I'm totally new to dirt biking. One of my co-workers 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.
2008-11-09
I raced my second Hare Scrambles at the VDR track in Berthoud, with considerable improvement from my first race in October. Read the full report here
2008-12-10
After partially destroying the stock airbox decals and then removing them, I found that the KTM looked kind of plain. Since I was racing the local hare scrambles series, I figured I'd get a new set of graphics with pre-printed numbers. I bought a set of graphics from PowersportGrafx aka RidePG.com. The tank shrouds, airbox, and rear side decals are all made from PG-Gripz, which has a raised texture for durability and grip. They look sharp, check out the before and after photos here.
2008-12-13
Hit the VDR track for some practice today. Due to the cool weather and precipitation of late, the track conditions were excellent. Traction was near unlimited. I took about 80 minutes of helmet-cam video with the POV.1.
Videos: 1. entertaining crash; 2. one full lap; 3. jumps; 4. passes;
2009-01-01
I spent New Year's Day at the VDR track in Berthoud. The weather conditions were great and the track, which started off groomed in the morning, reached perfection in the afternoon. During my last practice a few weeks ago, I just got the hang of clearing the easiest of the step-ups. This time, I could clear that one on-demand and I could always run the short woop section before the tabletop near where everyone pulls off/on during practice.
I was determined to improve several other jumps. There was a short double which was no problem to clear. Next, I worked on the first of the two doubles before the small woops leading to the tabletop. The landing is easy and the risk is low if I came up short, so the strategy was just to gas it in 3rd. After hitting it about one bike-length short, I was able to clear the first double just about every time. Landing on the down-slope takes so much of the punishment out of it, the second time I did it cleanly it felt natural to try the second double in the series. I didn't give it enough gas, and landed right on the up-slope of the second. Even with the bike upset, I still managed to bounce over the short woop section.
I lose the most time on the big rhythm section before the tabletop and the step-up to the "half-pipe." This is intimidating because they are fairly deep and one has to commit before entering the section. If I don't want to commit, I can take a left-hand line and gas it about halfway through. All in all, I felt like I made really good progress on Thursday, and I was psyched for Sunday's race. Unfortunately, the Hare Scramble was delayed a week because the temperature wasn't supposed to break 25F.
My next race is the rescheduled Hare Scramble at the VDR track in Berthoud Colorado on Sunday January 11th.
2009-01-02
The Thunder Valley motocross track in Lakewood, CO, now hosts national motocross races, and it is much more difficult and more technical than Berthoud. The jumps require commitment: almost all of them have a lip that makes rolling them very hard (you have to go very slow) and the landings are very harsh if you come up short. To put it bluntly, this track scares me at my current skill level. The track was also filled with very deep rut sections. I need more technical jump practice before I can ride this track with any sort of confidence.
2009-01-07
Tentative/partial 2009 race schedules have been posted by RMEC and WeBe Racing.
2009-01-11
The weather at the Hare Scrambles at VDR (Berthoud, CO) started off cold. When I got up it was below 30F, and by an hour before the race, I could still see my breath and with all my other riding gear on, I didn't want to take my jacket off. The track was different than last time I raced in November. They added another half-mile on the NE part of the property and reversed the direction of the entire track other than the MX track.
I started a little bit slow because I wasn't familiar with the new track sectoin and the rear track seemed a lot different when ridden backwards. It was cold. I had a wicking t-shirt on under my jersey, and my regular gear on otherwise. Towards the end of the first lap, my fingers were numb from the cold, and I couldn't feel my fingers. This broke my confidence in part because I couldn't get the feedback I wanted from the controls-- and I figured if I had a crash, it would hurt a lot more if I was frozen.
So after I came through the timing chute, I rode back to my car to warm up my fingers and see if I could find some warmer gloves. My radiator warmed my fingers up, but I couldn't find any warmer gloves. I settled on putting a fleece sweatshirt on under my chest protector and headed out. I warmed up almost immediately and my fingers stayed warm. With some level of comfort re-established, I could focus on riding again. It took me about two laps to get familiar with the new track layout, and then I started to ratchet down my lap times. I did eight laps: 15:56 - 5:48 pit stop - 15:13 15:27 15:01 14:49 14:41 14:29 14:19. I totally in the groove by the end of the race ad my last two laps were pretty fast for me. My fastest lap this race was 25 seconds faster than my fastest lap last race, but this track was 1/2 mile longer. That means my average speed on the fastest lap was about 10% faster than it was last race.
