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Wild Piglet Family Enduro (long)

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Posted by: LocoCD---------------------

Good to see a lot of DRN'ers at the Piglet, I tried to explain the group as a "virtual motorcycle club" to others.

The ride...
First loop was a lazy Saturday ride with a little mud thrown in for fun and a couple of whoops to warm up your arms. My son and I were a minute early at the first check... oops and a minute late at the second. The "1/2" way point was at 18.9 miles. An uneeded 30 minute rest period ensued with more bench racing than resting.

The club said the second loop would be more difficult. It was about 40 miles long and had some fantastic single track in it. Lots of great hills and some fire roads to cool down on. The single track included a couple of 5-6 mile sections of tight manzanita tunnels that were great. However, for those who haven't riden in manzanita, it has the forgiveness of concrete rebar! I got whacked in the helmet by a 2" limb and saw serious stars for 5 minutes.

The first section of singletrack took some wind out of my son's sails and we had to slow the pace down. The interesting thing for me was that the slower pace through the whooped out sections started to wear me out as well. The whoops were those 2-3 footers that you can kind of skim across the top at the right speed... but slower speeds cause major arm pump.

Anyways, we entered the 4th check about 14 minutes late and made up 6 minutes by the end of the race. The last 10 miles were basic fire roads and double track, the real challenge was not running into tired riders or losing focus.

My son cut 50 minutes off of last year's time.

As an interesting side story. My wife and daughter were going to ride the first loop. Once through that they decided these enduros were easy and started off on the second loop (without leaving us a note). They were on line 40. Well we finished on line 8 and noticed they weren't in camp... assumed they decided to ride the rest. Well we went back to the finish line for 30 minutes until the 40's came in. Checked back when the 60's were coming in, then went back for the last lines thinking we would start the search ...

They posted the scores while we were waiting... no girls, the last riders not houring out came down the hill... no girls. 10 minutes later, 90 minutes late they came down the hill. It was my son and I, the 2 ladies handing out pins, Big Bird and his daughter as they crossed the finish line. We were whooping and hollering as they made the finish of their first enduro, exhausted, but grinning... we've all been there once! My daughter only said 2 things, "I decided a week ago that I was going to finish this sucker!" and then as her eyes got watery... "We did it dad, we did it".

Great race, great track and great memories!


Posted by: Bigbird---------------------

LocoCD, good post. I too was very proud of my daughter. She had only been on a bike a few times, was riding a bike that we had just purchased with almost zero prep time, and one that did not want to idle so she kicked that sucker to death. But, she finished, and got her pin! The weather was great with a brisk wind that pushed you sideways on the ridgetop trails, and the second loop kept the riders' attention.

Talking to you and your family was a delight as always, as was the time we spent with the other DNR'rs at their campground.

My original plan was to drive back to Concord (approximately three hours), attend a wine tasting party with my wife, and then get up the next day to return for the Wild Boar. :think Well, being a super senior has slowed me down a bit. I just couldn't get the mind to convince the body to get up early Sunday for the Wild Boar. Oh well, we'll see you at the Phantom Hill.

Jim


Posted by: Jonala---------------------

I add my report here also.

I rolled into the parking spot next to Brian (NvrFnsh) at 8:30 am. Take the Honda was to the sign-in area. There were about 30 people in front of me. Kids, girls, women, and regular ole spodely guys. It took 1hr to get through sign-in. Which gave me 20 minutes to get back to my truck, suit up then ride to the start area.

Just as I got to the start area, my brother shows up. I sync in my $3.99 Walgreens made Taiwan travel clock and alarm. Just as we get to the line I try to move the clock up one minute. Instead I set the alarm. It's 10:16 , no time gotta go.

The other three guys on our minute are late. I take off as fast as I can go. After we hit the 2.9 mile mark I check my clock, yup the alarm is still flashing 10:15. I ask my brother what time is it. He tells me 10:26. He didn't set it right. Subtract the 16, we were right on time. I adjust the travel clock, the alarm is now telling me it's 5:30am

We go through the first check 1 minute early. Damm. The alarm is still flashing 5:30am. We stop when we see a group of other stopped riders. I ask my brother what time is it? He tells he watch stopped working. I ask one of the other riders. Just then the other 3 guys on our minute show.

I see that they zero'd the first check. I ask them what time is it. We don't know, why is it important? The dad tells me it's 10:40 subtract 16 it's 10:24, set the clock again. Finally 2:24 close enough.

