New bike build-up: Stage 2, Guards and First Ride

Making grip diameter larger

Got some time over a couple more nights last week to finish up getting most of the bike built up.  First was grips.  I prefer the Pro-Grip pillow tops but didn't have any one hand.  I've got a collection of other ones in the parts bin so I decided to use up some stock.  Got a really helpful tip from Gilles T. a while back...use tape under the grips to make them bigger in diameter and more comfortable for my long hands.  I use two rounds of Gorrilla Tape.  I run the grips under the hot water tap for a couple minutes and they get nice and pliable and go on smooth with some spray adhesive acting as lubricant until it starts to set up.

Extended barkbusters

In the previous post, I mentioned about the way in which I'm using regular barkbusters with some extensions to reach the FastWay top clamp.  You should be able to get the gist of it from this pic.  This set up seems to work really well in that the bolted joint at the extension provides just a little flex during impacts, but the FastWay clamp and the threaded bar ends keep things in place very well.


With this being my first FI bike, this was also my first map switch.  The KTM Hard Parts one is a very slick setup that takes the place of the top of the clutch perch.  A very interesting feature that I was not aware of is that there are actually three maps: stock, mild, and aggressive.  With the switch, position one is always stock.  Position two is determined by another switch mounted under the seat near the ECU.  On this switch, position one will make the map switch option select the mild map.  When the under-seat switch is in position two, the map switch option will select the aggressive map.  Pretty cool stuff and a very clean install.

Handlebar map switch

Under-seat optional map selector

Of course, for any New England bike, the usual protection items are mandatory.  For the first time, I went with the Hard Parts plastic skid plate.  This was the only item on this build-up that didn't really fit well.  My guess is that there are slight changes in the engine mount gussets from the 2012 to the 2013 bikes.  I had to do a little bending on the mount to make it work.  I replaced the Dzus fastener at the front with a bolt for security.  It's the only fastener holding on the plate so removing it for oil changes should still be very easy.  Also included in the protection category are the shark fin and radiator guards.  Both of these items are from Bullet Proof and the fit was perfect and installation very easy.

BulletProof rad. guard

BulletProof shark fin

Hard Parts skid plate

While I had the airbox open, I did a couple other things.  I made a little gap for the tail light wire to get in there, I switched out the stock battery for the TurnTech that I had on the 300, and I also installed a little bit of skidplate foam over the drain at the bottom of the airbox.  I've been doing this for a while now.  The foam lets water drain out but also slows down or stops any splashes from coming in.

TurnTech battery

KTM tail light

Skidplate foam covering
airbox vent

With all that done, it was finally time for a real ride.  After the 600+ hours that the Pathfinders put into getting Thomaston Dam open for riding, we finally had a chance to enjoy the fruits of our labor in the form of a nice club ride.  I think 20+ members, family, and friends showed.  Weather was perfect and I got to work breaking in the bike.  I already know that the suspension was going to be firm, but I didn't know just HOW FIRM it would be.  VERY firm is the answer.  I took it as a good sign that, even with the MX-type suspension, the bike did not really deflect at all but it definitely was not well suited for N.E.  The next thing I noticed was the power of the motor.  I was still a little skeptical that a 350 would be enough to haul around my 235lbs.  I no longer have any doubts.  The motor is strong and very useful.  I'll know more on the next ride when I can open it up some more, but I like the motor and the FI a lot.  The map switch provides a very subtle change in the mild map.  It doesn't feel de-tuned, just a little mild.  Should be very useful on slippery days.  The motor has very little flywheel effect which does make it susceptible to stalling.  Turning the idle up a little and minding the clutch seem to take care of this.  Here's a quick helmet cam video of the second loop of the day.  I was staying away from the most technical trails until I get the suspension back from Gilles later this week.  You can hear the quick-revving nature of the motor in the beginning of the video - nothing like the RFS 450 that was my last 4-stroke.

I think it's going to be a really fun bike!

New bike build-up: Stage 1, Controls

This season has been pretty much a loss due to my terrible riding connected to the chronic headaches and vision issues I've been dealing with.  So, might as well write a little about something optimistic.  Nothing more optimistic than getting a NEW BIKE!

Thanks to Pete T. at Razee for a really honest deal and great customer service, I'm now selling the '09 300 and I'm back on a thumper:  2013 350xc-f.  I'm really looking forward to it.  Think it's going to be a great bike and tons of fun.  So, it's not as interesting as talking about racing, but I thought it might be cool to document building up the bike for New England enduros.  Never really documented the process before with other bikes.

