Rolling Hills Enduro

IERA / District 22 / Moose Enduro Series
Bartlett, Iowa - October 6, 2002

Overall Class Winners: A: Walter Luedtke 3; B: Lucas Neavin 13; C: David Coon 26

Top five winners in each class (excluding overall winners): AA: Tim Taber 4, Ryan Moss 4, Gary Barber 7, Scott Hoffman 8, David Campbell 9; 200 A: Mark Watkins 15, Dean Windle 24, Paul Moritz 36, Danny Stamps 20/9; 250 A: Andrew Hogarty 8, Scott Porter 10, Jamie Driskell 12, Adam Wyant 13, Stanley Gregory15; OPEN A: Richard Krajicek 11, Tim Hetzel 21, Kyle Stickelman 22, Corey Rea 60; SENIOR A: Lonnie Ross 10, Chuck Neavin 11, Larry Crosby 16, Tim Hadley 17, John Dameron 19; 200 B: Garett Hoveling 20, Ricky Haney 25, Johnny Garner 36, Brian Flaig 39; 250 B: Chris Mumm 18, Tobin Miller 18, Travis Hoveling 20, Doug Driskell 28, Scott Fleck 37; OPEN B: Tim Hughes 16, Brad Krauth 19, Eric Sieh 26, Michael Hills 36, Brett Anderson 39; SENIOR B: Gene Topliff 21, James Cunningham 30, Scott Post 52, Craig Kinsey 66, Dana Harrison 77; SUPER SENIOR: Robert Brown, 2, Ronald Less 22, Sheldon Otto 22, Jim Spencer 22, Quintin Davis 46; 200 C: Nathan Thompson 36, Jason Edmonds 43, Roger Hildreth 139/7, Jacob Matter 140/5; 250 C: Terry Venteiher 26, Steve Pohlmeier 36, John Edwards 112, Steve Hovey 127, Bruce Probst 150; OPEN C: T Mark Sullivan 31, Terry Hills 43, Jim Franks 68/8, Mike Freburg 13/5, Richard Schulte 137/5; SUPER SENIOR TRAILRIDER: Mick Hutcheson 13; GOLDEN MASTERS, Dennis Thielke 14, Dan Bernth 17, Veryl Shaw 20, James Ross 54, Steven Porter 86; TRAILRIDER: Tyler Richardson 2, Seth Blackburn 3, Scott Porter 50, Brad Arends 74, Jim Hambright 116

With all the rain preceding the Rolling Hills Enduro, most participants really expected a slop-fest. Instead, the CC Riders treated this year’s 120 riders to some of the best conditions available in Iowa. With two notable exceptions, the entire course consisted of soft, loamy, black dirt. The trails provided exceptional traction and little, if any, mud.

A 41.9 mile loop, ridden twice, made up the course. The first loop timed out on an 18 mile per hour average. For some reason, which was completely lost on me, the enduro’s average kicked up to 24 miles per hour for the second run. The organizers apparently feared that riders might somehow memorize the terrain during the first run. The event offered three short resets during each loop and 30 minutes between loops. The latter presented a great opportunity to eat lunch, do a little gambling in Council Bluffs, or catch a quick nap. Or, if you were me, slop gas in my bike and ride out again in an effort to make up time lost in one of the previously mentioned notable exceptions.

The race started in a windblown corn field about 3 miles from spectacular downtown Bartlett, Iowa where temperatures hovered in the mid fifties for most of the day. After a few miles of paved road, the course took a 90 degree right hand turn into the forest, shooting straight up into the hills. For anyone who has driven down Interstate 29 on the western end of Iowa, it would be impossible to miss the bluffs running parallel to the highway from border to border. While certainly not amazing by Colorado standards, the bluffs, or Loess Hills, contain optimal terrain for off-road riding. As compared to the rest of Iowa, these lumps constitute veritable mountains. The Loess Hills were formed over centuries as winds eroded top soil and deposited it to the east of the Missouri River. This process left perfect, tractable soil. No clay, no rocks, just black earth. 

The course followed trails located entirely in these bluffs, and you were quickly introduced to the terrain after the first turn into the woods. When I reached the first turn, a small bottleneck of bikes awaited. The trail went into the trees and straight up, then to the left. You really couldn’t see the top. Upon reaching the top, however, I was greeted with a rutted-out section with a loom of small roots over it. If you failed to get your front wheel up, the roots caught the tire and sent the bike back down. I was taken completely by surprise when I made it on the first try. A good number of the other riders lacked the same luck and became tangled in the roots. Several attempts by other riders to forge a detour resulted in a mass of KTMs caught in various trees and shrubs on the hill side.

