Tried to ride the forest, punctured a coolant hose and limped home. I need the seat time before Sunday’s King Phillip enduro.
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Tried to ride the forest, punctured a coolant hose and limped home. I need the seat time before Sunday’s King Phillip enduro.
That happened to me on friday! couldn't even limp it home, hose totally ruptured.
Got put last friday. Felt like starting over. Lol. Seat time is your friend.
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Anyone ride the Clarkies enduro Sunday? I rode Freetown Saturday evening and the state forest was arrowed for it. Was thinking about riding it, but the weather report and my legs said pass. Still haven't done an enduro. Those with experience - do I really need a route sheet and to understand the time keeping? Or can I ride it like a dual-sport ride, follow the arrows, and watch the bird-watch on the road sections?
Also, the replacement trail section they cut on Freetown's parking lot loop is incredible flow. Somehow bordering on almost too dry despite all the rain. The longer loop was pretty dried out too.
Went to pre-reg for the NH Classic last night and discovered I missed the deadline by like 12hrs. Though it was the last day of the month. Probably won't be there before 8pm Friday so little annoyed with myself for not doing it sooner.
Injured the hell out of my “good” shoulder in the extreme section at the southwick Jday sprint a couple weeks back. Decided to call it a career as far as mx and tough woods. Sold my YZ already. Getting old blows. Coincidentally, ran into Doug Henry and had a chat with him two days after (painfully and regretfully) selling my bike. Kinda funny, when I told him I decided to hang it up, he said, “you wouldnt believe how many times I’ve said that; you’ll be back”
I dont think so. Im done.
Ummm, is your bike plated? My gut says scramble, because the sportsman (non competitive) line starts last after everyone else is gone, and if you decide you're in over your head, you only have to ride 1 lap to get back to the start, which is usually 5-10 miles at most.
On the other side of that coin, if its a short track, you could very well get lapped in that time, and if you've already checked out because you're suffering, and the entire field starts coming through, it's going to make your day that much worse.
You could check out of an enduro too, if you get to the end of a section at a road or driveway, you could simply ask the nice check workers how to get back.
The Tom Noble enduro is the only race in the netra enduro series that allows unplated bike, thanks to the great state of Maine, which issues a "parade permit" for unregistered vehicles. Ma and Ct ain't trying to hear that ish.
It didn't rain, you missed a good one. JC and Matt, both from here rode it.
Since I'm running the series, and PSTR hosted it, it was my event to work. I worked the check in before the parking lot/"bobsled course" check in. That new/old stuff we cleared out for that loop is rad.
Yes, you can ride an enduro by just following the arrows. I don't run a fancy computer or anything. I just use a watch and a route sheet holder. You really don't need an odometer either. I'd explain further, but it sounds really complicated on the screen, and to read. It's not, except for trying to add when you're breathing through your eyelids.
53...and after two not so pleasant non-motorcycle related surgeries on the other shoulder, the surgeon told me that if I did it again to that one, he’d have nothing left to sew together...so I’m trying to recognize that I got lucky crashing on the other side, and to not to be such an incredible dumb fuck, just this once and just in this area LOL. Still have lots of other stupidly dangerous toys so not all is lost. And I can play dobro fine even with the injury!
But yeah. It’s depressing. I don’t really wanna go any deeper into the Doug encounter...but could there be a better person on earth to run into to kindof validate my decision? Synchronicity messes with my head. I was feelin a little sorry for myself and then run into that dude, in his chair.
He’s one of my heroes. Love that dude’s attitude!
Weird. It was drizzle and light rain at my house by like mid afternoon if I remember right.
My WR has a clock/odometer/speedo so I figure I can just do the resets and keep an eye on mileage. I'm pretty sure it also has a 'race computer' mode if you hold the right key-combo. Not sure I'd bother with it though. Still haven't picked up a route sheet holder but I can usually follow arrows and fresh dirt on the turkey runs. I've seen how it goes first hand if you miss an arrow on the street sections though.
Competition wise, if I understand right as long as I don't arrive early on the road sections, isn't that really all I've got to worry about if I can keep on course?
At the crow hill jday earlier this year, on the straight leading in to the extreme section was a guy holding a sign that says something like 'hold it wide open'. A guy standing next to him is on crutches. He could not have picked a 'funnier' place to stand.