Tight panel gaps

First, some quick initial impressions of the bike.  I've only done a couple backyard circles on it so far but it definitely does not feel heavier than my 2009 2-stroke.  It feels just as flickable.  This is my first F.I. bike and it's impressive.  Quick power but not jarring.  With the stock silencer, the noise is not too bad at all.  The motor seems a little tight right now...it will not start in gear (bike is e-start-only).  The fit and finish on this bike is really impressive.  The gaps between body panels looks like something you'd see on a Lexus.  It seems like with each successive KTM that I've had, they've upped their game in this department.  The shrouds are two-piece, and the quality fit continues there.  One other thing that I've noticed so far is that the foot pegs are canted back just slightly - angled back maybe 10 degrees or so.  Maybe KTM thinks that we're all bowlegged and their trying to help.

Two-piece shrouds

Canted foot pegs

Looking at the foot peg picture, you can also get a feel for how the oil filler cap kind of sticks out a little.  Wonder if this is what caught out Charlie Mullins in the first couple National Enduros of this year.

Now on to set up:  Of course, bike set up is an extremely personal thing.  I'm tall (almost 6'5") with most of my height being in my legs.  I'm riding New England enduros where timekeeping still survives -- if only slightly.

Fastway top bar clamp

Bars in forward-most position

Three bikes ago, I bought Fastway barkbusters - the ones that mount to the special top bar clamp and are extra long.  I didn't have good luck with the bark busters themselves, but I really like the top clamp part of the system.  So, I've added little bolt-on extensions to stock Moose barkbusters and hook'em to the Fastway clamp.  (pics of this setup in a future post)  

A main reason that the KTMs work well for me are the ergos.  Being able to move the bars to the forward-most position and rolling them forward some really help give me some space in the cockpit.  I took a class with Rich Lafferty a while back and he told me something counterintuitive....a tall guy should use low, straight bars.  Didn't seem to make sense at the time, but I've now really come to like the Carmichael bends that I've cut down to 30.5".

Reshaped front brake MC

It seems like Brembo has reconfigured the front master cylinder a little bit - for the better.  The banjo bolt now seems to mount a little lower.  I run my levers somewhat low and my bars rolled forward and in the past I've run into interference problems in this spot.  This new (to me) set up seems much better.

For the Dugas Watchdog, I came up with a pretty clean mounting idea about a year ago.  I drilled one hole in the Fastway top clamp and use, one bolt, a spacer, and just one of the mounting tabs that come with the computer.  This rig has about 100 miles on it now and has not moved at all.  Along with this, I've made it a habit to always run my kill switch backwards so as to avoid accidentally hitting it when going for the computer switch.  Now, I think it's a much better thing to reach for the kill switch with my index finger rather than thumb.  It feels just like reaching for the clutch...really natural and I still have my thumb around the grip.

Watchdog mounted to top clamp

That's it for now.  Hope to finish up grips, headlight, and map switch next time I can get into the garage.

Watchdog and kill switches

Watchdog mounted to top clamp

Open Season

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted here.  With last season being a wash after hurting my back and this season starting off with a thud....flat in the second section of the snow run....I've finally got something worth posting about....The Sandy Lane.

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!

School Day

I'd been thinking about taking a class for quite a while.  I know that Shane Watts does a great job with classes and lots of guys say good things about his methods.  Rich Laffterty has gotten some good press in Trail Rider recently and I'd been looking at his website too.  It took a couple tries at scheduling it, but yesterday I finally got down to South Jersey to work with Rich.  It took about 5 hours to get to his place, so it made for a long day trip, but it was worth it.

We'd scheduled a four-hour session starting at 1:00.  Pretty hot and humid, but a great day for a ride.  Rich showed a real interest in addressing my needs for the session, my particulars regarding how I fit on the bike, and understanding what I do pretty well and where I needed improvement.  We spent the first hour talking bike set up and thought processes when getting ready to corner.  Originally, Rich said that the setup of my bars looked pretty good but later, as I started to apply some of his techniques, it became obvious to me that a couple small changes might make a measurable difference.  One of the first things Rich pointed out was my standing position.  Which I've never really thought about - other than trying to be in it more often rather than sitting.

On a quick trail ride to warm up a little, I was trying to practice 3 or 4 different things that Rich had mentioned.  I was riding SLOW, but it was possible to feel that each one could contribute to smoother riding. We worked a little on standing while wiggling through tight trees.  New to me and I can see how it would work, but I'll need more practice.  After this activity, Rich gave me a chance to ride his Husa - he wanted me to take note of the bar position.  While I'd always assumed that my layout was best for me and had become very comfortable with it (using the same exact set of bars since 2005), it became obvious that his bars would suit me better, even though he and I are very different size-wise.  This would definitely be a necessary component of implementing his recommended standing posture.

