I don't know if I told you this or not but I have several little girls myself. Gonna have to pick your brain about getting them into racing. See ya at Bartow brah if I don't see you at Croom before then.
Enduros....have a habit of kicking my ass. I've tried 2 over the years and failed to finish either one. At 62+ miles they are a challenge to figure out how to pace myself and finish so when I heard about the LBJ in in South Carolina being "the one to do" I was intrigued. Labor day weekend myself and 2 other guys(Randy and Jack) made the trip 9 hrs north to see if it was true. With 5 riders to a row spaced at one minute intervals enduros are a different beast. Compared to hare scrambles where 15+ guys all start at the same time they are a more solitary endeavor. Our group was on row 14 so that meant at 9:14 Sunday morning we were released into the wild woods of hilly SC with hope and ignorance on our side. Simply put the trail was awesome! Conditions conspired to give us little dust yet little mud as the moist clay offered oodles of traction to us noobs form the south. I was soon at the 2nd check out right as my row was scheduled to go off. This would be the only instance I would be "on time" against the 30mph average all day..another words every following check to the end I would never get a break.. My goal was to not hour out, meaning I would never fall more than 60 minutes behind the average and my race ending. So I just rode. Not really fast, but not really slow. The hardwoods offered shade and a decent temp as I put miles behind me. Soon I came upon one of a dozen or more bridges that are used to cross the steeper ditches. This particular one had a hill that started just past the end of it so I applied some gas and prepared to climb...or not. It seems those bridges are under that nice cool, moist canopy of trees all year also...and veeeeery slippery. Just as I was getting near the end of it my rear tire broke traction and over the side I went !!!:eek1 I was thinking "I can't believe I just did that" as my front fender was ripped off by the edge of the bank and the bike/myself tumbled to the creek bed 6ft below. I've driven too far to have this cr@p happen in the first 5 miles! I was picking up the bike just as a rider rode by above and when glancing down asked "Holy $hit are you alright???". I was.. luckily.. but now how do i get out of this creek? I rode down 20 yds until I found a gradual enough slope to get out. I ripped my score card off the front fender, tucked it in my waistband, and took off hoping this was the worst thing to happen that day. Wishful thinking. Took a while but I soon got used to seeing my front tire spinning in front of me. The spectators would laugh as I rolled by and the look on the check point volunteers faces was priceless as they would walk up with pen in hand ready to write down my score only to freeze unable to process the fact I didn't have a card, or a fender for that matter.. "14D..put me in the back-up book!" was the my opening statement there on out. Uphill, downhill, off camber, you name it this trail had it. Nothing really that intimidating, just miles and miles of it. Charlie Mullins (#1 national enduro rider for KTM) came by me several times during the day just to remind me how fast looks. Right before the gas stop (roughly 1/2 way point) my day got worse as I went over the bars on a down hill right hander. As I hid the ground I felt my helmet bottom out on my Leatt neck brace to the point my throat was sore the next day from the chin strap pulling on it! As my feet made their way over my head I felt an excruciating pain in my right leg. I knew right away I had pulled my hamstring..sigh..this is going to be a long afternoon. I struggled to get the bike picked up and soon it started and I was back riding...painfully. The problem was I couldn't stand up on the pegs. Every little bump, dip,root was going to be transmitted through my poor ass. It didn't deserve this but if I wanted to finally finish one of these that was the way it was going to be. The gas stop came and went as I quickly ate a few energy bars and a large gatorade. I was losing time but I had to eat something. The next 25 miles were slowly put behind me. Cramping was something new to me but was annoyingly apparent the last 5 miles. There were a few turns that happened right near the edge of a step drop..I had to tell my self to not look down. There was one really sketchy bridge that was 2ft wide with a slight kink in the middle over a deep part. I swear i felt it moving beneath me:eek1 as i passed over. Enventually I pulled up to yet another check only to be told " That's it, it's over "... 4+ hours of riding yet the feeling of finally finishing one was so sweet as I rode a parade lap around the parking lot showing off my modified ride and telling my story. No trophy and a horrible finishing position but the key word is Finish !! C Super Senior (45+) - Check-by-Check Score by Place Event Place FTRE# Rider Name Brand Row 1 56259A James Waldron 6E 0 0 17/1046 0 23/1381 0 13 0 18 0 29 11 100/2427 2 58639A Matthew Covey 47C 0 0 19/1115 0 28/1699 11 24 9 26 7 36 11 160/2814 3 58839A Steve Whitfield 71B 0 0 21/1272 1 34/2028 13 29 13 36 18 48 11 213/3300 4 56638A Troy Stainbrook 14D 0 0 18/1109 14 31/1889 13 27 11 36 17 48 11 215/2998 5 58501A Jack Hatfield 14B 0 0 23/1358 6 41/2488 25 42 26 48 30 10 241/3846 6 56353A Don Chriss 52E 0 0 17/1005 0 21/1267 5 17 3 8 63/22
You finished All that matters. How many people you know can even say thet entered? 30mph average.. I think 75% of ours are 18mph adn I can only do about 10.. but it beats watching tv
I think 325 entered and 60 didn't finish/hour'd out so I figure I"m at least 265th place. Ours are usually 24 mph average.