Overall, I was pleased with my racing and improvement, but somewhat disheartened that I had to waste almost six minutes warming up. In any case, I learned the lesson that it's better to be too warm than too cold: if the temperature's below 40F, start with a sweatshirt on. I ran my helmet-cam the whole race. Here are some video segments: 1. Novice Class start; 2. pass by Loveland Elite KTM rider #96; 3. getting lined up before start; 4. my final lap; 5. montage of footage from entire race.
Gunn Photography was out at the race taking pictures of the race. He snagged some of me, here, here, and here. I also captured a crash sequence from the second turn of the Novice Class start: here's the photo sequence
2009-01-31
I picked up a KTM 2-stroke to dedicate to the gnarly enduro races. Two-strokes have a weight and handling advantage over four-stroke dirt bikes, although their power-delivery characteristics are more complicated to control. The KTM 250 XCW is sprung for enduros and has a wide-ratio gearbox for maximum versatility. Its 1st is lower and its 5th is higher than the XC version, which is more track-oriented.
I took the 250 to the VDR track to break in the bike and get some seat time on it- Colorado trails are still snowed in and will be for months to come. This MX track is part of the hare scramble course. On the track, the 250's power curve felt immediately different; however, I didn't have to be on the pipe all the time. Lugging it in third worked for most of the track - and the speed gained can be deceiving - but maintaining corner speed is key to not getting bogged down. The 250 felt lighter and easier to handle, but less stable. This handle-ability made clearing the second double in the series before the woops and tabletop the "obvious" thing to do, and I cleared it.
The 250 will make me a better rider on the 450 due to its need for clutch and shift control. When I swapped back to the 450 on the VDR track, I was faster than ever, and I even overshot the first double unintentionally. The 250 is more flickable, but feels less stable and more twitchy at speed. Here's a video of not my best lap on the 250 (crash included).
2009-02-11
After a one-week delay due to weather, I raced the February VDR Hare Scramble on the 11th. The weather was actually about the same as it was the week before on the original date: 30's in the morning and warmer than that once the sun came out. This time I started with my fleece jacket, the Klim Gore-Tex gloves, and new flags on handguards (for wind protection). At the start of the race, I was warm enough other than the tip of my middle finger which was numb until about the third lap.
Starting the race, I was low on confidence for whatever reason. However, my starting lap times were better than my starting lap times in the January race. About four laps in, I got in the groove and sped up a bit, putting in sub-15-minute laps. My best lap was 14:40, whereas in the January race, my best lap was 14:20. Overall, my pace was about the same as the last race, except I didn't waste five minutes in the pits. I had major arm pump for the whole race, probably from putting in some aggressive practice the day before. It was so bad by the last lap I couldn't clear the doubles before the tabletop at the loop's start.
This race there were only 20 novices and an overall turnout of 91 racers. I was 14th in Novice, just literally a few seconds away from being able to start a 9th lap. I was 70th overall.
I ran the VIO POV.1 helmet-cam the whole race again. This time I moved the mount position to low on the right-hand side of my helmet, which works much better. I posted three videos, here's a quick link to the whole-race highlights. I posted an index of who shows up when in the video over on thumpertalk.
2009-03-01
Weather for the March 1st Hare Scramble at VDR in Berthoud, Colorado couldn't have been better. It started a little overcast, then cleared up. Track conditions were excellent throughout most of the track, with just a few sandy spots. The worst was the over-the-pipe hill and hairpin turn just before the scoring chute, which was super sandy.
My riding buddy and I have changed how we practice from just riding laps to riding 4-lap "motos" with an appropriate handicap set up so that we both have to ride at near 100% to either pass or not get passed. This competitive training seems to work much better than just putting around the track with no competition. I've also been riding my 250 cc 2-stroke (KTM 250 XCW) in practice. This requires a much more active riding style: more shifting, more using the clutch, more corner entry speed, and more confidence on the jumps. It makes me a better rider when I go back on the 4-stroke (which has a big advantage on the VDR track).