Next we did what he calls a triangle drill.  Three slightly bermed corners on a low-traction hard-pack dusty flat.  He worked me through a very well thought-out progression of exercises - each time adding one new layer of complexity.  We added facets of weighting, seating position, vision, balance, and braking.  Rich did a good job again of spotting what I might have been doing well and where improvements were possible.

On our way back to the house we did a little work on log crossings - from a small one to very big on an enduro-cross course.  He showed me a few different ways to handle small and medium logs that I hadn't thought of before.  The biggest one was a challenge and psyched me out a little.  Crossing it while seated to loft the front and then push over with my long legs is my usual approach.  Rich showed how to do it while standing and - again - this will take practice.

All in all, a very good day.  I was impressed with Rich's ability as a clinician.  He has a real interest in taking a word that riders use like "uncomfortable" or "smooth" and then breaking down that feeling into tangible components of body position and technique.  Some guys that have a boatload of natural athletic talent could probably implement these new techniques right away and integrate them into their riding very well.  For me, I'm going to have to actually give up some "fun" riding time to methodically practice this stuff and then practice it some more.  Otherwise the day would turn out to be a waste and I'll go back to my usual style.  So it's up to me to have discipline.

Got home a little after 11:00 after fighting traffic most of the way home.  A long day but a lot of fun.

Catching up...

It's been quite a while since I made an entry.  A couple guys encouraged me to get back to it so I'll do my best to recap the first three NETRA enduros of the season that have now passed.

Rhody / Leyden Memorial:

As usual, the Rhody was a blast with tons of excellent trail and really good organization.  As usual I felt like I rode pretty well.  And as usual, my results were terrible.  Don't really know what it is about that enduro.  I always feel like I'm riding well and that I'm close to my max but my scores are pretty terrible.

The first section was basically the same as the past couple years, out the back of the tree farm in the twisty single track.  Scott, Ed, and me on the same line with a few other PFers on a later line.  Like last year, the route went up the sluice that drains the irrigation pond.  This year they let the water flow for everyone in the morning and afternoon.  Last year it was pretty dry on the first loop and then they let it rip for just the A's and B's at the end.

I think it was the second of the third section that they're now calling Sahara.  Last year it was maybe just half a mile or so.  This year we zigged and zagged across the dunes and it was a ton of fun.  Section after that was  LONG, fun, twisty single-track....about 18 miles in all, I think.  Incredible riding.  In this section, Ed and I were having a great battle back and forth.  He was right on my rear and then I'd pull a few yard.  This repeated four of five times until......  Less than a mile from the end of the section, Ed was again right on my tail.  Over a small rise with a curve in it I heard a THUNK behind me.  The hit was loud enough that I could hear it about 20 feet behind me over the motor, wind noise, etc.  Looked back and saw Ed on the ground with his bike pointing the wrong way.  Ran back to help him out.  He and his new 'Berg were not looking good.  After he regrouped he told Jim S. (who had also stopped) and me to take off.

The only glitch of the day for me was the long road section out to the "dash for cash" section.  The mileage markers seemed a little wonky and I got the timekeeping wrong.  This made Scott and me one flip late on the check in.  This section was short, tough, and fun.  After that it was out to the Pachaug section with the big rock garden that seems to get bigger each year, then back to the tree farm for just a quick mile there.

Already looking forward to the next one!


Clarkie's Closed Course Enduro:

Twice before, I've promised myself that I would never go back to Clarkies.  Not sure what it is about that place.....just don't find a groove there.  This time, I really give the trailboss credit for adhering the the NETRA rules.  In years past, this was not true.  The terrain is what it is, tough and technical.  It lets you know where you stand.  The course was laid out as three repetitions of the same 20-mile loop.  The first time around it was two miles of free territory, about ten miles of timed section, then eight miles of free back to the trucks.  I was already feeling like I'd had enough.  The second loop started with a quick "extreme" section which......I was too stupid to realize that it was a timed section so I just lolligagged through it.  Then TWELVE MILES of free territory that required me to ride pretty much at race pace in order to get the the Known start of the timed section of this loop.  By the time I'd covered those twelve miles, I was pissed and called it a day.  Scott was there too and he was riding well.  At the start of the first loop I pulled away from him a little but by half-way he passed me.  We got out on the same flip, though.  He gets props for finishing the whole event when I wussed out.