The first loop was mostly fireroad, with generous speed averages, and several free time spots. My brother was getting bored, the two kids were getting bored. I knew the second loop would be tougher. We made the next two checks just a minute late. We were doing great. The kids
were wondering whether I knew what the hell I knew what I was doing, as we had to stop for 15 minutes, to get back on time. While we were waiting up rolls Buddy and Mini. The were 25 minutes early.

We get to the gas stop. Ok guys we now have a half hour to kill. At the gas stop Kali, GSR, Thumbs, Brian, and KTMchick roll in. Kali and GSR commenting on how easy this ride is. They were early to a couple of checks.

We roll out on time. We catch the guys that were 2 minutes ahead of us. Not good. Keep going, then I check my roll chart, wow we are 5 minutes early. We stop let the guys go. We take off on time again, catch up with row 14 again. Now we are in technical singletrack. Hard to pass, they won't move over. My old enduro skills kick in, I pass where ever the slightest opening occurs. The others are not as aggressive as me. They fall behind. I look at the clock, oops 5 minutes late. Go as fast as I can. Look at the clock again 6 minutes late. Check in 6 minutes late. Go like hell.

Get to the next check 5 minutes late Damm. Well at least I made up minute. I'm riding by myself. Look at the chart, hey free time. I stop. My brother pulls up a few seconds later. What the hell is going on he asks? We were late. Now we have two minutes free time. The other guys pull up. Back on time we take off. At mile 57.8 last check, I roll in at 16:55. Perfect. My brother and the three guys were given 17.

This is the best time I have had since getting back on a dirt bike. I think I'll turn pro.


Posted by: NVR FNSH---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by LocoCD
The single track included a couple of 5-6 mile sections of tight manzanita tunnels that were great. However, for those who haven't riden in manzanita, it has the forgiveness of concrete rebar! I got whacked in the helmet by a 2" limb and saw serious stars for 5 minutes.


LocoCD - wish we could have met.

I rode minute 29 with Projectboy (Steve on YZ426 - he was at Elkins Flat in May '01)

I had the pleasure of catching GSR & Thumbs in the single track and riding behind GSR thru that stuff. She's 5'11" & I'm 6'4" - what she didn't hit almost cleaned me off the back of my bike and everything she hit came back at me even harder Thumbs must of been in hysterics watching us. I swear that trail was cut by yard gnomes Awesome trail, though.

My only fall of the day came when GSR missed an uphill left handed switchback. I tried to go inside and she fell - into me . She couldn't have done it if she was trying. I was able to hold my bike for a second but it was too far over so I had to drop it..... Did I mention I ride a WR? Luckily, I have the only WR400 in existence that will start on the 1st kick - even after a fall. About that time Speedy's navy background surfaced - cussing like an old masterchief is quite attractive for a lady

After we got out of the single track I motored on ahead of GSR & Thumbs - timekeeping be damned. I was all over the place - started late, hit check 1 2 minutes early, check 2 10 minutes late, checks 3 & 4 I have no idea, 2 minutes early at the finish. Somehow, I got 7/14 in Vet C with ~53 points. I'm not sure what that says about the other riders......

Had a great time BSing w/everybody Sat night & enjoyed a great tri-tip prepared by GSR/Kali/Kevin. TTRguy - she is dosmestic. She made up a plate of food for me trying to butter me up in order to sleep on the sofa bed in the mobile palace where there was heat. Dinner ready when you get home at 6pm every night - I'm jealous just thinking about how nice you're gonna have it with a live in house frau. GSR had the sofa bed, Thumbs had the dinette/bed - worked out great except for the low voltage battery alarm going off at 5 AM - I left an outside light on.

All in all - a great weekend. Can't wait to do it again. I'm planning on riding the Sawmill at Middle Creek if anybody cares to join in the fun.

Brian


Posted by: LocoCD---------------------

The official results will be posted in the next day or so. My copy of the unofficial showed 166 riders, 33 being in the kid's class.

18 women rode and it looks like GSR finished 5th! Great job.

It looks like quite a few other DRN'ers finished with trophies. Congrats to Matt for finishing 1st in the 4-Stroke C class!

Hope everyone considers the next family enduro as well, perhaps we could have a "Team DRN"!!


Posted by: MCassle---------------------

What a great ride...my only regret is not being able to meet all the DRNers! I guess it's tough when you don't know what everyone looks like, not to mention that place was packed & I'm sure everyone was camped in different areas. As it turns out I parked right at the finish of the enduro, and I didn't even know it (of course)...so if you saw a guy passed out on his grey Silverado at the end of the day, that was me

The only DRNers that I met were the ones on my minute or the minute before me (LocoCD & Justin&Karna), sorry I missed the rest of you!