It paid off at this race. First of all, I finished 9 laps instead of 8. Since they added the NE section of the track a few races ago, I haven't been able to break 8 laps. This time I started my 9th lap with about 3-5 minutes to spare. My lap times were consistently better, with the best at 14:03 and the worst - which included crash restarts - in the 14:50's. My average non-crashing lap was just under 14:20. My approach was to attack the corners a lot more and keep confidence that giving it gas would straighten me out. I also tried to make sure my straightaway speeds were high.
However, this increased pace and aggressive approach caused me to crash twice. I also stalled two other times- one was
a direct result of the helmet-cam cable getting caught on me Leatt brace. The last three laps were very competitive: I duked it out with a KTM 2-stroke rider and a Honda CRF rider, both times places being won and lost by a rider running off the track or falling over.
Here are the videos from the race: whole-race highlights,
last lap,
second-to-last lap,
pass of vintage Husqvarna.
RallyImprezive's wife took a bunch of photos of the race as well: RallyImprezive VDR Photos. His helmet-cam video is here
The next race is the Caprock Canyon Enduro in Quitaque TX on March 15th. I'll be racing the KTM 250 XCW 2-stroke. See you there?
A- and I left on Friday about two o'clock from Boulder, Colorado. We
loaded A-'s Toyota pickup (with capper) with all our gear and put the
two bikes (a KTM 200 EXC and my 250 XCW) on my 4x8' flatbed trailer.
We drove straight to Dumas, Texas, where we camped overnight. Rolling
into Dumas, we were met by falling snow. This was somewhat distressing since
neither of us brought out winter camping gear. Hey, it's March and
it's Texas, it should be warm, right? We each set our tents with cold fingers and got
the hatches battened down as quickly as possible. I ended up wearing a fleece
hoody inside my summer sleeping bag, cinched up mummy-style, trying to
stay very still to retain what warmth I could. It didn't help that we
were right next to a railroad, though weaing earplugs did help
somewhat.
The next morning, we got up at dawn, got breakfast at a local joint,
and headed down to Quitaque, Texas, the location of the race.
Quitaque has a population of about 430, and there were over 400 racers
present. With the extra people who came along but didn't race, the
event more than doubled the size of the town. RV's, trailers, and
tents were spread almost everywhere. On Saturday, we set up a nice
camp bordering some small woods (to try to stay away from the noisy RV
generators), watched some of the Grand Prix race, and jetting our
2-strokes. I ended up with a 38 pilot, 1/2 turn air screw, and kept
the M8RW/3 and 165 main that I had been using in cooler weather in
Colorado. The local elevation of Quitaque is about 2500'.
Sunday morning was cold, but it warmed up quickly. This threw some
question on our jetting, but in the end we just left the bikes as-is
and fiddled with the air screws a bit. We were both on row 27, so we
headed to the start with about 10 minutes to spare. The first test
was the G-P course, and it alternated between fast, open terrain and
tight trees. I tried to make sure to make way for later-minute riders
who wanted to pass. After this first test section, we had a 10-mile
transfer to the locale of the rest of the enduro. Here, we had
another restart and then the second of the A/B/C tests. The next restart after this marked
the A/B vs. C route split. We had three A/B loop tests, which were
tighter, had more hills, many without warning, and was generally
relentless. Through these tests, the temperature rose 10-20 degrees,
and the under-layers I had on to keep warm in the morning cause
overheating. I didn't get a chance to cool down until after the
second of the three A/B tests. Joining the C loop, there was one more
long test and then the 10-mile transit back to the start, where we ran
the G-P loop in reverse as the final test.
Overall, the terrain was not very technical and the traction of the
dirt was phenomenal. What made this enduro hard for me was the
relentless, super-tight turns through trees. Smacking trees became a
regular occurance and my hand-guards paid their way at this enduro.
The 250 XCW worked great, and I had no mechanical issues. A- wasn't
so lucky. His 200 EXC cracked a radiator and he ran dry through the
A/B tests. I stopped and gave him the rest of the water in my
camelback, and he was able to limp to the next check and get more
water, and then cruise back to town.