KPTR enduro:

These three enduros where on three consecutive weekends.  The day after Clarkies we had an awesome private track day with the club.  At the track I could tell my back wasn't right.  The enduro the day before had beat it up and I was in a lot of pain.  The riding was too good to stop, though.  I nursed it all week hoping that it would be good for the KPTR enduro.....one of my favorites even though I almost broke my femur there a few years ago.  It didn't quite work out.


Scott, Ed, and I carpooled up there and pre-entered on row 3.  It was a beautiful day and trail conditions were perfect.  Like in years past, we started on the grass track and the whole first section was a ton of fun.  I rode well in this section and ran the helmet cam the whole time.  I think that this section is one of my favorites on the whole circuit.  Grass track, lots of technical woods, grass track, woods, grass track, woods, grass track.  Just a ton of fun.  But, as we got out on the road after this, I could already feel my back tightening up.

The second section was typical KPTR.  Flowing, rocky, technical single track.  I was riding pretty well....for a while.  I was flowing well and Scott was riding particularly well.  He passed me about mid-section and pulled a gap.  Ed and I were pretty close for the rest of this section. After that, it was all downhill for me.  My back hurt so bad that I was at about half-speed and trying to avoid as many bumps as possible.  I just struggled into gas.  Ed and Scott were there long before me.  I couldn't stand up straight.  I muddled through one more section just to get at least half of the check and then called it a day.

It's ten days later as I write this.  I did not ride or do the club work party this past weekend and the back is still a little sore.  It's getting better very, very slowly.  Going to skip riding this weekend too, even though I'd really like to do Sportsman at the BTR HS.

Sandy Lane 2011

The unofficial start of our enduro season finally arrived.  It's been one of the toughest winters I can remember.  Huge storms in January brought feet of snow cover to most of southern New England.  I had the studded tires made and ready to go but they never even got mounted.  Everywhere we usually get some seat time in the winter was unrideable....even canceling the Snow Run.  Yes, the Snow Run Enduro canceled by too much snow.

So, it seemed like I was looking forward to the Sandy Lane even more than usual.  Luckily, I'd gotten to go to Jersey to do a couple practice rides with Gilles.  This was a huge help to helping me get my timing built up a little and to check my fitness level.  Good trails and a fun time, but not a complete prep for the Sandy Lane.  Practice was a lot of the faster, flowing, fun stuff and none of the tightest stuff that I knew would be in the S.L.

A group of seven of us went down and did the usual reg. and tech on Saturday afternoon.  Most of us were on lines 42 and 43.  I think I saw rows as high as 58 so it was the usually strong turnout for the Meteor club.  Everything went smooth and we were at the restaurant for dinner by 6:30.

Sunday morning was cold and clear as predicted.  The dash thermometer on the truck read 32 when we got to the event parking and was forecast to get into the low 50's.  I opted to start with the enduro jacket on, thinking I'd take it off at first gas, but there were lots of dirt road sections where I was glad to have it so I wore it all day.  Conditions were perfect all day.  Tacky sand that was wet down by moderate rains earlier in the week.  Probably some of the best conditions since I've been going to the S.L.

The first section was that stuff that we all look forward to right out behind the gun club.  Smooth, flowing, rhythm riding was just incredible fun.  There were only two drawbacks: at mile 0.5 there was a 3-mile reset....just when you started to get the flow going; and the whole section was set to 18mph when 24mph would have been doable and tons of fun.  Instead, I led and kept time, slowing us down at almost every possible (0.3 mi.).  As we were getting to what seemed like would be the end of the section I was riding very carefully, keeping our group just 5 seconds hot.  I figured that I could easily scrub this time when needed but I was wrong.  We came around an innocent-looking corner and BOOM, checkpoint.  NO TIME to even tap the brakes.  As a fellow trailboss, I was psyched for a very cool check placement.  As a rider, I was pissed.  I was being very disciplined and still got caught.  The check was very well concealed.  One of the check workers was even wearing a ghillie suit like an Army sniper.  Showing just how close we were to the top of the minute... the five of us on minute 42 were riding pretty much nose-to-tail...the first three of us burned it and the last two did not.

The next section was more awesome flowing stuff.  Lots of fun riding hard and building up a sweat.  This is why we come to Jersey.  Really, really enjoyable stuff.  I was working hard to try to stay in front of Rick.  It felt like maybe I'd pulled a few feet on him for a little while but he soon caught up.  I let him by and rode hard to stay on his tail.  I was able to stay close enough to end on the same minute about 20 seconds back.

