Did my first enduro

[slimtrader]

Hello everyone. Just posting news from my new home in MN. I think I mentioned I am going to Wyoming to ride the "Enyan Kara" enduro on the 20th so my cousin and I thought it would be a good idea to ride a local enduro to tune up for it. I haven't had time to ride this spring with the move and all so this was my first time on the bike in a while. The terrain was wet, muddy, rocky. It was 63 miles of pain and I timed out but did the whole course. I seriously would have sold my bike on the spot after that ride. I do have to mention that most C class riders timed out so I wasn't alone but I was still dissapointed in my "girly man" slow speed. Even little girls were faster than I.

The positive side is I passed a lot of faster riders that were laying down in the rocky hill climb areas so I guess I have to thank my riding buds for the trips and training in Missouri and Arkansas! I masterfully climbed every technical rocky slippery hill the course threw my way so I am happy about that. The narrow U shaped muddy single track and trees that were less than handle bar width apart gave me more trouble. I probably ate dirt a dozen times. I did pull off to the side to let a faster rider by and ended up upside down on an incline near the beginning and that tired me out right away and I seemed to be dead tired for the remaining 4-5 hours. My ass has skin rubbed off near my tailbone because I became too tired to stand. I am sore from head to toe. I started taking short breaks to stretch my hands out, get a drink, and catch my breath so I didn't make more mistakes when I felt I needed to stop. I am sure that hurt my time considerably.

My eduro career will probably be short. The Enyan Kara is 100 miles and I'm told most of it is open but I'm expecting more pain. I just never realized how much work riding fast for that long can be and I'm lucky to at least be in shape from running but the strength to muscle a bike around that much just isn't there for me.

The KTM 450 treated me well and some were suprised I had such a big bike. I guess most prefer a 250 4 stroke up here for enduro, but I was glad to have that big thumper tractor me up the tight stuff and not have to pull the clutch in too much. I did dent the headpipe on a tree but it seems to still run ok.

I guess if I have to pass on any advice to my fellow "girly men" I'd say practice riding tired. Don't stop and rest and see how you ride totally exhausted to prepare. Maybe lift some weights or just ride more than I did before hand. It felt like a survival test after the first half because people were dropping out or sitting on the side of the trial out of gas or broke down..

Thanks again for the hill climb training!! I will report back after next Sundays Enduro in WY.

[troy]

Great to hear from you slim! Thanks for the report. Go read our Shane Watts Dirtwise report and you'll see how tired we were--and we only rode a small amount of miles during those 2 days.

Like you, though, I found that because of the gnarly trail riding we do in AR, while I may not be the fastest rider or able to do big jumps, my rocky hill-climbing skill is respectable.

In regards to being tired, one of the foundational truths Shane teaches is when you master the proper techniques, you spend less energy. This is how you win races.

Stu (who is what some consider "old" ) told me that when he races these days, the 20-somethings may hit the trail a bit faster for the first part of the race, but after a while, they start slowing down with fatigue while he is still going strong and starts passing them.

I assume "enduro" is rooted in "endurance"?

[slimtrader]

I will be the first to admit I'm not a very efficient rider. I need a dirtwise lesson.

[ajayhawkfan]

Slim, where in MN are you? I'm coming up July 1. I have a small ride planned for the 5 and 6 near the MN/WI boarder. Maybe we can get together.

[Hank Moody]

Slim, Wow is all I can say. You run marathons and the enduro did this to you??? Well I'm staying clear of them I guess it just a different type of fitness and maybe a smaller bike is the answer. There were a lot of 250-300 2 strokes at the dirt wise school and all of them were enduro/hare scramble racers.

Gald to here you made it safe to the land of 10,000 lakes and 2 fish!

[Harvey Mushman]

Cool story Mike. You really can't appreciate what competition is like until you try it. Now you know. One key reason you were so tired is because your mind and body truly didn;t know what to expect, but now it does. Each consecutive race will get a little bit easier as you become more comfortable doing it and you'l become faster and more consistent. Various types of cardio and weight training help, but there is nothing better than seat time, and pushing your limits a bit to improve. I try to ride a HS at about 75% of my true speed as this leaves a margin of safety, allows me to be consistent, and leaves a little in the tank when I come across another 700 guy and have to mix it up a little. Even then I'm still pretty wiped out at the end of two hours. Of course I'm old and out of shape. Drink plenty of water and Gatorade a couple days before an event to hydrate. Also a banana the morning before a race is good for cramping, (potassium) if you have that problem. Glad to hear the 450 is treating you right. Ride safe and have fun.