Well done to finish. A few comments: Surprised a C rider would be on Row 14. ECEA puts C riders at the back of the AA/A/B pre-entries. Makes it easier to get out of there way. Impressed with the keep going. Brutal when the resets aren't enough to catch you up. No break, no nothing, just keep riding. Well done "14D..put me in the back-up book!" I would have said "I run without it, better aerodynamics!"
Thanks guys..I wanted to finish so I'd never have to do one again! Here's a video of some of the trail. As far as the line choice it's first come first serve (I pre-entered). Pros are generally row 21 and back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUKwkV9XsuA
First HS of the year is this weekend! New property so everyone's excited Haley changed her # to the same as mine and I told her she's one brave kid for doing it. I'll be in SUPER senior this year so I hope those guys are slower.:eek1
I loved your story of finally finishing an enduro. It is a familiar tale. I entered several in the 1970's in district 36. Once I finished my first, I was done with those darn things! 15 minute motos were a lot easier.
Heading down tomorrow, gonna sign up Early and go through tech hopefully. Watch the kids race in the morning. I'll see if I can track ya down and say hey ! Good luck Sunday buddy. We should be in the same class
There ya go buddy, you had a good day sunday ! Mikes buddy has a ton of photos that should be available any day.
Thanks my man ! Not a bad day for yourself either. I'll put a report out once I get the photos of Haley.
Finally it's here, the first HS race of the season! Central Florida Trail Riders (CFTR) was the hosting club and they had acquired a new piece of property in Bartow,Fl. After the first race being cancelled due to water issues a month ago all of FTR was chomping at the bit to start the season and the turnout reflected that with a packed parking area. Sat course is 7 miles and Sunday is 10. Saturday dawned with clear skies after steady rain on Friday night. Haley headed out for practice lap and I waited....and waited...and waited. Much later than I was comfortable with she rolled in with the report that she had gotten stuck 4 or 5 times and wasn't going to race..it was unsafe,no fun,etc. I left her alone as the morning marched on as I heard about some re-routes around the rougher areas. Between myself telling her the course would dry out/reroutes, the only way to learn to ride in mud is to....ride in mud, and her mother telling her she had paid 50$ and Haley was going to do at least one lap like it or not, soon she was on the line. She got a good start and headed off to see what fate held for her. After all the worrying that took place on the practice lap I was surprisingly calm as I waited for her to pop out of the woods..there she is! She was actually looking focused as she headed out for lap 2..then lap 3. Seems the course had gotten much better and she was having fun! Race over, fun had, and the thanks to her mother for making her ride completed. EE soft seat was a big hit too. 1 24 Gabriel Rodriguez KTM Port St Lucie, FL 50 10 4 1:15:17 2 196 Matthew Hawkins Honda Tavares, FL 47 5 4 1:18:22 3 51 Blaine Nicholas Honda , FL 45 4 4 1:19:30 4 17 Benjamin Strausbaugh KTM Ft Myers, FL 43 3 4 1:19:41 5 31 Jake Alsup KTM North Port, FL 41 2 4 1:19:43 6 54 Brandon Groover Kawasaki Palm City, FL 40 0 4 1:21:15 7 78 Logan Branton Yamaha Mount Dora, FL 39 0 4 1:23:56 8 218 Cody Weiss Yamaha Oakland Park, FL 38 0 4 1:24:49 9 133 Brandon Griffith Yamaha Avon Park, FL 37 0 4 1:25:51 10 40 Anthony Depietto Honda Ft Lauderdale, FL 36 0 4 1:26:52 11 519 Kieran Thaler KTM Deerfield Beach, FL 35 0 4 1:27:21 12 132 Alexaner (Alec) Hermans Yamaha W Palm Beach, FL 34 0 4 1:27:49 13 23 Clay Levell Honda Sarasota, FL 33 0 4 1:28:31 14 153 Alyssa Mieszczenski Honda Palm Beach Gardens, FL 32 0 4 1:28:39 15 20 Clayton Anderson Honda Bartow, FL 31 0 3 1:09:05 16 199 Daniel Perez Honda Orlando, FL 30 0 3 1:10:10 17 117 Haley Schell KTM Odessa, FL 29 