Between the two gas stops were some transfer sections and the sections infamously known as "the meat grinder".  This year, the really tight stuff didn't seem quite as bad because the club had it broken up into smaller sections with resets between.  Last year, it seemed like it was one LONG section that was just demoralizing.  Rick really took off in this stuff and I could not keep him in sight.  There was another NETRA guy on our row that I could keep covered in the flowing stuff but he pulled away from me too in the tightest stuff.  I think this is where being a big, tall guy is the biggest disadvantage.  I kept trying different techniques to make better time...smooth flow, brake sliding, elbows in and wiggly, elbows out and aggressive....nothing seemed to make a difference in speed so I just tried to keep a positive race-oriented mindset and push on.

About half-way through, Rick did one of the cooler on-trail fixes that I've seen.  Tony C.'s bike had blown off the plug on the smog system.  Rick used the bracket from the headlight switch on his own bike plus a penny to plug the hole.  He'll probably have a part number assigned to this deal and start selling it through Tucker Rocky.

Back to the gas stop after the "meat grinder" sections and we knew the final push would be fun stuff.  The next section was epic.  Just like the opening section of the day but a little more technical.  Rick came into the section a ways behind me.  I pushed as hard as I could trying to stay ahead of him.  About a mile before the check-out he caught me and I pushed about 5% harder to stay in front of him.  Flowing, carving, brake-sliding, and laughing under the helmet.  When we finished I said to the guys that it was the kind of section that made you feel like a superhero.

The last section was all free territory to the known at the end and the beer tent that we'd all been looking forward to.  It was about 5 miles of solid whoops.  Lots of fun for a while, but this was a little bit of a wake-up for me.  My legs were done about halfway through.  Guys from my row and the row behind got by as I periodically slowed down to give the thighs a quick break.  Part of the problem was that I could have had my compression set stiffer.  The bigger part is conditioning.  Need more leg workouts.

All in all, an awesome day of riding.  Good trails, good event, good people, good BSing on the drive.  When we left, three of us were in the top ten in B-Senior:  Rick 7th, me 9th, and Scott F. 10th.  Don't know if that held.  Gilles was in 3rd A-Senior.  A pretty good day and slightly better than I've done before if those scores stay.

UPs:  I think my cardio is definitely better than the end of last year.  My timing is definitely better thanks to the practice rides.  I felt like I stayed in race mode pretty much all day instead of falling into trail riding.  And, as always, the free beer at the finish.

DOWNs:  Need to get my legs in shape...those whoops at the end let me know where I stand.  Even though I was riding pretty sharp and just a little hot (on purpose), burning that check could have been the difference in a place or two in a NETRA enduro.

Pathfinders Motorcycle Club of Connecticut

Great new Pathfinders MC website. Nice job, Jim.

Pathfinders Motorcycle Club of Connecticut

PFMC Banquet

As usual, lots of great people, stories, laughs and bench racing at the Pathfinders banquet.  Rick B. was event trailboss this year and everything came off really well.  Not as many awards this year as in the past but lots of good stories surrounding them.  I think for the first time ever I did pretty well in the raffle...a shirt that's actually my size and then horse traded for a MT-16 front, tire irons, and a set of Renthal fat bars.  Not bad.  As usual, New Milford Cycle was really supportive in giving us a lot for the club's money for the raffle prizes.

NETRA Banquet 2011

Went to the NETRA banquet with Steve E. and Shawn B. this weekend.  Nice to see lots of riders there.  The Springfield club did a nice job of putting the banquet on this year at the Mass Mutual center.   Big place made the expo seem small, but I'm sure it was the same size as usual, just a matter of the spaces being bigger than usual.

Black & Blue: Last one of the year....

Yesterday was the Black & Blue, the traditional season closer.  By this point I was pretty much relegated to fourth place in B-Vet for the year.  The next closest guy was fourteen points ahead, and it would have taken a DNF for me to make up that kind of ground.

On the drive there in the morning, I put more than the usual amount of brain-time into thinking about strategy, time-keeping, and technique.  I reminded myself that this would be the last ride of the year so there was no need to be conservative.  I didn't want to end my season with any regrets or a bunch of stupid errors like I've committed in a couple rides lately.

By a cool coincidence, Ed, Jim D., Mark W., and I all post-entered on the same line.  Great to see Mark come out for an enduro and at the start I started to tell myself that I was going to hang with Jim D. for as long as possible.  He's been on a tear all year and has really only been slowed down when he had a mechanical issues.  Off the start, Ed and I agreed to let Jim take off first so the order was Jim, me, Ed, and Mark.

