Posts
5391
Joined
10/1/2013
Location
Davis, CA
US
JM485
5/17/2018 8:31pm
5/17/2018 8:31pm
Edited Date/Time
5/18/2018 2:10pm
Since you clicked I'm assuming you do, so here ya go
Two weeks ago was Endurofest up in Reno, NV. The event consisted of 4 events: The Prologue, the Hellclimb Challenge, the Enduroclimb Shootout, and the Baka Hard Enduro.
The prologue was an absolute disaster for me. I tried a new IRC gummy tires, and being the genius I am neglected to run a foam insert, and opted for the tube approach. I promptly got a flat, went back to camp to fix the flat, returned to the race, and got another flat because I forgot to tighten my rim lock during the mad rush to get back out there. Ya, that was a stellar start to my weekend. Luckily some kind friends of mine from the area were able to get me an insert for the enduro the following day, so I wasn't completely hosed.
The Hellclimb challenge was next, and I was hoping it would provide me some redemption since hillclimb is what I do best. I can honestly say, this was the first time in my life I was actually scared to do a hillclimb. It might have been the fact we had to sign a second liability waiver before we started, or the crumbly rocks that made the hill literally impossible to even walk up, or it could have been the fact that there were 10+ foot drop offs waiting for you if you happened to veer off course to the left or right and slide back down the hill. Needless to say, it was sketchy, but in the end I finished 6th, and nobody was able to crest the top. The hill will look like nothing in the video, but keep in mind top enduro pros from the SRT offroad team were not even able to make this hill. . . Luckily everyone made it through safely, but a few bikes did take a tumble all the way back to the bottom.
The final event for the day was the Enduroclimb shootout, and the one I was most excited for. I'm not at all a fan of how the start was done, but I was able to pull off the only win from the outside lane of the day as you'll see in the video. I'm proud of that move, but probably wouldn't be able to pull it off again! I actually placed 4th, which I'm pretty damn happy about considering the level of competition we had out there.
Sunday was the hard enduro. My only hard enduro experience up until this point was this same event last year, on a course that was supposedly 1/3 as long and 1/3 as difficult as the course this year. It was split into three sections, Bronze, Silver, and Gold, each increasing significantly in difficulty. Going in, I had absolutely no intension of even attempting the Gold loop, it was supposed to be designed so nobody but the top pros could make it through, so I pretty much wrote it off. As luck would have it, when it came time to make a decision I said screw it and gave it a shot. Holy hell, I can't even believe some of the stuff we went through. There were sections where you were absolutely not getting through without help, and it pretty much turned into a team effort to get to the finish. Other sections had us running along some pretty damn big drop offs, and to say I was sketched out would be an understatement. By FAR the toughest thing I have ever done on a bike, and I'm super proud to say I was one of the few to cross the finish line. I know my position was terrible, but honestly I don't care one bit, I finished and that's more than I expected of myself by a long shot.
Here are the videos from the weekend, apologies for the mile long post but hopefully someone finds it entertaining. Now enjoy watching me struggle and wish for sweet death to alleviate my pain and suffering Keep in mind, there are quite a few areas cut out. I needed to save memory space throughout the race and forgot to turn it on a lot, so this is just what I captured.
https://youtu.be/ftMJ1MVOHUU
https://youtu.be/1jLn1OypA6k
https://youtu.be/FJWkcWJScHc
https://youtu.be/i9bB1wvG-d0
Two weeks ago was Endurofest up in Reno, NV. The event consisted of 4 events: The Prologue, the Hellclimb Challenge, the Enduroclimb Shootout, and the Baka Hard Enduro.
The prologue was an absolute disaster for me. I tried a new IRC gummy tires, and being the genius I am neglected to run a foam insert, and opted for the tube approach. I promptly got a flat, went back to camp to fix the flat, returned to the race, and got another flat because I forgot to tighten my rim lock during the mad rush to get back out there. Ya, that was a stellar start to my weekend. Luckily some kind friends of mine from the area were able to get me an insert for the enduro the following day, so I wasn't completely hosed.
The Hellclimb challenge was next, and I was hoping it would provide me some redemption since hillclimb is what I do best. I can honestly say, this was the first time in my life I was actually scared to do a hillclimb. It might have been the fact we had to sign a second liability waiver before we started, or the crumbly rocks that made the hill literally impossible to even walk up, or it could have been the fact that there were 10+ foot drop offs waiting for you if you happened to veer off course to the left or right and slide back down the hill. Needless to say, it was sketchy, but in the end I finished 6th, and nobody was able to crest the top. The hill will look like nothing in the video, but keep in mind top enduro pros from the SRT offroad team were not even able to make this hill. . . Luckily everyone made it through safely, but a few bikes did take a tumble all the way back to the bottom.
The final event for the day was the Enduroclimb shootout, and the one I was most excited for. I'm not at all a fan of how the start was done, but I was able to pull off the only win from the outside lane of the day as you'll see in the video. I'm proud of that move, but probably wouldn't be able to pull it off again! I actually placed 4th, which I'm pretty damn happy about considering the level of competition we had out there.
Sunday was the hard enduro. My only hard enduro experience up until this point was this same event last year, on a course that was supposedly 1/3 as long and 1/3 as difficult as the course this year. It was split into three sections, Bronze, Silver, and Gold, each increasing significantly in difficulty. Going in, I had absolutely no intension of even attempting the Gold loop, it was supposed to be designed so nobody but the top pros could make it through, so I pretty much wrote it off. As luck would have it, when it came time to make a decision I said screw it and gave it a shot. Holy hell, I can't even believe some of the stuff we went through. There were sections where you were absolutely not getting through without help, and it pretty much turned into a team effort to get to the finish. Other sections had us running along some pretty damn big drop offs, and to say I was sketched out would be an understatement. By FAR the toughest thing I have ever done on a bike, and I'm super proud to say I was one of the few to cross the finish line. I know my position was terrible, but honestly I don't care one bit, I finished and that's more than I expected of myself by a long shot.
Here are the videos from the weekend, apologies for the mile long post but hopefully someone finds it entertaining. Now enjoy watching me struggle and wish for sweet death to alleviate my pain and suffering Keep in mind, there are quite a few areas cut out. I needed to save memory space throughout the race and forgot to turn it on a lot, so this is just what I captured.
https://youtu.be/ftMJ1MVOHUU
https://youtu.be/1jLn1OypA6k
https://youtu.be/FJWkcWJScHc
https://youtu.be/i9bB1wvG-d0
Tip for you, after a race I like to either go for a steady walk or head to the swimming pool for a few steady laps. Helps with the stiffness the next morning.
The Shop
You racing Hangtown today?
Were you happy with the YZ? It sounded a bit off. Almost fluffy?
Ted, sorry but I had to skip this one. I’m actually driving to the sac airport right now to hop on a plane for a race in Utah. I’m soooo bummed to miss it though, one of my favorite races every year and it’s absolutely killing me to miss it! Have fun and hopefully everyone stays safe out there.
Tobz, you’re probably just hearing the distortion from the camera and the sound of the Rekluse slipping. The elevation was quite a bit higher than I’m used to, but the bike did alright so I don’t think it was too fat to make a major difference.
Stuntman, surprisingly the only damage was a small swingarm dent, ripping off my holeshot device, and I tore my skid plate a bit. Other than that, I was just super careful and took my time so it wasn’t bad!
I wish helmet cams did a better job of showing height and depth, everything looks so flat in the video I almost have to laugh.
Just Kidding, Thanks for sharing.. Thanks for sharing. Have a good weekend.
Post a reply to: Want to see what happens when a regular guy tries a hard enduro?