0 3 1:13:32 18 41 Beau Smith KTM Ft. Lauderdale, FL 28 0 3 1:14:08 19 661 Iain Plommer Kawasaki Naples, FL 14 0 2 0:42:58 20 197 Patrick Fitzgerald Suzuki Apopka, FL 13 0 2 0:44:42 DNF 142 Kye Jacobsen Yamaha Daytona Beach, FL 0 0 0 0:00:0 The rain gods were kind the rest of Sat as we stayed dry and the course got better for my Sunday 10:30 race start. I have moved up to the Super senior class this year as my plan to not get faster just older continues full speed. I'll be racing guys 45-50 yrs old so maybe I'll get better finishes...or not. Our line is full with 19 guys as the horn blows and I'm off. Good start puts me top five after the first few corners. (Notice new white fender after enduro creek dive):huh The course is rough at times but more importantly..fast ! I like those kind as I suck at corners and I'm soon through after 2 laps in a solid 5th. I'm passed by Frank G. (#325) who is a race winner and fast guy in the class. I keep up for a few miles hoping to get a pull from him and it's working. I lose him in a tighter section as I come up on a slower rider in a bad spot but I gain some confidence. After a while I'm passed by good friend Marcelo D.(#15) and I latch onto him. I'm pacing myself off of him and we run for a few miles as we come up on one of many muddy ditches. Marcelo dives in just as he hits the shifter with his foot and finds neutral...diver down! I hear him cursing as he is thrown off into the manure-infused mix and I chuckle inside as I ride off thinking I'll never see him again....or not. The club is doing a great job of rerouting us around the widening mud holes and whooped out sections as i try and look for new lines. Lap 3 is almost over when I'm passed by #712 on a Honda..he's fast. After we pull through the chicane to start the 4th and last lap #712 pulls over like he's done for the day so I'm back to 5th. I start riding conservative...don't screw this up I think. 3/4's of the way through lap 4 I come up on a mud hole I just blasted through before, but now follow a slower rider to the left and seemingly safer route. He stopped for a second and now I'm screwed as I had forgotten to down shift and am stuck in 4th. The mud is so thick I can't rock the bike to drop down gears so I get off the bike and try to use my hand to downshift...by goes Marcelo (#15)...cr@p now I'm out of the trophy hunt !!! In what seems like forever I finally get going knowing I have to track #15 back down and pass him in what little times left. A mile or 2 later I'm back on his heels so I decide to just sit behind him and wait hoping he's make or a mistake I could capitalize on. 1/4 mile to go and he let's off just for a second and I'm ready..on the gas and the pass is made! Keep it together to the finish and.. Finally got one in the "B" class ! so tired but it feels so good. The magnetic screw/bolt holder is now stuck to the fridge at the house as a reminder how good the weekend was. Hope the rest of the season goes as well for us both. Until the next race, Haley and Troy 1 575 Cary West KTM Palatka, FL 50 10 4 1:50:25 2 325 Frank Gamperl KTM Deerfield Beach, FL 47 5 4 1:52:06 3 2 Ken (John) Hardiman KTM Seminole, FL 45 4 4 1:52:17 4 212 Kai Ramadan KTM West Palm Beach, FL 43 3 4 1:54:27 5 117 Troy Stainbrook KTM Odessa, FL 41 2 4 1:55:34 6 15 Marcelo Dadone KTM Aventura, FL 40 0 4 1:55:45 7 42 David McArthur Yamaha Cocoa, FL 39 0 4 1:58:54 8 712 David McDaniel Honda Bradenton, FL 38 0 3 1:24:46 9 17 Todd Strausbaugh KTM Ft Myers, FL 37 0 3 1:27:08 10 60 Lou Tunno KTM Boca Raton, FL 36 0 3 1:27:20 11 544 Kent Liggett KTM , FL 35 0 3 1:29:34 12 863 Troy Weeks Kawasaki Wauchula, FL 34 0 3 1:30:54 13 4 Kurt Drummond KTM Port Richey, FL 33 0 3 1:31:33 14 664 Mike Veach KTM Tampa, FL 32 0 3 1:32:37 15 35 Daniel Holder KTM Apopka, FL 31 0 3 1:41:04 16 24 Don Chriss KTM Orlando, FL 15 0 2 0:54:25 17 770 Jochy Gomez KTM Lakeland, FL 14 0 2 1:05:22 18 811 George Pollard KTM Port Saint Lucie, FL 7 0 1 0:30:20 19 8 Levic Allen Honda Valrico, FL 7 0 1 0:36:36