Right off the bat I felt good and that my pace was decent.  The conditions were perfect.  We were on line 24 and that meant the downed leaves were swept away but the trail was still in good shape without any tough ruts or mud.  The Jim, Tony, Ed freight train stayed together for the whole first section and we all dropped a one.  That felt good because it's not very often that I can match Jim's speed.  Started to think that maybe Jim was taking it easy (and maybe he was) but over this year I've gotten better at controling my state of mind and I used it to build some confidence and to tell myself that I could elevate my comfort level a little.

The next few sections were pure, classic New England enduro.  Rough, rocky, technical.  The second section was the now-infamous river section.  This year, rather than running us down the length of the creek, we criss-crossed it a few times.  I led Jim and Ed into the section and managed to stay in front of Jim for a while.  I think my long legs are an equalizer for his speed in the very technical stuff where there were lots of log crossings, mud holes, etc.  After we got out of the super technical stuff he was right on my ass and I let him by.  I stayed close enough for us both the get the same flip at the check out.  Ed had a few issues in that section and lost a flip there.  The first of two A/B sections was next and it was more of the typical stuff:  Challenging and I was still feeling like my pace was good.

My only real big mistake of the ride happened at the next check in (at the small farm we seem to use every year).  It was a known control and I failed to notice that it was also the gas available.  Ed was nice enough to drop off a gas can there for us in the morning.  The fact that I'd missed the (perhaps crucial) gas stop occurred to me just after leaving the check-in.  There was a good amount of  tar on the day so I think that kept my gas mileage high so that I made it to mile 58 without even needing reserve.

Just before the official gas was the second A/B section, across the street from Martin's hare scrambles track.  I committed one minor error here.  There was a check out just before this section and lots of guys sitting around for a reset.  I couldn't understand why my computer didn't pick up on the reset and started doing it  manually.  Took me about half a minute to realize that the reset was only for the Cs and I needed to get moving.  Might have cost me a flip on the way out.  Jim got me by a bunch in this section.

Ed was only a couple minutes behind us coming into gas.  Jim left a couple minutes before Ed and me.  This was Martin's and it was terrible.  It's so nice of him to have shared his land with NETRA for all these years, but it is beaten down.  Just not a fun section.  Ed and I pushed hard trying to shake the other as we exchanged mistakes and missed turns.   With only 30 routesheet miles left, it really felt like the home stretch.

The next section was near Martins and more wooded (maybe it's still on his property).  There was lots of downed ribbon here and a group of 5 of us got lost.  I was behind Ed when he realized that we'd lost the trail.  After 30 seconds or so he pointed out an arrow so I doubled back and found the trail.  Right after that, I found Jim, with the ass end of his bike pointed straight in the air and the front buried deep.  He was just hauling the front out of a 4-foot mud hole.  I asked and he said he was OK so I pushed on hoping that Ed had found the trail behind me.

After another long(ish) road section it was obvious we were headed to the last section of the day.  Routesheet said that it was probably only going to be about 4 miles or less.  It would be a familiar section for Snow Runs and Black & Blues of the past.  The last section of the last enduro of the year.....I decided to leave it all on the trail and pushed at 10 tenths (as the formula one guys say).  Rock gardens, climbs, descents, and lots of twisty single-track.  It was a blast.  I heard and saw Jim pulling up behind me after entering the section one minute later.  I pulled another 5% and managed to just barely stayed ahead of him as we came into the check-out together - both of us on locked-up front tires as we crossed the stripe.

All in all, a great day of riding, competition, and camaraderie.

Reflections on the day:

• I made good improvements on realizing when I was merely trail riding rather than racing and correcting that quickly.
• My form was pretty good all day.  That's different.
• The cardio work on the C2 seems to be helping me to continue pushing in longer sections.
• I got my timekeeping mojo back - lost that at the Gypsy Moth.
• I elevated my comfort zone.  Continued pushing in some areas where I would have previously backed off.

The humbling part, as I've gotten faster over this season, my competition has done the same.  Two promotions to A out of the class proves just how competitive B-vet was this year.

Congrats to Jim and Ed on first and second respectively in B-senior.  Next year's going to be a ton of fun with 4 PFers in B-senior together.  Can't wait.

Gypsy Moth Enduro

Gypsy Moth is two weeks ago now.  Today was the Black & Blue, but I'm just getting around to catching up on an entry for G.M. tonight.