-Harvey
#713

[slimtrader]

Well thanks for the words of encouragement guys. I just finished my second enduro today in Wyoming. Once again sucking hind tit. The trails were nice but often tight. I got tired of having to pull over all the time to let faster riders by. It's a real motivation killer. I just waited at the restart about half way through and went at the last start minute so I could ride without having to move over. My cousin signed me up for the B course (way above my ability) so I just stopped riding when the C riders were finished.

Long story short, I'm just not having as much fun racing enduro as I do trail riding with friends so I'm done with racing. It's so much faster than I am comfortable with. I can get through everything on the course but I'm not competative and don't really have the desire to be that fast.

Jayhawk fan. I don't know if I will be available to ride with you when you are here but check in with me when it gets closer with a PM. I live in Eden Prairie, MN. On the SW side of the cities.

[troy]

Long story short, I'm just not having as much fun racing enduro as I do trail riding with friends so I'm done with racing. It's so much faster than I am comfortable with. I can get through everything on the course but I'm not competitive and don't really have the desire to be that fast.

I've never raced, but that paragraph sums up how I'd feel--I'm pretty sure anyway. I'm not knocking racing--we have lots of guys on here who race, and that's really cool! I'm jealous of the skill, physical fitness, and guts required to do it.

On one hand, part of your "problem" is what you said--"It's so much faster than I am comfortable with". As Shane taught, "when your comfortability increases, your speed will naturally increase if you want". (Is "comfortability" a word? ) This could suggest that if you practiced and became comfortable at twice your current speed, you might enjoy racing. However, for me, I don't think that is the case. For whatever reason, I just don't have much of a competitive bone.

I've never raced, so I can't truly know, but the Hare Scramble has been explained to me as a 6 or 7 mile course with several classes from double A to "trail riders" that start at one minute intervals. I'm told the fastest guys can do a lap in under 30 minutes. I'm told it is about 12 minutes from the double A start to the trail riders' start. This tells me that I'd have maybe 15 minutes of enjoyable riding before I'm constantly moving over with bikes revving up my ass. With 150 to 200 riders on the 6 or 7 mile course, I'd think there would not be much break where I did not have bikes wanting to pass me.

In the world of off-road motorcycle experiences, it seems the scale is from Trials to Racing. My passion is closer to the Trials end of the scale. I enjoy slow control in rugged terrain more than full throttle acceleration. The bonus for me is that you don't get as messed up when you wreck at slow speed, and I tend to wreck a lot.

[xr-nut]

hey t-roy, id like to add a spot about the harescramble experience if i may..... the time it takes to complete a lap obviously vary as the courses vary from week to week. most "AA" riders do a "lap" in as little as 18-19 minutes. a typical "trail rider" racer completes the same lap in 25-30 minutes. so a slower rider near the rear of the start should be able to get almost 2 laps done before seeing the fastest riders lap them. a AA rider moving that fast comes up behind you reeeeeal quick, quick enough that you may not even know they are there. Ive found that i usually can "sense" when im being stalked and if i know they are not right behind me i might peek over my shoulder to see how much time i have to find a good spot to let them by. almost always you can hear their bike and they almost always give an audible alert to you, a "whoop" or something similiar. once youve heard the audible warning, it is best to find a line close to the edge and hold it. the AA rider will go by you, almost always thanking you for the room to go by.

that being said, i typically have an hour of fun racing in my class, and advancing, before i need to be aware of lappers. im typically lapped by 4-8 fast guys per race. its not quite what you imagine about feeling like your beeing pressured constantly by the fast guys. the real trouble on a hare scramble course9from my perspective) is the really technical sections. be it a mud hole, a hill climb or a creek crossing; it seems that is where the trouble is. riders that do not have the technical ability to get through those sections and create bottle necks on the course. then you have lots of riders at a time on a section and it may be chaotic! otherwise the flow, even with 150 bikes, is really pretty good.

id like to talk you into trying one, even if you dnf'd because you decided you really didnt like it. carbondale is a great place for beginners, nothing really to technical with lots of fast single track trail. maybe see you out there this fall!!