While not a points-paying event for us NETRA guys, the Sandy Lane is the unofficial re-start of the season (after the Snow Run, of course). We had a really good contingent of Pathfinders go down this year; eight of us in all. The ride down, sign up, and tech inspection went really well on Saturday. Because this was the 75th anniversary of the ride, they put out a really cool display of vintage bikes and I heard that John Penton was on the grounds but didn't see him myself.
The only exception to the smooth sign-up procedure that I was smart enough to cut my right wrist wide open while crawling around in the jam-packed trailer...caught it on the underside-corner of one of the drawers in the tool box. It really looked like I was going to need stitches, but a combination of New Skin, bandages, sport tape, and duct tape kept things together and eventually stopped the bleeding. That night was the usual tom-foolery of dinner out with the guys, watching SX in somebody's hotel room, and junk food.
The Race:
I had told the guys that I was there to practice and would not be at my race pace and I kept to that....for most of the day. The first sections was laid out like last year. Off the start Scott and Ed went off in front of me and then at 0.3mi there was a big reset. Just enough riding to get warmed up a little and then just enough reset to cool off. What followed was about three miles of sugary South Jersey whoops. It was a cruel awakening to the riding muscles that had been dormant for months. I started to feel it in my legs and arms and worried that it was going to be a very long day. But at about mile 4 the whoops subsided and we were into some very cool rhythm riding.
The second check was a check-in to the first timed section of the day. This was the fun stuff that we go there for every year: semi-open single track that you could just rail into the turns and dump the clutch on the way out. Ed and I ran the whole thing pretty much nose to tail, swapping the lead once or twice. Really a lot of fun. Rick (who was riding one row behind us), Ed and I all dropped a 5. Nice big reset after the section got us all back on our minute.
This transfer section was familiar from the past few years. They ran us out into and around the big square plots of a tree farm. This was the deepest and softest sand of the day. Lots of fun if you kept your momentum. After rounding the far side of the field we saw a check-in well ahead. I was running about 20 seconds hot but because the check was easily visible there was plenty of time to scrub that off and come in right at the top of the minute. Ed came into the check right next to me only a second later and I knew the drag race would be on. I dropped the clutch, went to WFO throttle on the 300 and quick-shifted up to 5th as quick as I could....probably accidentally roosted the check workers....sorry about that! Later, Ed said that he'd had trouble getting his bike into gear.
This section was more of the same, super-fun Jersey stuff. Lots of rhythm stuff with lots of flow. Ed was on my rear for the first part of the section. I was pushing, but not at full race pace. Just trying to concentrate on form and technique. In the middle of the section, there was a very cool little enduro-cross bit. Some piles of logs and a few MX-style berms. I was a real squid through this stuff and just tried to keep forward motion. In the zig-zag of the section I saw that Ed was just behind with Rick right behind him (having caught us from one row back). I just concentrated on staying smooth and consistent without pushing too hard. Rick caught me about 2 miles before the end of this long section that ended in an e-check. I pushed hard at this point and he let me lead and gave me a good push. I dropped 11 and Rick 10.
Ed led us into the next section and I just concentrated on staying on his tire and keeping my form. There was a really cool, spooky section that had been hit by brush fires...earth, trees, and brush all the same shade of gray. Just as Ed and I arrived, we came upon about 5 slower riders. Because of the burnt, thinned, brush, I was able to spot a cheater line and squirt by the whole bunch in one move. Ed stayed right on my tail for the rest of another really fun, long section with both of us dropping 11. Then to gas to get ready for the second loop of the day.
It was obvious by the routesheet that the majority of the second loop would be the A/B section. We spent the gas stop telling Jim that he should forget about the fact that he's a C rider and do the A/B with us....he caved and did it. Good thing too. I led us into the section after the split, riding just about 10 seconds hot. I spotted the check in about 20 yards up the trail and started to scrub time. Then I saw the check sign indicating that it was a START check and sped in to wait for the flip. We all knew what to expect here....9 miles of "the meat grinder". However, the Meteor club took it fairly easy on us. There definitely was trail here that was super-tight. But it was not as relentless as years past.
After about 6 miles of tiring, tight trail, we came into another clearing and another enduro-cross section. I rode this one a little better than the last but not much. This was a light at the end of the meat grinder tunnel because all of the spectators and parked vehicles certainly signaled the end of the A/B section and a rest at gas.....or so I thought. There was, indeed, a check here. I thanked the guy that wrote my score on my card and said to him "That was a workout!" He replied "Ya got about 3 more miles!" No reset here, which meant any tardiness at this check would be compounded at the next. I was feeling surprisingly good and pushed on. And finished up the section. Somewhere in the middle of this section, Jim - the guy that we had to talk into riding it - passed me like I was standing still. I tried to hang with him but couldn't. I just got back into my zone and rode. A little before the eventual end of the A/B I caught and passed Jim when he toppled. He was riding super-quick up until then.
Back to gas and then the final section. It turned out that this section was not timed at all...just ending at the beer tent with a KNOWN. I vote for this checkpoint as the best one on the east coast. Can't beat ending an enduro with a red Solo cup full of beer.
In all, I was pretty happy with how I rode. My score was decent. Hands not too torn up and body not too sore. Looking forward to next year already!