Again this year, the SRCR club was able to use the very nice property at Whelen Engineering for parking and the start.  When I pulled the bike out of the trailer, I noticed my first mechanical problem of the day....no e-start.  This was a surprise as my last ride a week earlier there was no indication of any problem.  I was hoping that this was perhaps due to the cold weather:  the bike was outside in 30-degree weather overnight.  Unfortunately this was not the case and the e-start was out all day.  In the end, I'd guess that this cost me 2-3 minutes on the day.  I realized that I'd gotten used to not worrying so much about stalling and just relighting the bike with my thumb.  Lesson learned.

We left out the back of parking to do the "Airport Section" first.  And that's when I noticed my second mechanical problem of the day.  I had almost no rear brake action.  Before the start check, I tried to adjust the pedal to get a little more leverage and pressure.  Over the course of the first section, I got a little more brake action.  I guessed that there was probably some water in the line and it froze, blocking the flow of the fluid.

Out on the trail, we got out of the start check and the terrain was the typical for the Airport Section:  rocky, technical, fun.  Ed tipped over just a few corners in and I got past him and put my head down.  This section is on the side of steep hill and it requires constant attention.  A couple miles in is the now-infamous porno-hill:  a 30-foot rock face preceded by a few choice centerfolds tacked to trees.  I remembered the good line from last year and passed a couple guys here that were stuck on the face.  The rest of the first loop was a really good mix of technical stuff with good resets to keep your brain and body in the game.

About halfway through the morning loop I think my brain fell out of my helmet.  I've never made so many time-keeping errors in an enduro since the first couple that I ever did.  On the day I had two burned check-ins, one late check in, and lots of stupid lines taken.  Not sure what's up with my brain.  At Palmyra I kept missing turns.  I need to sharpen up the mental side of my game.  It seems like my trail speed is slowly coming up each race, but my brain is lagging behind.

About halfway through the first loop my forks started to leak....badly.  I'd just gotten them back from Gilles with new seals.  I feared the worst, that maybe there were internal issues causing new seals to leak.  The left leg leaked so bad that oil got all over the brake rotor, giving me about half the normal breaking power.

At the end of the race there was a very sneaky check on the dirt road transferring to the last A/B section.  It wasn't 100% of a legal check, the crew did not have the signs facing the rider - in fact they only had one sign (that I saw) and the crew was hiding off to the side of the road - not that that part's against the rules.

I had a pretty good pace going in the last section until one hill got the best of me.  I made it 3/4 of the way up,  a very steep, rocky hill then slid backwards until I got tossed from the bike and landed with my left hip on a pretty good rock.  I just laid there for a couple minutes as two guys I'd been competing against all day rode by.  I got up and struggled to the end a couple miles away.

So, my riding was generally pretty good, but I ruined it with too many stupid mistakes.

Had to miss the following week's Jack Frost enduro, went to a NEASC visit in Leominster, MA.

Funduro: Palmyra, NY. September 26, 2010

The Wayne County club sanctioned the Newark Enduro with NETRA again this year and then later decided not to hold the event.  Another local group stepped up to host the event (Arcadia BarkBusters), but at the time of their request, they were not a bonafide NETRA club.  A lot of controversy, politicking, mudslinging, and complaining followed.  In the end, through a process no one seems to fully understand, the club was granted the sanction.  I'll admit that I'm one of the ones who feels that the NY enduros are a pretty big burden for the NETRA guys.  In fact, I did a little math and this drive is 3x longer than the average NETRA ride.  Couple that with the fact that my two previous trips to Newark were met with bad weather, axle grease conditions, poor arrowing, course cutters, and 8-hour drives home in the rain and it's fair to say I was not looking forward to this ride.

Ed volunteered to haul his camper out to Palmyra, so we had a place to stay right at the start area...a real luxury with an 8:00 AM keytime.  The start area was Hogback Hill MX track, a really nice facility.  Tech and registration were taken care of on Saturday night.  Not too long after dinner and it was already time to hit the sack.

On the start we did one lap of the MX track.  Even though I've got zero MX experience, it was a ton of fun.  Soft enduro suspension meant that rolling the jumps was the wise thing to do.  The 300 took a pretty easy holeshot off the line and then I backed off and let the other guys take the lead around the track...I probably wasn't going to be the fastest guy on my line anyway.

The whole first half of the ride as at 18mph which meant we were able to zero a few of the sections in the morning.  Lots of wet grass from the overnight dew so you had to ride somewhat cautiously in the grass tracks and fields.

It seemed like only half of the sections in the morning were timed.  This seems to be a theme with the NY enduros.  Lots of really fun riding: short & steep climbs, off camber, with twisty single-track mixed in.