This enduro was the restart format and thus didn't really have a
timekeeping requirement. The next enduro (Pine Ridge) will be more
difficult in this regard. In any case, my goal will again be to
finish the enduro, gain experience, and maybe get a little faster.
The 250 2-stroke requires more effort to go fast, but is much easier
than the 450 4-stroke to wrestle around, or pick up.
I took a few photos of Saturday's G-P race and two of the enduro restarts. Link here. I also ran the VIO POV.1 helmet-cam almost the entire race.
race montage,
Zak hits cactus
Also Jason Guerrero, from Elite KTM in loveland, has a new blog.
5/8/2009 - Results are posted! I came in 4th in Vet-C, not bad! I think if I had just given up on trying to maintain my goggles, I could have made 3rd.
Hard Rock Enduro in the books!
I'm new to enduros, this was my 4th race. I ride in Vet-C, and I finished mid pack or a little better at Pine Ridge and Cucharas. I did one lap at Hard Rock, got some minor injuries towards the end of the second test, and decided I wouldn't be able to finish the race without injuring myself further. By the time I got back to gas, I was 20+ minutes late to my 2nd lap start time anyway.
When I pulled up to my camp, my two neighbors were also back already: one with a broken front brake lever; the other (a Sen-C rider I believe) with the comment "Jeez, that just wasn't even fun, just torture."
I will be interested to see the attrition rate for this enduro. At Cucharas, more than half of all "C" class riders didn't finish (59 of 109 dropped). There were about 263 racers at Cucharas, so C class riders were 41% of the field. I think C is the largest class by size.
With Cucharas already in the books and some posts indicating that this enduro would be easier or at least less rocky, I expected this enduro to be easier than Cucharas. I think this enduro was too hard for C class riders, and realistically so was Cucharas.
I heard several comments at Cucharas and saw some comments posted that it was the person's "first and last enduro" or that they "wouldn't be back." This is probably not the reaction one wants to hear from new racers!
In any case, thanks to everyone who helped out and I'll see you at the rest of the 09 RMEC series! My helmet-cam video turned out good and I'll have it uploaded in the next day or so.
I just put a new set of tires on the 250 XCW; the original set was pretty worked, presumably, from all the hard rock riding in the last
two enduros. I settled on a Pirelli Scorpion Pro front and a M404 rear. I was pretty happy with these tires at Albany, with the exception
that they seemed slick for a little bit after getting out of the mud.
Next
race is the Inyan Kara national enduro in Upton Wyoming next weekend.
See you there!
I left the house at 4:45 AM and got back at 11:00 PM, riding a total of 307.4 miles. The only pavement on this route was from my house to the bottom of Kelly Flats, and then Grand Lake back through RMNP and home. Everything else was on dirt: 4x4 trails, ATV trails, and singletrack.
Here's the planning thread
and the ride report thread. Here are the photos I took
The next enduro race is this Sunday: the Greenridge Enduro in Oakcreek CO.
I'm heading up to the RMEC Greenridge Enduro late Saturday, racing on Sunday.
I am antsy to get back on the moto and get training for the winter
race season, as well as getting back on the bicycle to get fit again.
I have spent many weeknights rebuilding my two bicycles. The new Yeti
575 Carbon/Race got its final touches: Joplin seat post, 180mm front
rotor, moto-style brake setup, new pedals (Specialized low-pro Mag II
for now) and new tires. My old Barracuda A2M (circa 1992-3) got its
original rigid fork reistalled, a new set of wide riser handlebars,
new Avid V-brakes (replacing the original cantilevers), some slick
tires, and a new seat. My goal is to use this bike for riding around
town and commuting to work.
A friend of mine asked if I wanted to race the Best in the Desert Laughlin Hare Scramble this year, and I said
I was up for it. It's a 100 mile desert race in NV and is reported to have no worse technical terrain than
about an RMEC C-class route. It sounds like a fast race, perfect for the 450 XCW.
