SMITH OFFROAD - NOTES OF A NOVICE DIRT BIKE RACER
Zak Smith is a trail rider and novice enduro and hare scramble racer in northern Colorado. This
site features
ride and race reports,
photos, video, and GPS tracks.
.
He rides a 2009 KTM 450 XCW for dual-sport and hare scrambles and a 250 XCW for enduro and trail. Some assistance provided by Elite Motorsports KTM in Loveland, Colorado.
2009 RMEC Enduro Series DVD Now Available!
Relive the 2009 RMEC enduro season!This DVD video contains over two and a half hours of helmet-cam footage from the 2009 Rocky Mountain Enduro Circuit (RMEC) enduro series.
Available on the PRODUCTS page - click here!
2013-08-02
I've been off the bikes for some time, however earlier in this year I was able to use the dirt bikes to aid setup and administation of some adventure/shooting events one of my companies is involved with in Wyoming and New Mexico. They significantly increased mobility.
Also, I just picked up a 2006 KTM 950 Adventure "S". This is the "bike dirt bike", intended for "adventure", whatever that means exactly. I aim to determine just how many of the dirt trails we ride on 450's can be ridden with the big twin,
Older blog entries are here.
I've been off the bikes for some time, however earlier in this year I was able to use the dirt bikes to aid setup and administation of some adventure/shooting events one of my companies is involved with in Wyoming and New Mexico. They significantly increased mobility.
Also, I just picked up a 2006 KTM 950 Adventure "S". This is the "bike dirt bike", intended for "adventure", whatever that means exactly. I aim to determine just how many of the dirt trails we ride on 450's can be ridden with the big twin,
VIDEO
(most recent 5 below)
 | Video: 2010 Sidney Enduro Entire first lap of the 2010 Sidney enduro (RMEC). Each lap consisted of 13.8 miles of the motocross track, singletrack in open fields, some endurocross obstacles, and grass track, and some trees. Filmed on a VIO POV.1 helmet camera on Zak Smith, Vet-C class. [ link to high-quality video ] |
 | Video: 2010 Inyan Kara National Enduro at Upton WY About 45 minutes of helmet-cam video from the 2010 Inyan Kara National Enduro (RMEC). The trail was open and tight singletrack, with transit sections in wide open prairie.. Filmed on a VIO POV.1 helmet camera on Zak Smith, Vet-C class. [ link to high-quality video ] |
 | Video: 2010 Best in the Desert US Hare Scramble Race at Laughlin NV Helmet-Cam Video An hour of helmet-cam video from the 2010 Best in the Desert US Hare Scramble at Laughlin NV. The trails included both tight terrain in scrub trees, fast open trails, some rocky technical sections, and sand washes. Filmed on a VIO POV.1 helmet camera on Zak Smith, Amateur Ironman class. [ link to high-quality video ] |
 | Video: 2010 Dual Duel in the Deset Enduro Helmet-Cam Video A 30-minute compilation of helmet-cam video from the 2010 Dual Duel in the Desert Enduro Race held near Wickenburg, AZ. The trails included both tight terrain in scrub trees, fast open trails, some rocky technical sections, and sand washes. Filmed on a VIO POV.1 helmet camera on Zak Smith, row 41D on a KTM 250 XCW, Vet-C class. [ link to high-quality video ] |
 | Video: 2009 Sno-Shoe Enduro Helmet-Cam Video A 20-minute compilation of helmet-cam video from the 2009 Sno-Shoe Enduro Race held near Monstrose, CO. The trails included both single track and fast double-track, with a few rocks and roots for good measure. Filmed on a VIO POV.1 helmet camera on Zak Smith, row 41D on a KTM 250 XCW, Vet-C class. [ link to high-quality video ] |
ARTICLES - RIDE AND RACE REPORTS
(most recent below)
 | 2010 Sidney Enduro (2010 RMEC 9) -
The 9th race of the 2010 RMEC seasons was at Sidney NE with a 13.8 mile course made up of
a mx track, rolling hills, grass track, trees, and some endurocross obstacles.