We were on row 2, which didn't give much of a chance for some of the fresh-cut stuff to get burned in.  On the established trails there were tons of little intersections.  The WNYOA guys don't seem to have the same approach to pre-turn arrows as NETRA.  I felt like I was riding just a little tentative for the first loop because you were constantly trying to pick up the trail.

I think by the time we got back to the official gas, I was one minute up on Ed, but he would have me on E-points if we ended up tying because he was a little behind me and closer to the 30-second mark at the morning emergency check.

The speed average was 21mph for the second half  of the ride and after gas I felt like I could wick it up a little more and be more aggressive.  This seemed to work for a little while, but not long.  The first section after gas was the same as the first section of the day.  I was following Ed, and then Jim S. on his big BMW.  Jim and I came around a tight, off-camber corner and saw Ed with his bike pointed straight up in the air, off the right side of the trail, with the bike still running and tangled in vines.  Ed got out and got going and was OK time-wise because the section did not have a check.  Come to think of it, there wasn't a check in either......and that was after gas.  NETRA rules require a known control after gas but in this cases there was none.

After thinking about it, I think my ground speed was quicker than my mental speed in the subsequent sections.  By that I mean that I think my pace was pretty good but I've never missed so many turns in an enduro before.  I should have been looking up to pick up the arrows in order to ride well but I just didn't.  A little later I averted disaster when the bike came to a quick halt after picking up some fence wire in the rear wheel.  Luckily I was able to get it unstuck pretty easily and get on my way without losing too much time.

By now, Jim and Ed were well out in front and I was getting frustrated.  Kept missing corners, including the one that was a turn into the grass track pictured here.  I could see Jim and Ed on the other side of the field and tried like hell to reel them in.  Probably pushed as hard as I ever have in an enduro in order to make time.  So hard that I ended up boiling my rear brake fluid.....and I never do that.  So whatever time I gained in the grass track was given back as we got back into the tight single-track climbs and descents.

After two more sections I felt like I was getting my rhythm back just as we were coming into the second loop's gas available.  Near the end of this transfer section I saw Jim and Ed and Ed's bike on its side spewing a huge steam cloud.  You could tell pretty easily that the bike was done for the day.  He was trying to replace the coolant with the Gatorade from his camelback but that just created an impressive Old Faithful effect out of the radiator.

Jim and I moved on to the gas available and let some club workers know about Ed.  He eventually ended up getting a van ride back to the start.  He was on a tear and having a good day...probably 2-3 minutes up on me at that point.

In the end, my results were what they usually are for a rhythm-type enduro...poor.  Even if you were to take out 3-4 minutes for missed turns, my competition in B-vet was still well in front of me.

In comparison to the Newark Enduros of the past, this one was much, much improved.  Arrowing and ribboning were very good (except for the lack of NETRA-style pre-turns).  Course-cutters were penalized for their cheating by a couple well placed checks.  The start area and MX track were nice touches.  This enduro takes place in beautiful country.  I'm just really, really glad it didn't rain.  It would have made for a much less enjoyable day.

It will be interesting to see if the ABB club sanctions this ride in 2011.  It was well run this year, but it's just so damn far away.

Labor Day Camp & Ride

This year's Pathfinders Labor Day campout was another great one.  The continued gracious hospitality of Bob and Marie D. is inspiring.  Each year they host 50 or so dirtbikers and families on their beautiful, pastoral mountaintop property.  This year the loop was expanded to 14 miles, thanks to lots of work by Bob G. and Kevin B.  The usual good food was served up with a special addition from Anthony's portable brick oven for pizza.  Weather was perfect except for a little wind on Saturday that up-ended some EZups and made sleep a little tough with all the noise from flapping tent flies.

Conditions were the dustiest that I've seen in the five or six years that I've been going there.  By Monday, the grass track was throwing up so much dust that it looked like it was on fire.  The trails were plenty dusty too.  You either had to ride right on the leaders rear or hang back 100 feet if you wanted to see anything.

As usual, Rick B. and I had a great time running together on 4-5 loops.  He's probably 10% faster than me, so having him behind me forced me into sprint pace for long stints.  Got some good feedback from him on corner speed too.

Already looking forward to next year!

Something a little different this year, Steve E. and I spent Sunday morning out on the adventure bikes.  We picked up the Puppy Dog Route just across the river in Brattleboro and followed it for about 80 miles to the north.  Lots of cool unpaved roads and nice vistas.  We're talking about maybe using the PDR as part of a multi-day adv ride next year.

Captain Chaos didn't realize his helmet was on backwards.