By the time my wrist is back in racing shape, I will have missed two
VDR/Berthoud Hare Scrambles and two enduros. There is little chance I
can race the October hare scramble, but I will almost certainly be
able to race the next one on November 8th. Right now it's primeautumn
trail-riding season just west of Fort Collins, and I'm sorry to be
missing it. I hope to be able to hit those trails again in late
October. Last year I rode Donner Pass from the north in snow in early December.
2009-09-08 recap:
The injury has caused me to miss two hare scrambles and two enduros,
and a bunch of training time. With the recent cold and snowy weather,
riding opportunities are limited. However, I have been able to get
back on the mountain bike for some training rides and I've taken the
KTMs around the block a few times just to let them know they're not
forgotten. I think I would be able to start riding trail or the mx
track within about a week if the weather would start cooperating.
With the last dump of snow, the trails west and north-west of Fort
Collins are problably now snowed in for the winter.
My race plans for the 2010 season include the VDR hare scramble season
(already underway), the 2010 RMEC series, and the BITD Laughlin Hare
Scramble in March.
2009 RMEC series DVD available soon! - I will have a DVD with
my helmet-cam footage from the 2009 RMEC series (the 7 races I made)
available for sale in the next week or so. Check back here for availability!
After riding all the enduros last year, many people - including myself - were having more problems riding up the jump faces than some of the gnarliest terrain during the enduro series. If your bike fell over, it was really hard to lift up because you were both on slick ice under the mud, and the bike weighed an additional 50-100 lbs.
My wife took the DSLR and took a bunch of photos: Link to JAN 2010 VDR Photos
The 2010 RMEC season is already upon us. The first two races are a double-header Feb 6-7th at Wickenburg AZ. I can't wait to
get back on some trails again.
25 JAN 2010 Update: I just sent in my application for the AZ 2-day enduro and the Best in the Desert U.S. Hare Scramble in Laughlin NV.
The next race I'll be at is the RMEC Upton National Enduro in June. I have to miss the Nebraska enduro this weekend due to a prior commitment.
Some of the jeep roads around here are thawing out, and I've been able to get about 100 miles of trail/4x4 road riding in.
See you out there!
2009-03-20
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.
2009-04-11
The last race of the VDR Hare Scramble series was delayed to the rain
date (April 12) and then rescheduled again to April 26th, which
conflicts with the Pine Ridge enduro race, the second in the 09 RMEC
series. I am planning to race the enduro and skip the hare scramble.
I've been playing with the jetting on the 250 XCW 2-stroke, and have at least one
set that works well, but I believe I can increase power across the board. I'm also thinking about getting a Rekluse Pro for the 250. Since the last race, we've had pretty bad weather, but I've hit VDR several times. I can finally run through the rhythm section without rolling any of them.
2009-04-23
I'm in for the Pine Ridge Enduro in 3 days, April 26th: row 83D. Weather is forecasted
to be in the low 50's with a chance of rain, so the race might be really gnarly. I've tweaked the jetting on
the 250 XCW and added a Rekluse Pro. This is a timekeeping enduro and I'm planning to use just a roll chart, trip-odometer, and
watch and hope for the best.
2009-04-27
I just finished the 2009 Pine Ridge Enduro Race, and wrote a full race report. Here's the link: 2009 Pine Ridge Enduro Race Report. Here's the helmet-cam footage: Pine Ridge video
2009-05-18
The Cucharas Enduro was extremely hard. Many people DNF'd. I drank 150 oz during the race to stay hydrated.
Link to: Race Report. Video
2009-05-26
RMEC has posted the race results for the Cucharas
Enduro. I managed to come in 6th in Vet-C (of 14) giving me 15 class
points. Link to: Race Report. Video
Next race: Hard Rock Enduro near Canyon City, CO, this coming Sunday!
2009-05-29
I want to publicly thank Elite KTM in Loveland Colorado for going beyond
the call of duty to make sure my bike was in tip-top shape for the enduro this weekend. They had my bike on
the stand, torn apart, and repaired while I waited.
2009-06-01
Hard Rock Video Posted
First off, I thank everyone who made this race happen. I know events like this take a lot of work and organization and I appreciate it. Even with limited space at the venue, everyone fit in for camping and parking and the race and workers were well organized and overall very helpful. Thanks everyone!