We finished before the mist started. Seriously, disregard the pro, unless you want to track ground mileage for fuel purposes. All you need is a route sheet and a watch. They mark mileage. You just use that to figure out where you are, per the signage on the trees.
The more I say, the more complicated it’ll sound. A speedo is handy, for road/transfer duty, but beyond that, you good.
A Hare Scramble is 1.5 hours of riding non-stop. You start with 50 other people in a line at the wave of a flag. An enduro is 3-5 hours of hard riding with short rests in between. It's more a race of the rider against the trail. Personally, I don't think either is a great beginner race. If you have a plated bike you can do a turkey run, which is basically an enduro without the competition, to see if you like the format. PSTR short course scrambles, 2x40 minute motor, or Jday 2x30 minute moto and a bit more user friendly but still bar to bar racing. Sprint enduro 3 short laps each on 3 different courses times is very noobie friendly and you are riding alone, for the most part.
I rode it. It was very slick. I'm glad I raced it, but it took a toll on my bike and me a little bit. The new parking lot side section is awesome.
I'm pretty inexperienced in the enduro scene in that, Clarkies was the second one I finished (entered 4 total and had mechanical DNFs on 2 previous). An easy to read watch on the handle bars and a simple route sheet holder, along with a plated dirty bike suitable. Brand-X like Clarkies is fairly simple as far as time keeping, but hard to explain through typing.
There’s nothing basic about mx.
rocky season start for me as well ... dumb slow highside on Friday at HVD trying to get around a tree on a banking, crunched my leg under the bike trying to eject. not sure what i did but it still hurts from ankle to knee and keep getting charlie horses in my calf. the ankle tingles and knee pain made me a little nervous. hmm, might be time for braces.
practice towards a Sprint for reasons mentioned above, easier to bail when/if you need to due to shorter loops, and maybe stick to the woods + cross tests only. for the actual practice part, ride medium-technical trail until you can't think straight, then keep riding :D
man, super bummed to hear this :( i was not ashamed to skip that Extreme course in the rain, i could smell a serious wreck off the tire wall coming. Doug is right, you'll be back.
amen.
If you want the accelerated learning that comes with racing, just jump in to the discipline that tickles your fancy. That quickened learning comes with increased risk. Nothing is free.
If risk isn't what you want, then woods rides, mx trackdays, flat track practice days, etc. are all perfect ways to get seat time. It's all about seat time.
i know i'm a broken record on the joint but... Hodges is the perfect place to learn, it's got everything without having to do everything.
for MX, try a practice day at Crow Hill, good mix for a noob. if you want to drive further, NHMX is an awesome track, also very noob friendly and super fun with the elevation changes.
There's a lot of good advice in here. I was in the same boat as you - hell, I still am, really - so I thought I'd chime in.
The woods are a great place to practice. You can go fast or go slow, and go over easy terrain or nightmare terrain. As typeone said, Hodges has something for everyone. Only downside is that the layout can be confusing at first, and you need an off-road registration.
This is dead on. The first time I ever rode a dirt bike anywhere was a practice day at Crow Hill. You can ask some of the boys here how it turned out.. they still talk about my outfit ;)
I crashed on the first corner, and on every lap after that, but I learned a ton.
+1.Quote:
If risk isn't what you want, then woods rides, mx trackdays, flat track practice days, etc. are all perfect ways to get seat time. It's all about seat time.
I think NHMX is a bit more beginner-friendly because the track is so wide. Yeah, it has the Intimidator, but there's a way around it if you don't have the balls for it (like me). I think Wareham is also good for a noob because it's a fairly short course.
The nice thing about riding in the woods is you can do it for as long as you have gas, both gasoline and your own fitness/endurance. Quiet days at MX tracks are also good, because they don't limit you to 15-minute sessions if there aren't many riders. You can get 2 hours of riding in in about 2.5 hours if you stop for water...
Joel is straight up a saint for us dirty newbs. Ask him how many times he had to kickstart my disaster of a 92 WR250 my first time out.
You never get to be a total newb again. Enjoy it! Take chances, make mistakes, the memories will be priceless.
I just completed yesterday’s ride. Time for a shower beer and tackling the front brakes on the mazduh.
Blisters never felt so good.