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Bummer. Sorry if I gave you bad advice (to try it), it wasn't intentional. Most woods racers around here are kinda sado masochists, as you are finding out. If they complain, it's because stuff is too easy, and believe it or not, those sprint enduros are on the forgiving end of the scale, especially in terms of endurance required. At least you know what to expect for next time, I guess? (And at least there aren't knobby marks across your back?)
And I should add...lots of New England woods riding is just too grueling for me, and a lot of others, too. It's supposed to kick the crap out of you (LOL). That's why I prefer moto, even southwick! The last JDAY GP I did tortured me but I knew what I was in for ahead of time and I'm getting old, so there was no surprise to it.
Anyway, it'll be interesting if and when you give it another shot; some day you might say it was easier than expected, now that you know a little bit about what's "in there"
Next step: spectate a GP. Watch and learn how the fast guys handle stuff like the extreme section or harder sections of the single track. Pretty much just copy what this guy does http://jdayoffroad.com/2017/2016-j-d...ohnny-girroir/
(He's from southwick, and sadly his dad hasn't seen any of his recent success as he passed away just after mountain biking with a some of my friends a few years ago. Dad was a good woods racer too, owned an excavation company, and groomed the track at southwick. Hence the "dozer memorial GP" that JDAY runs every year.)
Anyway, now that you've experienced first hand what it's like, watching those top dudes ride woods is every bit as amazing as watching pros ride supercross, IMO. I'm actually heading up to spectate the Hard Knox hare scramble in a little while.
Hopefully this weekend doesn't discourage you, but makes you stronger. Congratulations and Good on ya for having the desire and balls to jump in and try it!
PS: my daughter just returned from almost three years in Australia, now I'm hearing "Uni" this and "Ya Reckon?" that, all over the place (LOL)
Last edited by Imbeek; 09-17-17 at 08:15 AM.
shoulder surgery, yuk. bummer to hear
posts were random earlier, here's the clarification ... Nov 11th is the NETRA Jack Frost Fun Run at HVD, low key, loops for all skill levels (even kids/wives/GFs), chili cookoff, nice chilly temps and great trails ... BUT, some group ride 'n chill before that at any ride spot would be a good time
had fun today, great to see you guys, been a while ... Chris, here is one of the bar end mount types i was talking about: BRP Threaded Bar End Instert
oh, and TUbliss rules. wow.
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I thought I replied to this, but I guess not! No, not at all, the advice was good. Unless you had have said "zomg you're gonna fucking die", I probably would have tried it anyway. And yeah, I didn't get hurt or destroy the bike, so all in all it was a good day. The scenery was also fantastic on the drive there..
I would be interested in trying it on a lighter, less powerful bike, but that's for another day.And I should add...lots of New England woods riding is just too grueling for me, and a lot of others, too. It's supposed to kick the crap out of you (LOL). That's why I prefer moto, even southwick! The last JDAY GP I did tortured me but I knew what I was in for ahead of time and I'm getting old, so there was no surprise to it.
Anyway, it'll be interesting if and when you give it another shot; some day you might say it was easier than expected, now that you know a little bit about what's "in there"
I honestly never thought about spectating, as I figured they weren't really setup for that with vantage points and whatnot. I do follow Girroir on Instagram thoughNext step: spectate a GP. Watch and learn how the fast guys handle stuff like the extreme section or harder sections of the single track. Pretty much just copy what this guy does http://jdayoffroad.com/2017/2016-j-d...ohnny-girroir/
(He's from southwick, and sadly his dad hasn't seen any of his recent success as he passed away just after mountain biking with a some of my friends a few years ago. Dad was a good woods racer too, owned an excavation company, and groomed the track at southwick. Hence the "dozer memorial GP" that JDAY runs every year.)
Anyway, now that you've experienced first hand what it's like, watching those top dudes ride woods is every bit as amazing as watching pros ride supercross, IMO. I'm actually heading up to spectate the Hard Knox hare scramble in a little while.
I'm glad she's keeping it PG.. let me know if you want me to hook you up with some good Aussie TV shows or movies to give to her. There is a fantastic Australian bakery/restaurant in East Boston as well!Hopefully this weekend doesn't discourage you, but makes you stronger. Congratulations and Good on ya for having the desire and balls to jump in and try it!
PS: my daughter just returned from almost three years in Australia, now I'm hearing "Uni" this and "Ya Reckon?" that, all over the place (LOL)
Thanks! I'll check them out.
Is anyone riding this Saturday? I'll be in NH so the only real options would be Hopkinton-Everett on the KTM. There's a race at NHMX, I guess I could try that on the Honda..![]()
'02 Ducati 998, '08 Ducati HyperMotard 1100S, '14 Subaru XV Crosstrek
Jday is very spectator friendly. That's part of the design, making the whole GP course accessible for spectators, vs the traditional New England off-road race that's 5+miles a lap with only a few spectator points.