I drove up to the enduro that morning, and arrived around 7:30am...boy am I glad I did, the line for registration was 30-40 deep by the time 9am came around. I only had five people in front of me, and had to wait about 10-15 minutes, then it was just killing time until 10am keytime came around. I had walked the campground down looking for those vechicles mentioned in the Piglet thread, but I didn't see any...so made my trip to the head, got ready to go and sat at the starting line until my minute came up.

Intresting to note that there was no sound inspection this time around? Not that I'm complaining, my bike is loud with the butt plug pulled out. They just made sure you had a current green sticker and that was it, cool. Met LocoCD & his son on my minute...very cool to see all the kids riding the enduro, they are the future of the sport afterall. This was my first time using my CheckMate, so I was a bit concerned I'd biff the countdown start on it...but after reading the manual five times & practicing mock starts in my garage a half dozen times, I had it down...I watched the orange clock countdown the minute before me & nailed the 1:00 minute Ahead to the second, a great start to a great day.

Very easy first loop, I needed it. I havn't been on the bike since late November. And I'm glad I put new tires on the bike on Friday, I knew it would be muddy after the rains & I was right. Zeroed the first check (my first Zeroed check ever BTW, thank you ICO) and got stuck behind a rider at the length of muddy trail leading to the second check, missed a zero by 11 seconds! Was hoping to find other DRNers at the Gas Available, but again I had no idea who anyone was...next time I'm gonna wear a clown suit so you guys can spot me out of the crowd! 2nd loop was nice, how about those manzanita tunnles? I was wearing a brand new helmet my wife gave me for xmas, *doh* those 2" branches were very unforgiving. Note to self: don't wear or ride anything in an enduro that you don't want thrashed, even if it is a 'family' enduro. All that muddy single track proved to much for me to keep up and I carded 5 points each at the 4th & 5th checks. That last 18mph section of fire road & last layover gave me all my time back + a chance for a potty break. Nailed the last check with a zero and then realized the ride was almost over...this had to be the first time I didn't want the enduro to end! What a great ride. Timekeepers is a class act club. Never have I ridden a course so well marked, I didn't get off track once. They even did the trophys the same day, just hours after the event, right on.

I was surprised to see that I placed as well as I did...if anything this ride was a testament to running an enduro with a computer. The CheckMate made this enduro fun from start to end, I always knew where I was in my minute, and was even able to ride possibles in the first loop and the last part of the second. And NOTHING can beat the AutoCal feature, this saved my butt. Very cool.

Had a great time, and wanted to stay for the Boar, but my 'medical condition' wouldn't allow it. It was all I could do to finish the Piglet, bummer. Not to mention I would of been sleeping in the back of the truck...did it happen to rain like it was forcasted too?

Hope to meet those that I missed at some other event, cya then!

Matt


Posted by: Jonala---------------------

Piglet results are up

http://www.ama-d36.org/Results/2002...R01Results.html


Posted by: Farmer John---------------------

I am so happy to read these ride reports!
My report is a little different. I arrived @ the Creek around 9am on Thursday & started right in marking loop 2 of the Piglet. Everything was going good until around 1 in the afternoon when it started to rain. We had just entered "The Brushy Trail" & it quickly went from perfect to cold, wet, & misery. We bailed back to camp. Keep in mind I have been stressed out about this event for approx. 2 months & the rain delay almost put me over the edge. At around 6pm the skies cleared & it got cold & windy. It was a long cool night in the tent! When I got up in the morning my truck doors were frozen shut!

Friday morning a few more TMC (Timekeepers M/C) members had shown up & we separated into groups for more course marking. My group headed out to mark loop 2 of the Boar. Everything seemed fine until we went to go up Indian Hill. What looked like perfect dirt was really frozen perfect dirt. Ever see a pig on ice skates? Nobody in our group crashed, but nobody went straight either. After about 10 miles of marking the voices in my head were trying to convince each other to resign from TMC & ride the Boar. What a cool coarse! But, no it did not happen. We finished up what needed to be done & headed back to camp for dinner.

That night I got to meet thumbs (again), gsr (thpppt), kali, kevin, NVR FNSH, & a few other (my memory is not my strong point!) internet spodes.

