could but I was a couple minutes late at the last check. Oh well, I was just glad to finish.

Good report and good job with 4th place.
 
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