The plus side is it's fun (in certain respects) and the drawback is the course gets tore to bits real fast.
I went and rode the Leonard's Loop course last night (in the rain) to "help" burn it in for Sunday.
This course covers the full spectrum of what we have here. There are a couple rock gardens, short ones, that'll have some people asking why they do this to themselves.
To beek's point about woods riders being masochists, I can't disagree. It's supposed to be challenging, physically and mentally. Not just in the sense that you have to force yourself to push, because it's also pretty fun, but that you constantly have to be aware and picking lines, and aware that what you saw last lap (or time through a certain trail) might not be there this time. It's very dynamic.
TBH if I wanted consistency and meticulous detail I'd still be turning laps at any piece of pavement and working on the very fine points of this or that. To be even more honest, I wish I had the time and money to do both.
Cliff's Cycles KTM
NETRA enduro B-vet
Close your eyes, look deep in your soul, step outside yourself and let your mind go.
Track preview for Sunday's mattapoisett scramble:
That's a 99 380exc chugging along, before anybody asks. Bike sounds sweet on the lug, tiptoeing around.
Cliff's Cycles KTM
NETRA enduro B-vet
Close your eyes, look deep in your soul, step outside yourself and let your mind go.
Going slow is brutal no matter what you're riding. It requires so much more work instead of cruising over everything. And it snowballs quickly when you're outta shape or tired.
That's the best part. The challenge in finding the line through the chop. I dunno if I'd use the word masochist since I hate when you're struggling to get the bike over a rock you fucked up on and the heart rate goes through the roof. I love a good rock garden though.
I'm registered for the Crow Hill Jday this Sunday - but after hearing the description of leonard's loop, kinda wishing I was heading that direction instead. I'll have to check it out next year.
I spectated this event earlier this year, and there's bleacher seating overlooking a good part of the moto course by the starting line. Then the extreme section was a short walk away and easy to find a spot to watch. When a class starts, watch which direction some of the crowd starts migrating after they leave the starting line as they're probably going somewhere good.
nedirtriders.com
Excellent rock garden practice here in Rehoboth
MRI is on Tuesday, follow up with the ortho is a week after that. I'd be willing to bet I can get a good portion of the fall season in before they slice me open. This is me finally deciding to get my shoulder fixed after turning myself into a lawn dart going into turn 1 August 2015.
I went to MMI I know what Im doing here chief
I zoned out and forgot to order replacement bolts for the KTM handguards, so... Honda it is.
I think I might continue my headfirst jump into racing and do NEMX @ NHMX on Saturday. Anyone wanna join?
'02 Ducati 998, '08 Ducati HyperMotard 1100S, '14 Subaru XV Crosstrek
First JDay was fun, tiring, and interesting to compare skillsets. Was hoping for back of the middle, but was pretty much the back. Technically I wasn't last, but most of that was because I finished all the laps. The final lap of the second round was on cruise control and crashed in the rock garden, which was the only place I usually excelled at. My weak spot was definitely the moto track. People would pass me out there, then we'd enter the woods. Quite a few times, I'd keep on them, we'd get out on the moto track and they'd put distance on me and someone else would pass. Rinse, repeat.
The night before I had to clean some leaky fork seals and I checked the fork oil level as I could feel it had fallen. Decided to try running a little higher level, and then not test run itInstant regret. Knew it was a jack hammer by my standards before I even got in the woods. Which is probably a little funny since most of the reviews say my WR has soft suspension. Managed to correct most of it for the second round. Front end still feels crossed up(?) though, kinda like when you've got a bad head bearing. I've managed to tune it out before, so I guess I'll keep fiddling.
My normal woods riding has kinda lost the edge on challenging my endurance. Maybe I'm not pushing myself enough and/or I've got all the lines down to smooth it out. I found the fix. Haven't felt this sore in a while.
nedirtriders.com
nice work! we were just talking about the JDay a few min ago, my water guy's kid raced it, hasn't been on the bike in years... took like 9th. hahaa!
i had the same hope for mid-pack when i did my first one since that's how i usually fair.... not for JDay... DEAD LAST. ouchie.
you should come ride HVD with us. sounds like you'd like it if you enjoy rocks.
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Tongue is pretty firmly in cheek on this one. I was in NH over the weekend, and only had Saturday free. Continuing my streak of "jumping in to the deep end", I signed up to race NEMX at NHMX. This is the first timed MX race I've ever done besides the Stimilon thing last year.