Saturday was a blur. Scramble, asign workers to checks, gas, finish, work with BLM William on communications, 178 starters, work the start, sweep loop 1, sweep part of loop 2, get yelled at by gsr, 166 finishers, give gas to a kid on a YZ 80, search for a kid that did not turn in his score card (until aprox 10 pm), dinner, stress over work assignments for Sunday, tried to pop in on the DRN gang for some bench racing, stress some more, finally sucummed to sleep around 2am.

Sunday. Sunday. Sunday. Full tilt aghhhhhhh. Stress meeter pegged! Got check captians & workers going, sign ups running like a clock (Saturdays AMA & District card sales killed us), tech going good, coordinated sweep riders & BLM William on communications, went to first gas & stressed over some left over Piglet markings, left gas & set up second gas (C finnish), ate a sandwich, helped A/B riders get to the restart, pulled cards off of any bike that was not heading for the third loop, gave out finisher pins, went back to camp, watched part of the awards, & realized "it" was over. All of a sudden I was laughing at jokes & hungry!

I stayed Sunday night & went on garbage detail on Monday morning. Cleaned all the camp grounds & pulled any markers that were in the canyon.

Looking back over the weekend I am bummed that I did not get to spend more time with the other DRN members, but happy that it sounds like you all had a good time!

btw, gsr, did Phil ever look at your bike? He ended up winning Senior "A" on his 125.


Posted by: LocoCD---------------------

Farmer John
Please forward the link for this thread to your club with our thanks for an exceptional race!

And thanks to you personally for the hours of work that made such a great event. We often forget how much work goes into a well run race.


Posted by: Farmer John---------------------

Quote:
Originally posted by LocoCD
Please forward the link for this thread to your club with our thanks for an exceptional race!


The club has the link!

My efforts are nothing compared to my loop captians this year. One guy did the piglet & loop 1 of the Boar himself, the guy that did loop 2 I felt was very creative with his trail selction, & the guy that did loop 3 of the Boar....well....he is rather sadistic.


Posted by: ktmchick---------------------

What a great weekend. Thank you timekeepers!

I ended up having a very interesting and rewarding weekend. My fiance Mick and I arrived down at the creek at 7pm Friday night. As luck would have it we ended up setting up camp across from Kali, Kevin, Thumbs and GSR. So far so good. Friday night Mick and I did our best impressions of an icicle. Boy was it cold, especially in a tent.

Saturday morning we got up after only a few winks of sleep and Mick headed back to San Jose to attend a course that he couldn't get out of. That was allright except as he was driving out I get an awful feeling and decide to check my riding gear. Race back to the tent and sure enough, I had pulled out Mick's size 11 boot and left my size 8's in the car. Doh! So of course I hit panic stations. Thumbs and GSR who were in their truck warming up notice me stressing and ask me what's wrong. They then gun it to try and catch up with Mick. But by then he had hit warp spead and was nowhere to be found. I was devestated. Of all the things that I could have forgotten, boots were the only thing I couldn't raid out of Mick's gear. But lady luck was on my side that day. There was a couple camping next door with ATV's and he ended up having a spare pair of Alpine Star Tech 8's size 8 that he said he didn't need for the day. What is the possibility that someone would have the exact same boot as me spare. Boy was I relieved.

Everything settled down after that. Got suited up and rode down with Thumbs, GSR, Kali and Kevin who were all on the minute before me. We arrive a couple of minutes late and they hustle us onto the track. I don't get a chance to set my clock to key time so I just forget about that and go. End up burning the first check by one minute. Doh! The second stage I'm a bit more relaxed but I still manage to burn the check by 8 seconds. Get into the fuel stop and spend the 30 minutes finally organising myself. Start off great on the third stage, but end up coming in 7 minutes late for the fourth check. Had a stack and bent my clutch lever and then had to deal with the manzanita tunnels. MCassle, I feel for you as I had a new helmet as well and now, well, I guess I'm just happy that my helmet peak is still in tact. On the last stage got lost. Have no idea how I did it but I wasn't alone. Stopped with a few other guys and we turned around and got back onto the track. Phew. Ended up coming in 19 minutes late. Not too bad for my first ever enduro. Was a great feeling to get to the end and have a finisher's pin handed to me. That was my goal and I had done it. Was pretty stoked however to find out that I had snagged 3rd place. Wow!!

Just want to say a word of thanks to all the DRN'er's that I met over the weekend, especially Kali, Kevin, Tony and Aimee. You made the expererience so much more than it would have been if I had to have done it by myself. You guys are awesome. Plus Sunday's relaxing ride was a great way to cap off the weekend. Will post the photos asap.

