Trainrobbers Enduro

justql

Sponsoring Member<BR>Club Moderator
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Oct 23, 2000
2,873
0
My weekend started off late, with me finishing up an interview with a prospective employee at 5:00 Friday. I head home to find the wife sitting and waiting. She was suppose to be already gone. She said that the trucking company had called and that the 01 Gas Gas would be at the house any minute. I told her good bye and she headed to Oklahoma to spend the weekend at her moms. Around 5:30 the truck shows up, I unload the bike and begin uncrating it. Funny thing was the delivery driver helped me uncrate it. He was curious what a Gas Gas was. I finally got the bars on it around 6:00 and took a quick two minute ride around the yard and up the street.
After parking the bike I jumped in the truck and made a flying trip to Stillwater OK for a meeting of the Stillwater Trailrdiers, the club I'm a member of that puts on the enduro which I serve as Enduro Chairman. After the meeting I made the trip back north and got home at a little after 10:00. I loaded the GasGasi and hit the bed around midnight.

6:30 am and the alarm sounds. I'm out the door soon enough and on the road to the workday at the 500, our riding area. A great crew showed up. Lots of good work done rerouting around the puddles and cutting face slappers. Chuck Cooper, a really fast 520 KTM rider who is trail boss of our enduro takes me on a loop to show me the complete loop. Chuck who had his 520 and two other new KTM's stolen at the Dallas SX is riding a basically new bike. After I had showed him the new GG 300 and bragged that it outta have alot of power he ask if I had ever ridden a 520, I replied with a dissapointing no. That was all it took and he offered up his new ride. We took off him on the 300 which I had never riidded really and me on the 520 after 15 miles or so we stop and talk about the bikes, then laugh at the fact he has riiden my new bike more than me. We switch back and head back to the trucks.

Craig_enid and I load up his bike with the GasGasi and head out around 3:00. We have an uneventful trip to Arkansas. we arrive in camp about 10:30 that night. We quickly set up the tent and hit the sleeping bags. The nice quiet sound of the woods.............oh uh scratch that, did I say the camp was crowded and there were generators. :eek:

Sometime in the middle of the night I was attacked by a killer June Bug, my finger hurt like crazy from where the thing bit me.
5:45 am Sunday finds me nor Craig real eager to get up. We finally get up a little after six and make our way to sign up. Row 57 is the first available row with two spots. With the dry trails it should be fine so we head back to the truck to finish getting ready.

On the almost eight hour trip to Arkansas we had discussed how we must be crazy and our lack of enthusiasm. Mine conrtinued this morning while Craig was a little more pumped about the ride.

The first four miles were terrible for me., I bounced off of trees, slid around, bobbled cursed, arms pumped till I could feel nothing. i hated it. I dropped FOUR minuted at the first check. At that point I thought this'll probably be a big fat DNF before it's done. I finally felt a little better on some of the more open stuff and continued on.
I started the second loop and had a great time the first ten miles of it. Really got my second wind, things just went good. I hit the wall around mile forty and went into survival mode for the rest of the day.
I dropped 51 sticking points. They missed named this thing, it's not an enduro it was a frigging Hare Scramble, with my only rest coming at the Gas stop.

We were done and loaded up and on the way home by 1:30. I arrived at home in Kansas around 10:15 after stopping to wash the GasGAsi.
The trip with Craig was great as usual, the workday was great, the KTM 520 was awesome. The trails were as good as they could be at Trainrobbers. I just wish they would've given us a couple of more resets. It got hot before I was finished.
 
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craig_enid

Member
Mar 23, 2000
872
0
The enduro turned into a harescramble for Justql, it turned into a trail ride, for me. I spent Saturday with my daughter trimming trail at Stillwater, and plunking around behind her. Subsequently, when I wicked it up at the start of the enduro, there was quite a bit of bogging, sputtering, and general lack of speed. I was about to dismount and start changing the plug when it cleared out. I was soon up to my usual slow speed. As a matter of fact, I dropped points at every check. Every reset I hit, my free time was already used up, so I decided to just enjoy the trail, this day.
We were on row 57 of 63, I think, so I soon had the trail to myself. I find the attitude so much more friendly on the later rows. We know we're just spodes out for a good ride.
Area was beautiful. Trails were tight, and there wasn't too many places you could let your mind wander. Overall, conditions were great. It was a little dusty at some spots, and a little wet in others, with the bulk of the trail being perfect.
ADR had a water station set up at the 40-44 mile reset. Three 5 gallon jugs of iced water. I checked my time, saw I was only 15 minutes behind, so I pulled off the helmet and took a break. Several other riders showed up and we bantered a little as we swigged the cold water, and caught our breath.
I must be getting old, 'cause I don't know if I'd make the trip by myself, anymore. Thanks to Jutql for the ride and the company. Plus the bugs attack him, instead of me....
All in all, it was a good race. The course beat me, again, but... "I'll be back".
 
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