After the first impediment, made worse I’m certain by all of the A riders blasting through it, participants promptly met an obstacle which became all too familiar by the time the race concluded. When the CC Riders placed a course arrow pointed down on the trail, you really needed to pay attention. Basically, the bottom drops out and you find yourself headed straight down for 50 feet or more. Just as you regained control of your cookies, the trail generally shot right back up the other side of the bottomless precipice. Assuming you survived, these impediments provided an extremely enjoyable rush. 

After entry into the woods during the first section, and following several of those bottomless drop outs, the trail stayed in tight woods and circled to the top of the first bluff. Ultimately, the course ended up on top of the hill with an extremely picturesque view of the river valley. But I wouldn’t advise actually observing the scenery as the path narrowed into a goat trail between the bluffs bordering a considerable and extreme fall-away to left or right.

The first section continued for approximately three miles and followed up with some fields and highway to the next section. In general, the CC Riders laid out the course perfectly with respect to time. Although the sections contained average to difficult terrain, the connecting roads and fields allowed ample time to get back on your minute. This enduro is the second I’ve ridden this year and also the second in which I’ve participated during the last 20 years, but I dropped only 13 minutes by the third check. I should have enjoyed this more while it lasted.

I felt pretty proud of myself due to my respectable score and looked forward to a decent finish. While I traveled through a cornfield trying to decide where my trophy would look best, the trail took a quick left into the woods. About ten feet into the trees, my thoughts of a reputable finish vaporized when I saw before me utter carnage. The trail dropped about 6 feet into a muddy slough. The swampy area continued for about twenty yards where it met a 10 foot, muddy, vertical slope having a particularly snotty surface. It was somewhat difficult to see the actual surface as two or three motorcycles and their riders in various states of collapse obstructed the view. While quite possible to get through the lower quagmire, obtaining the speed to get up the other side presented a serious problem. Also, once you dropped down the first hill into the swamp, you became committed, as getting back out posed nearly the same difficulty. 

Down in the swamp, there were several riders in various stages of extricating themselves from the sludge. Large clumps of muck and foul language flew around as participants attempted to disentangle their bikes. I heard a great deal of particularly expressive language as I spent considerable time down there. No small number of riders stopped before dropping in and, upon viewing the massacre, turned to head back out.

I, of course, didn’t fully grasp the problem until my first attempt at getting out which ended roughly four feet up the hill. On my third try, I actually got out momentarily. I made the decision to just give my Honda a push near the top and hope that it escaped without me. It would then be a simple matter of scampering out on foot. On the third try, I did just that, and the crud-coated XR shot up and over while I slid back down into the gush. Upon climbing up the hill, I felt surprise in seeing that my Honda apparently took off without me. Next time this happens, I plan to check and see what is actually on top of a hill before sending my riderless bike into oblivion. It seems that the uphill actually formed one side of an earthen outcropping into the very wetland area we all endeavored to escape. And, you guessed it, my brainless Honda simply drove over the top and right back into the damned morass. I found it parked neatly upside down in the muck on the other side awaiting my arrival. A quick 1,500 stabs at the kickstarter and I was rested and ready to try again.

This type of obstacle truly separates the men from the boys. I’m not sure what that makes me, however, as I ended up following a ten year old on a YZ80 out of the hole through an alternative route located about fifteen feet down the slope. I tried to make it look like it was my idea by pointing at the hill just before he followed it out. By the time I did get loose, my thirteen minute score turned into a fifty-one by the time I reached check four. 

The aforementioned mud hole notwithstanding, the entire course consisted of a wide variety of forested hilly trails. While at times the course would be extremely tight, it could just as quickly open into a fast wooded section. The changes kept the riders on their toes as speeds were constantly changing. The organizers clearly thought this course out well. Most obstacles were challenging but achievable. 

The CC Riders amplified the fun with entertaining trail side distractions. As you entered the final fire road, someone dangled a fake corpse from a tree over the trial. At another point, a cardboard cutout of Pamela Anderson distracted me just long enough for me to miss the red danger X on a huge downed tree over the trial resulting in a gory chunk in my helmet. I also have to wonder what type of Iowa vegetation deposited those yellow grapefruit sized fruit/vegetables all over the trail. You wanted to avoid getting those things under your front tire at all cost. It was a lot like riding across a backyard full of croquet balls, not that I’ve ever tried it. 

Double A rider Walker Luedtke took top honors at this race, after losing only three minutes. Walker placed just in front of Tim Tabor and Ryan Moss who both picked up four points overall. Upon finishing the Stratford event, he placed 3rd with Matt Stavish in 1st and Tim Tabor taking 2nd. At Winterset, Walker came in 3rd behind Tim Tabor in 1st and Jeff Fredette in 3rd. Walker did not participate in the first enduro occurring in Fremont where Tim Tabor, Ryan Moss and Dave Campbell took the top three spots.

In the end, the organizers put on a stellar event that was both challenging and thoroughly enjoyable. 

Eric Neu, Carroll, Iowa.