Quote:
There will be adequate time to reach the next test for all skill levels.
...
The good news is that we feel we've pulled together a course that will be
fun and challenging for all skill levels.
Hey, if the majority of C class riders are having a hard time finishing the race let alone having adequate time to reach the next test on time, I think that's a clue that the C route is too hard.
Yeah, we can "keep plugging along", and we're all trying to become better riders; however, it is discouraging to new riders to be thrown into relentless terrain in a race they are not going to finish. Hey, we're in "C" class for a reason! We're newbies.
2009-06-09
Hard Rock enduro results have been posted. Turns out even with my DNF, I finished 6th in Vet-C. Only 2 Vet-C riders fnished the enduro of 13. I am still first overall in the series in Vet-C wiht 48 class points.
Of 93 C-class racers, only 12 finished the enduro.
2009-06-14
I just rode 26 miles of gnarly singletrack in Wyoming with two local
guides who have been riding the area for years. The terrain was a
contrast to what I've ridden before: relentless downed trees and log
crossings, with more tight cross-country riding. I have the logs
pretty well dialed, but it definitely worked my upper body.
2009-06-21
The Inyan Kara NEPG enduro in Upton WY is finished-- great race! Stay tuned and I'll have the helmet-cam footage and race report done in a day or two!
2009-06-23
I've finished the Inyan Kara Enduro race report (with helmet-cam video and map of the C route loops!).
2009-07-03
Yesterday I rode at Left-Hand Canyon, and we found a western route
from the NW corner of the OHV area around counter-clockwise back south
that connected up to the main trails on legal singletrack. We also
rode the eastern 841/842 singeltrack that runs back down near the old
Carnage Canyon area. Here's
the interactive track log. I managed to bend my rear sprocket so
much the chain wouldn't stay on. We were able to fix it on the side
of the trail in about 45 minutes - good enough to ride back to town
anyway.
2009-07-08
The next RMEC enduro is this Sunday at Sidney, Nebraska; however, I'll be riding Taylor Park for three days instead. I plan to race the Greenridge enduro in Oakcreek on the 26th. July 18th is is the MOAR IV ride
2009-07-20
On Saturday I rode MOAR IV - the fourth annual "Mother of all rides", organized by
HellSickle from ADVrider.com. The idea
was to do as many off-road miles in a single-day as possible. The route, in brief, was: Fort Collins - Ted's Place - Kelly Flats - Manhatten road - Bald Mtn road - KillPecker - Nunn Creek Basin - Green Ridge Trail - Highway 14 to Gould for lunch - Calamity Pass Road to Teller City - FR 758 to Jack Park Trail - Trail 1228 to Road 750 - Single track loop around the entire Snyder Creek Basin - Single track & ATV trail in the Stillwater Area - Highway 34 at Lake Granby - Trail Ridge Road over RMNP - 34 to Loveland - Fort Collins.
2009-07-24
VDR just posted the 2010 Hare Scramble schedule. The first race is in only six weeks - I can hardly wait!
2009-07-26
The Greenridge enduro was a blast! Here's the full race report, with video, photos, and GPS track
2009-08-03
I'm off to the RM3G Nationals (shooting match) Aug 5-9th. The next enduro is Sho-Show in Montrose on August 23rd! See you there.
2009-08-16
Just got back from the Sno-Show enduro near Montrose: great race! Here's the race report
and direct link to the video
2009-09-05
I'll be missing the Greenridge Enduro to shoot the last long-range match of the year. The next enduro after that is Spanish Peaks on Sept 20th.
2009-09-08
I broke my left wrist while training on my mountain bike tonight, so I'm out for 4-8 weeks.
This rules out the first hare scramble (VDR) and the RMEC Spanish Peaks enduro. If it heals fast, I might make the October hare scramble and the last Colorado enduro.
2009-10-01
My wrist seems to be healing well. I am still in the cast, but I have
good motion of my fingers and I can carry things about as heavy as a
soda can and no pain. The break was the inside corner of the radius
on my left arm. It was simple and nothing was out of place, so it was
about as good as could be expected from a bone break in that region of
the fore-arm. The cast will be removed on October 13th.