Grids were pretty small, 250C was probably the busiest with maybe 25 riders. I chose to run in the 30C class and the 450C class. Both 30C and 250C had 6 or 7 riders of varying skills. Avery #471 absolutely flew on a RMZ-450 in both 30C & 450C, it was fucking amazing to watch.
Anyway, with 6 or 7 riders, funny things can happen when you get a DNS or a DNF...
Like I said, things can happen![]()
It wasn't all smooth sailing, though, I almost got a DNS on the 2nd moto as the fucking CRF wouldn't start. Took a lot of kicking before the marshal helped me fire it up. Not sure the problem, air filter or valves maybe?
Last edited by number9; 09-25-17 at 03:40 PM.
'02 Ducati 998, '08 Ducati HyperMotard 1100S, '14 Subaru XV Crosstrek
yesssss! nice work, man![]()
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Wow. One of my bigger limitations seems to be endurance, which I think I've been doing a pretty good job of increasing, and apparently I still have a ways to go. I don't get how you can be off a bike for years and still pull it off. I don't have for baseline on courses, but didn't seem like there were many smooth lines left in the course by the end of the day.
I'll probably be at the Jack Frost HVD event. But I might try to get out there at least once before then. I'm thinking about trying the Wood Chopper hare scramble on 10/22 in RI too.
nedirtriders.com
They used the wood chopper loop as one of the tests on the enduro. It is A: rad, and B: weird. There’s a ton of these real small kettle holes, like a little bigger than tire size (think of the size hole that a small/med size pine would make if it fell over) throughout certain sections. Other than that, it was a real nice piney loop on the side of a pond, also with a little sandpit section.
Endurance: you can never have enough for woods racing.
Alden, sometime after the first of oct let’s meet up in Freetown. I’ll tow you around the kid side first if ya want, and then we can get grizzly if that appeals to you.
Cliff's Cycles KTM
NETRA enduro B-vet
Close your eyes, look deep in your soul, step outside yourself and let your mind go.
post up if you guys do a Freetown jam in Oct, we've been talking about heading east ... and one more sesh out west-west if i can sneak it
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Hm - I'd be available on Sunday the first, or this Saturday. I might do the Noble Woods TR the weekend after that - or I just noticed the Hoot Owl scramble is no longer TBD and is in Gloucester, RI on 10/8 too. I like the TR format but hard to justify driving to Maine when there's another event that close to me. A guided tour of freetown would be sweet and should happen though.
nedirtriders.com
I'm going to put this out there again as you all want to taste my smokey meats:
October, show up at my house in Rehoboth on a Saturday afternoon. We'll put in a few hours on my trails then retire to the back yard for BBQ, DIPAs, and a fire - you're welcome to pitch your tent/sleep in trailer. Sunday we head to Freetown first thing AM and romp for as much of the day as anyone wants and head home from there.
I don't get to race anymore so this would be a pretty good substitute for me. Give me 7+ days notice for what weekend and we'll make it so.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I went to MMI I know what Im doing here chief
Cliff's Cycles KTM
NETRA enduro B-vet
Close your eyes, look deep in your soul, step outside yourself and let your mind go.
Dad naps.
Cliff's Cycles KTM
NETRA enduro B-vet
Close your eyes, look deep in your soul, step outside yourself and let your mind go.
i was gonna say, 2 HRS in the box ! i'd wig ... but Dad Naps would be like, beyond amazings.. .
(no way i could spend that kinda time in, hated it, completely freaked but did not prematurely eject)
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I was thinking the same thing. I spent about an hour in there. I was pretty cool for the first 30-40 min, but started to get pretty nutzo by the end. I was about 5 minutes from screaming uncle when they pulled me out. 2 hours.. youch..
No way I could nap with that racket. Spot I went gave me these big crappy truck tire headphones with cheezy music that was supposed to block noise. I think they had the opposite effect.
I was assisted by the fact I stayed up reading until 2 AM the night before and working with about 4 hours of sleep. I had an hour and a half for the first stretch then they pulled me out, re positioned my shoulder and stuck me back in the oven for another 30 minutes. It was an open MRI which is super weird. Basically looks like a big ass hamburger and you're the patty. It also has a cooling pump that sounds like a bad Caribbean band.
I went to MMI I know what Im doing here chief
oh, snap, the open version was mint ... the enclosed one sucked major balls (this is bad in most circles)... zero space, shit headphones and i chose WORLD NEWS for my listening enjoyment. what a fucking idiot. i forget what was going on at the time but i started wigging out towards the end, freaking that i'd have no way to quickly escape should the world implode. hahaa! had a lot of internal conversation that day.
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Last edited by typeone; 09-27-17 at 12:31 PM. Reason: spelling
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