Happy riding!!!


Posted by: thumbs---------------------

A great weekend it was. I'm too tired and sore to type a report so here are a few thank yous.

Thanks to Farmer John and the Timekeepers for putting on a great event.

Thanks to Jonala for the roll chart program. It worked great, sorry we didn't get the chance to meet.

Thanks to Kali and Keven for the use of the Trailer on Friday night, the Gentleman Jack and the pyrotechnics show.

Thanks to "Quick Mick" for the only shower of the weekend when he soaked me with perfect timing at the water crossing. I owe you one (or two) Mick.

Thanks to ktmchick for boosting my ego. She said I was, and I quote "A legend".

Thanks to Brian for sharing the warmth and comfort of the house on wheels Saturday night. You are a life saver.

Thanks to Tammy for leading us on our Sunday play ride.

Thanks to Gospeedracer for doing all the driving to and from the race and not letting the expletives fly until mile 50 of the enduro.


Posted by: gospeedracer---------------------

Sheesh, now I feel kind of bad. I guess my best side doesn't really 'shine' through all that well when I'm tired and cranky. My apologies to anyone who may have been within earshot of me during a few moments of, lets say less than contentment. :o

Well my ride report seems to be very similar to everyone else’s. The first loop was very easy. It was a lot of fun and allowed plenty of spare time to play around and try to thoroughly coat Thumbs in mud at every available opportunity. Once the single track began the ‘playing around’ was over. I only had one opportunity to take advantage of a 10-minute break on the 2nd loop, after that it was time to haul arse since I was running late.

Quote:
Originally posted by LocoCD
for those who haven't riden in manzanita, it has the forgiveness of concrete rebar! I got whacked in the helmet by a 2" limb and saw serious stars for 5 minutes.

I feel your pain Loco, or rather ‘felt’ your pain. It would seem your name was not the only one on that limb! I got thumped so hard my ears were ringing! This section was the soul reason for the first of my out bursts. I’m dodging branches left and right, my goggles where knocked off and I augured into one of the banks on the side. I went down 2 or three times and was getting very frustrated because I was making stupid little mistakes.
Poor NVR FNSH, he always seems to happen upon me during my worst moments. Sorry about taking you out in that turn. I had no idea what I hit; I just looked over and wondered why you were on the ground. Although I suppose I could consider it payback for honking at me on the trail!
Thumbs and I were also among several that missed a turn due to a sign that fell down and ended up re-riding a few miles over again. It was while I was re-running this section that I happened upon Kali. Apparently she had launched her bike pretty good into the bushes and was exhausted from wrestling with it then trying to start it. I got it started for her and rode it up the hill a bit to a more level area then went back to retrieve my bike. From there we rode together to the finish.
My knees pretty much gave out on me around mile 40. I was experiencing searing pain when I would try to stand and when I would try to sit.
I can’t say there was anything technically beyond my abilities in this enduro but the “endurance” thing is definitely something I’ve got to work on. 60+ miles is just too much for me at this point in time. I’ll try it again sometime when I’ve had a chance to put more long rides under my belt.
Kudos to Farmer John and TMC for all their hard work and for putting up with crackpots like me and wiseasses like Thumbs.
It was a real pleasure to meet KTMchick and her fiancé Mick. What a fun couple. KTMchick and I swapped bikes on Sunday for a bit. Wow, the 400 is smooooth.
I just can’t thank you enough for your hospitality on Sat night Brian. You saved my hide, literally!
Excellent company, the kind of riding that leaves you exhausted, good food and laughs, what more could one ask for?!


Posted by: Karna&Justin---------------------

A throughly enjoyable event! Thank you Timekeepers!

Now I know what NOT to do before an enduro and what to work on for the next. I will NOT go for a long/hard ride within a few days before an event only to still feel my sore quads burning before the first check...I kept telling myself that I will just have to sit for the rest of the race, whoops and all By mile 57 I was feeling like I was getting some sort of revenge from all those whoops. I will continue to work on endurance, as well. Although, I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be.

What can I say, I finished, had fun and didn't get hurt. All my goals were met.

It was nice meeting all the other DRN'rs...Brian, LocoCD and his family, Mini and Buddy, and Matt (I think I was the one you were behind that kept you from Zeroing check #2...I wanted to make sure you didn't burn the check, you know how unreliable those new computers can be )

Hope to see you all at Elkin's Flat in April!

Karna



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