Can't wait, first real event of the year. Time to break in the new XR400.
I have a question if you're in the know.... 35 miles just aint enough, I want to ride the long loop so can I just sign up for it and be sure to let people pass if they try? Do I need to show evidence that I am some sort of b class rider?
I ran an enduro last year in Nachese and had a great time as a c-class rider. There weren't many people there for the event. Will the Spark Plug be the same way or do I need to show up at 6 in the morning to get a parking spot?
I had to retire my orange 84 xr500r, so I will belend in to the crowd easier now.
I try to be there early since I hate unloading in someones campfire :flame:
I think I might want more as well but last year I think I heard that there was a 25% dnf on the short course. It won't be what the average Tahuya rider is used to. Plan on a lot of single track that does not see the usual traffic.
Doug and I will run the short course this time as our advanced age allows ( 46 and 48) we will have room for one more on our minute. Happily in a couple years I will be able to run the short couse in the Dez 100 and in 12 no entry fees. :)
25%.... yikes. I suppose there is a difference in 35 miles of overland and 35 miles of "create-a-trail". I ran 50 miles a couple weekends back to check the XR's range but we stayed on the major loops so we didn't really get used up.
I may wuss out on the long loop and enjoy the 35. Does this event usually max out the staging area? Must folks park on goat ranch road?
I've got another 24 years until free entry. Just a whippersnapper I guess.
I got my route sheet and starting time back last week for the Sparkplug. The highest average is 18. Some 14's. The finish is a known control at 41.6 if memory serves me.
Not many long resets either. So I think it will work us pretty good. I haven't rode at Tahuya for awhile but I remember some really tight, little used sections that worked us hard last year.
Theres also a "Bus Stop" listed on the route sheet. Not sure what that means. Road crossing maybe?
I'm picking up my riding buddy at 6:30 in Sumner so you might pass us on the way. Look for a couple of old farts in a white contratcor's van with the turn signal on. :)
KNeese,
Is the bus stop a known control, a possible, or a landmark on the route sheet? I can think of a couple of possibles if you know the mileage. We'll stop up and say hi in the morning. if we don't catch up have a good ride. looks like the weather might not be to bad.
What a fantastic day and a great enduro! After Saturday I was concerned about the amount of water. But the course was off the beaten path so there was not much water to deal with.
The course was typical Sparkplug trails, tight, gnarly, rooty but doable. The speed averages were fast enough to drop a few points in the tight stuff, but there were places where you could make up the time. I even had a chance to stop at some of the resets and take a breather for a minute or two.
It was our first enduro so we didn't know what to expect. The terrain was ridable and the speed averages were reasonable. We were back on minute 73 and had to keep fighting through guys falling back so next time I am going to pre enter.
It was a good workout though, I passed alot of guys sitting on the ground at the 25-35 mile mark.
I agree. Great event. Good speed averages for the terrain.
There were 98 pre-entry types. I signed up before 8:00 and got on minute 10:03. Whatever 4 stroke amateur is that's what I signed up as.
Sorry I missed you in Sumner Fishy, I picked up a riding buddy in south Tacoma so I needed to take 512 and blew through Sumner at about 6:00. That dang daylight saving time made the morning feel so early.
My buddy was on the same minute but his fancy schmansy WR426 went TU after 1 mile. A waste of 37$ for him, his first event too.
Every check I was behind 1 or 2 minutes. I was really happy with that considering I had a watch and an odometer to go by. I didn't want to wait several hours to find out how I did so I went home at about 1:30.
I especially enjoyed the hillclimbs and root steps. Thank goodness I put on a new tire.
I saw the green Dodge from Oregon but don't remember a specific white van. I had the blue chevy full size with a canopy and utility trailer parked along the road to the staging area.
Time to clean up the XR for the desert ride next weekend.
Whoops, redid my math. I have 34 years until I hit 60 and races are free.
I'll look for the white van. I'll remember to look for an antifreeze vendor. We'll be getting there Friday evening and riding the iron man on Saturday, plan to leave on Sunday. I'll have that same indigo blue chevy with canopy and utility trailer in tow.
I'm still grinning from Sunday's ride.
My riding buddy seems to have discovered the problem. The spark plug on those WRs sits down in a vertical cave with a seal deal at the top attached to the spark plug wire. Well his seal deal was not seated and the cave had been full of water and mud for quite some time. Major corrosion and lack of sparkage. Funny how his sparkplug ruined the sparkplug. Love my XR.
Did I mention that the sparkplug was probably one of the best rides ever?
I dunno,
Right now I have a raspberry wheat that is fruit forward with a tart raspberry flavor, a IPA featuring lots of chinook and cascade hops which finishes clean and crisp, and I'm planning a belgian wit with a combination of orange and coriander. The Scottish got better with age but it didn't get very old. Doug made a strong scottish that has a stiff alcohol % (11) and is very mellow after 6 months of aging. A velvet hammer, definately not a breakfast beer! I'll try to talk him into bringing some along but he is tight with his brewing.
Hot dog. I got the results from the club and I ended up third in my class. The club is mailing me a medal. I am impressed, I didn't wait around for the awards so they mail it.
I just e-mailed the coordinator. He sent me the results in a word or pdf file then mailed me my medal. I can e-mail them to you or just tell you how you did.
Seems all event coordinators should post the results somewhere especially if someone already compiled a file.
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