I broke my left wrist while training on my mountain bike tonight, so I'm out for 4-8 weeks.
This rules out the first hare scramble (VDR) and the RMEC Spanish Peaks enduro. If it heals fast, I might make the October hare scramble and the last Colorado enduro.
2009-10-29
I broke the radius in my left wrist while training on my mountain bike
on September 9th, about 7 weeks ago. After five weeks in a cast, I
got it off just over two weeks ago. My wrist was immediately very
weak and sore, but I realized that unless I started to use and
exercise my wrist, it would not gain back its original strength and
range of motion. The doctor had recommended that I stay in a wrist
brace for up to 3 weeks and not do anything aggressive for up to 3 or
4 weeks! After about a day of using it, it had to go. Since then, my
wrist has had a very fast recovery- I now have almost full range of
motion (90%+) and for most normal activities, I have no problems. It
is still weak when I attempt to apply force in the outer reaches of
the range of motion.
2009-11-30
On Saturday, I rode VDR for the first time since my wrist healed. The
track has been changed around significantly- they basically broke the
track into 3-4 turn segments and stitched them back together in a
different order and in different directions. I think I like the track
better this way, actually. My wrist felt fine, and is pretty much
back to 100% as far as dirt-biking is concerned. The VDR Hare Scramble is this coming Sunday and I can't
wait to race again!
2010-01-17
I raced the January Hare Scramble at VDR- first race since my wrist being fully healed! It felt great
to be back on the bike in a race, but the conditions couldn't have been worse. After several weeks
of freezing temperatures and a lot of snow, and then one week of temperatures above 40F, the track was a disaster.
On the surface, it was just really, really muddy. This mud was made of a lot of clay, so it stuck everywhere and weight down your
bike, boots, and added probably 100 lbs to the overall package. But under the mud was ice. Mud on ice is just about
the slipperiest combination to ride on.
2010-01-22
Last Saturday evening was the RMEC Banquet for the 2009 season. I ended up 3rd place in Vet-C, woohoo!
2010-02-09
Just got back from two days of enduro racing near Wickenburg AZ, the Dual Duel in the Desert. I'll have a race report and helmet-cam video online in a few days!
2010-02-11
2010 Dual Duel in the Desert Enduros
RACE REPORT
VIDEO
GPS TRACKS
2010-03-08
I just got back from the Best in the Desert - Laughlin - US Hare
Scramble race. I was in Ironman-Amateur class, which means I raced the
whole race by myself (no team). The race was fast with some technical
sections, and I'm sore all over! I finished and didn't come in last,
and only have some minor bike damage, so I'm pretty happy. I got the
whole race on the VIO POV.1 helmet-cam, and I'll have a full race
report and video online by the end of the week.
2010-04-27
News! I have race reports for the Best in the Desert Laughlin Hare Scramble and the RMEC Lonestar National Enduro in the works, with video. I've just been busy with some other business and haven't had a chance to get the video edited down yet.
2010-06-23
Just got back from the Inyan Kara National Enduro in Upton WY. I'll have
a race report with helmet-cam video online in a few days!
2010-06-29
Helmet-cam footage from Inyan Kara is posted here
2010-09-19
The Sidney Enduro Race Report with video is now online! Good race!
2010-12-07
Where's Zak been? My wife delivered our first child several weeks ago, so I've had my hands full!
I'll resume racing in early 2011. If anyone knows where I can find a good 50cc starter bike for him, let me know!
2011-05-18
I've been "MIA" so far from the RMEC race scene this year for two big
reasons: my silencer
business has been super busy - which is great! - and second,
spending time with my new son (now about 6 months old). I am really
looking forward to the trails up here melting to get in some after
work trail rides, and I might see if I can hit some races later in the
year. But for now, it's back to work! Best regards to all.
2012-02-07
2011 was a bust for me. Between my day job, my side business, and my family, there
was no time left over for enduro. For 2012, I am hitting the crossfit gym hard to get
in great shape, and trying to square away my businesses so I'll have time to race in late 2012 and 2013. In
the mean time, check out what Thunder Beast Arms
Corporation has going on.
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,
