Rattlesnake Enduro

IERA / District 22 / Moose Enduro Series
Winterset, Iowa - September 15, 2002

Class Winners:
Overall Winner: Tim Taber KTM 19
AA: Jeff Fredette KAW 21
A 200: Alex Lohf KTM 38
A 250:Jamie Driskell YAM 34
Open A: Richard Krajicek HON 38
Senior A: Dennis Murphy HON 36
Super Senior: Chuck Craig KTM 46
Golden Masters: Veryl Shaw KTM 42
Overall B: Lucas Neavin HON 40
B 200: Kale Lawrence HUS 44
B 250: Mark Davis KAW 46
Open B: Brad Krauth YAM 56
Senior B: James Cunningham KTM 56
Super Senior C: Frederick Schierbaum KTM 176
C: David Coon KTM 53

I haven’t ridden an enduro since 1983, but recently decided to get back into the sport. I bought an XR250R, got some new gear, and located the IERA website on the internet. Actually, I located the IERA website first as I wasn’t certain there were any enduros in Iowa anymore. New gear was required as I no longer fit into my circa 1981, size 29 Fox riding pants. Well, I could get my arms in them, but they offered little protection worn in that manner. And my Yamaha leather boots had a serious case of dry rot. My new purchases flowed in without pause until the FedEx man narked me off to my wife. Don’t these guys have some duty of confidentiality? Fortunately, my roll chart holder was still around and, in fact, still contained a Jart chart from a Reinbeck enduro held 1983. My only recollection of that event was my XR350R suspended upside down from a hog panel laid on a snotty uphill rising from a nasty mud bog. The hog panel was intended to provide traction, but instead provided a sturdy place for my left foot peg to hang. I also have some memory of yacking on the spectator who helped me get the bike down. Note to self: no Mexican omelets before race this time.

I first tried the Stratford enduro. When I got there, the organizers told me that the event was postponed due to muddy conditions. I hadn’t checked the website prior to driving over because I’d never heard of an enduro being postponed by rain. Back in the 1970s and early 80s, the organizers thought deep mud holes made the experience more fun and challenging for the riders. Well, challenging anyway.

So it was off to Winterset. The promoters said that the course was “challenging, but very doable.” Probably true, if you only had to ride about 10 miles of it. I quickly recalled that technical riding skill will only get you so far. I was in really lousy shape. In high school, you just went out and rode the event. At age 35, you better do something to get yourself in shape. Three days later, while writing this, I’m still in a low stage of pain and sucking down Advil like peanuts.

Anyway, the Winterset enduro was amazing. On race day, the sun was shining and the temperature was in the 60s without a hint of humidity. Of the 36 or so odd miles in the loop, it seemed that 5 miles or fewer were on public roads. I found myself hoping, as I went through what seemed like endless woods, that a nice long road section would materialize. Not to be. Just limitless tight woods spread over low hills and gullies.

The race started in an open field up above North Branch creek. You immediately dropped twenty feet or so into the woods. Tight woods continued for about 2 miles when the track turned uphill. This first hill was pretty tame, but loose shale-like rock covered it, resulting in traction issue. When I got there, another bike was already stuck half way up. Stupidly, I tried to ride around to the right and got tangled in a cleverly concealed wire fence. Of course this resulted in a brief, but not insignificant, traffic jam. Lesson one, wait for the guys on the hill to get down or out of the way before heading up unless you really know where you’re going. 

After untangling and cursing myself, I stabbed the kick starter on my XR250R 1,232 times and it lit right up. If electric starters for wussies, then so be it and sign me up. This time, no problem on the hill. Of course practice makes perfect. After the hill, more tight trails followed. The trails were amazingly well marked at all times. You really had to be zoned out to shoot in the wrong direction. That said, I still managed to screw up several times. No fault of the organizers I assure you.

The course went on to consist of a lot of tight trees, rocky dry creek bottoms and moderate up and downhill terrain. Given the route was in a river valley, it was full of parallel valleys. The enduro spent a great deal of time going up and down these obstacles. However, it contained no terrain so difficult that traffic backed up. No bottomless mud holes, no eight foot deep water crossings, no meandering livestock, no 90° hills with eight direction changes on the way up. In fact, the participants all seemed to move along at a good pace. 

There were really only two hills worth noting. And I note them because I really like climbing hills on a motorcycle as it gives you a great sense of accomplishment. Well, assuming you are successful anyway. I already mentioned the first shale covered impediment. At about 30 miles into the loop, including resets, there was a somewhat more difficult uphill. I remember the mileage, because after my first effort, I wanted to make sure I knew where the damned thing was the second time around. You were down in a flat wooded section which turned sharply left leaving you with a decent run at the hill. The most obvious line went to the right and seemed fairly direct. The line to the left held a large tree root about 1/3rd of the way up. And it was a bit more crooked. I took the former line. Big mistake. By the 35th minute, the thing was rutted and covered in extremely deep, soft dirt. I lost traction, flipped to the side and, let me tell you this got my attention, managed to partially dislocate my left shoulder. No problem, pop back in shoulder, kick XR 2,000 times and motored on up the left track.