[more >>] |
 | 2010 Dual Duel in the Desert (2010 RMEC 1-2) -
The first two races of the RMEC season were the "Dual Duel in the Desert," two races on back to back days, February 6-7 2010 near Wickenburg AZ.
The Dual Duel is held near Wickenburg, AZ, which is north-west of Phoenix.
There is some great riding terrain near Wickenburg, and I'd go back for this pair of races next year.
[more >>] |
 | 2009 Sno-Shoe Enduro Race Report (09 RMEC 8) -
RMEC's 8th race of the 2009 season was Sno-Shoe. Held on public land west of Montrose, it featured fast, flowing trails with
select rocky and rooty sections and was a lot of fun.
[more >>] |
 | 2009 Greenridge Enduro Race Report (09 RMEC 7) -
The Greenridge Enduro was RMEC's 7th race in the 2009 season, with a good mix of fast, slow, tight, and hard (though not exactly techncal) sections. It was definitely a fun race! The terrain wasn't technically hard and the hills weren't even that bad, but if you got tipped over or snagged in a tree, it could be time and energy consuming to get out.
[more >>] |
| 2009 Inyan Kara National Enduro (NEPG) Enduro Race Report (09 RMEC 5) -
This year the Inyan Kara enduro was a "national" enduro, on the NEPG circuit, and it was the first I.K. was a national. As a result, it drew racers from around the country, including top riders such as Russell Bobbitt and Michael Lafferty, not to mention local Ian Blythe. Inyan Kara was the 5th race on the 2009 RMEC circuit, and my 5th enduro so far. With two extremely hard and technical enduros just behind me, I was ready for something a little faster and not so physically punishing.
[more >>] |
 | 2009 Hard Rock Enduro Race Report (09 RMEC 4) -
Hard Rock held near Canon City was my 4th race, 4th in the 2009 RMEC circuit. It was an extremely hard race due to technical difficulty. It was more than twice as hard as Cucharas and the vast majority of the C-class riders could not finish the race. I quit after one lap due to a minor injury and deciding that I wouldn't be able to finish two more laps without further injury. In the end, the race results were determined for many riders by who survided for the most checks.
[more >>] |
 | 2009 Cucharas River Enduro Race Report (09 RMEC 3) -
The Cucharas River Enduro was extremely hard- 10x harder than the hardest enduro I've ridden to date
(Pine Ridge, considering the conditions). It sustained a level of physical and technical difficulty
on par with the hardest parts of the hardest trails I've ridden in Northern Colorado.
[more >>] |
 | 2009 Pine Ridge Enduro Race Report (09 RMEC 2) -
The Pine Ridge enduro has a reputation for snow, rain, cold, and mud, and this year's race followed suit. Pine Ridge was the second RMEC series race of the 2009 season. This was my second enduro and my first "time keeper." The Pine Ridge enduro was a blast, a cold, muddy, sloppy, cold, freezing blast.
[more >>] |
 | 2009 Caprock Canyon Enduro Race Report (09 RMEC 1) -
I finished the Caprock Canyon Enduro! This was my first enduro race
and, to get my full "money's worth," I raced the A/B loop in the Vet-B
class. Although I knew I wouldn't be competitive in this class as a novice rider,
I wanted to get the most from the experience and my primary goal was to finish
the race and not get stuck and time or crash out.
[more >>] |
 | New dirt bike rider tries racing hare scrambles -
I bought my first dirt bike 23 days ago, took two trail rides, practiced at the track for one day, and then raced my first Hare Scramble today at VDR in Berthoud, Colorado.
One of my coworkers has been dirt biking since he was a kid. He walks into my cube one day and says, "There's a hare scramble this weekend at VDR. I think we should race it as a team." It didn't take much arm-twisting to get me to agree. Here's the story of my first race.
[more >>] |
PHOTOGRAPHY
(most recent 3 albums below)