When I finally reached the end of the first circuit, I was really looking forward to the 30 minute reset. Much to my surprise, I was already that late. So much for a casual lunch. My wife was waiting for me and enthusiastically told me to get back out there. Of course she realized that the more I screwed around, the longer before she got to go home. Which brings up another point: spectator areas. I realize that enduro organizers have a great deal more important tasks than to create a course for the entertainment of others. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have one good spectator point. Something in the vein of an embarrassing uphill, bottomless mud bog, or a cleverly concealed abandoned coal mine shaft. Something worth watching. The Timber Ridge Hare Scrambles folks did a nice job of this with their mud hole “jump.” The nature of enduros actually make for pretty good spectating because the bikes are so spread out. At the right location, there is always something to watch. It also allows us to bring along “family” who might otherwise be bored out of their minds sitting in the pit area. I don’t think it would hurt the sport much either. Just a thought anyway. 

Another side note, roll charts. When I used to ride these things, we always got the route sheet and then would sit down and calculate a complete minute-to-minute roll chart. Now, it appears, that most experience riders use computers to accomplish the same task. For anyone interested in doing it the old way, check out www.enduro.4t.com/rollcht.htm. Some guy in AMA District 7 has created a free, downloadable computer program that creates a minute-to-minute roll chart based on information take from the route sheet. I do sort of wonder when you actually ahve time to advance the roll chart during a race. It was more of a novelty to me. I just had to go as fast as I could. Burning a check never really entered into the equation. 

Off to the second loop. The route was still in good condition, but became fairly dusty. The tree sections were also fairly deeply rutted. 

Just after the highway section, I entered the woods and found a downed rider on a CR. There was a tree between his front wheel and fender. The rider was pinned to the ground with one leg under the bike. Due to the weight of the bike and the location of the tree, he wasn’t able to pick it up. Upon asking what was wrong, he simply said “I’m stuck.” At that point, I was about a year behind anyway, so I stopped and helped him out. He said it was his first race and he was getting what he deserved. Given it was his first race, I was impressed that he even attempted the second loop. 

The second time around, I waited for both hills. Again, a downed bike blocked the 1st hill, but I otherwise encountered no problems this time. I also kept a close watch for the second hill. This time, I held to the left side of the hill and had no problem. Still, it was not a particularly difficult hill. 

By the time I reached the second hill on the latter loop, I had been playing cat and mouse with another rider for some time. Can’t remember the color or make of the bike as fatigue caused me to hallucinate a bit during the second loop. I would go down and he would pass me, or he would miss a turn and I would overtake him. Due to the dust being kicked up during the second loop, neither of us could stay very close on the trails, however. You had to wait for something to go wrong with the other guy to overtake. He had overtaken me prior to the hill and the dust prevented me from staying close enough to keep him in sight. Or at least that’s what I told myself. As I approached the hill, however, I saw him stranded in the left track. Paydirt. I waited for him to come down and took off ahead of him. I think I put some substantial distance between us, again due to dust I’m sure. I didn’t plan to see him again when I blasted by a check located in an open field. The check was located to my left and I tried to stop quickly to come around. Unfortunately, I lost traction on the long grass and slid right. On the upside, I caught traction during the slide and the bike flipped abruptly over the other way slamming me on my back. An action which definitely left a mark. 

As I was lying there looking up at the clear blue sky, the check crew pointed out that I “sure seemed to be having a good time.” Not entirely untrue, but the humor was lost on me at the time. The cat and mouse rider came around shortly thereafter and stopped long enough to let me know he’d done the same thing during loop one. Never saw him again. I promised myself that I would remember the turn on my third loop. Another 3,200 kicks or so and the XR was going again. Note to self, get a damned bike with an electric start next time.

Another apparent favorite of the DMER boys involved placing trees on each side of the trail which both (a) looked to be flimsy and (b) appeared to be far enough apart to pass between. Neither ended up being true in most cases. Second note to self: replace fragile Honda brush guards with descent set of bark busters. Oh, and third note to self, have them sent via UPS. I also enjoyed the “big wheel” that somebody placed in a tree along the course.

Given my late minute, I didn’t see much traffic during the second loop. Between the lack of competition and fatigue, I dropped double the minutes versus the first loop. But I still finished. In large part due to the great course and clear markings. Having zero mechanical problems didn’t hurt either. You really have to wonder what it takes to complete a course like this and lose only 19 minutes. I’m not even going to talk about the number of points I dropped.

Anyone who has tried to chop a trail through woods knows the work involved in creating a race like this. You’ll spend two hours cutting a section thinking you’ve substantially extended the course. Then you ride the damned section and it takes one minute. The logistics of setting up the route sheet and checks can’t be easy either. The guys who set this up really deserve a big thank you. 

You also have to thank the landowners. These days people aren’t responsible for their own actions and they always want to sue someone over their own stupidity. Fortunately, and not many people know this, our Iowa passed code section 461C in 1993. That section just about eliminates the liability of rural landowners who allow others to ride motorcycles on their property or use it for other recreational purposes. The only catch is that the landowner can’t charge for the use. One more reason to thank the Iowa landowners who allow us to ride across their property, they likely aren’t paid anything for the use. 

Oh ya, thanks to my wife and her sister’s family for coming along and sitting in the dusty field doing nothing for 5 hours. More fun than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but its a close call.

All in all a great event. Looking forward to riding it next year if my XR and I survive Bartlett and Morrison.

Eric Neu, Carroll, Iowa.