extreme indoor enduro nklr
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:19 am
Listers, OK Heads,
I want to share a bit about the Extreme Indoor Enduro held in the Rapid
City, South Dakota civic center last night.
Short story is it cost $15 to get into the cheap seats and lasted about 2
1/2 hours. I wouldn't watch this regularly but it was worth it on a cold
lightly snowing January night.
The stock show is starting on the 25th for about 10 days or so and the
arena is covered with dirt for the rodeo activities. Holding the enduro
the weekend before really reduced the cost of the event since just to put
the dirt down it costs about $45,000 dollars. The enduro picked up 10%
of that tab. I don't know the actual size of the arena but it's large
enough to hold a full size basketball court with pull out seats on the
floor and extra seats at each end. For the enduro the floor had no seats
so it was a pretty good size.
Here's the course layout. There were six lanes going in alternating
directions most of the length of the arena. Each lane is about 12 feet
wide so running a pack of bikes can get pretty interesting. The start
was in the middle of one end facing a side. To get on the course the
riders had to make a pretty good left hand turn into the first lane. The
first lane was a fairly open straight stretch with two huge poles laid
across the lane about 20 feet apart. These were probably 22" and 28"
diameter poles. After the poles there was a pile of 6" to 10" poles laid
lengthwise in the lane so you had to ride the length of the poles. At
the end you had a 90 degree left turn into the "enchanted" forest. This
was a section going from one side of the track to the other with small
(2" to 4" diameter) trees creating a couple of lanes. The trees were
only about 28" apart so it was a very tight fit. In the middle of the
enchanted forest there was a pile of 6" to 8" diameter logs across the
track. Then you got another section of trees make your way through. As
you exited the forest you made a left hand "U" turn. This took you back
towards the first lane. Just before you get to the first lane there was
a section of railroad tracks and ties across the lane. There was enough
height in the ties on top of the dirt that a guy had to make sure to keep
either on a tie or lift the front end. As you exited the tracks you make
a hard right turn for lane two. This was the easy section as it's just a
flat dirt stretch. At the end of this lane riders made a tight right
hand "U" turn and had a section of a deep (2') sawdust pit for about 50'.
The end had a hump but only once or twice did anyone get enough speed to
get airborne. Immediately on the other side of the hump riders made a
left hand "U" turn. Lane for was tough! There were two sections here,
one poles and the other rocks. The poles were set across the track and
then in "Vs" between the poles across the tracks. This was probably 30
feet long and the "V" poles were just far enough apart that if you took
the middle your bike would just fit between the poles. That gets you
stuck. If you go down the sides you have long and short sections of
poles so you can at least keep moving. At the end of the poles section
you get to the rocks. These were from softball to basketball in size and
just thrown on the track. The rocks section was probably 25 feet long.
If you got off line in the poles it was easy to ride all over the rocks
and fall down hard in them too. As you exit lane four you make a right
hand "U" turn into the tire section. This was a bunch of tires from
large pick up size to 18 wheeler size or a bit larger. They were
scattered across the track for about 60 feet. At the end there were
maybe 10 18 wheeler size tires buried in the dirt like a roll of
lifesavers. The riders had to ride over this obstacle which was about 2
feet high. Lots of folks got high centered on this and couldn't get
traction to keep moving. Another left hand "U" turn and the riders were
at the last lane. Lane six was a large pile of 6" to 12" logs laid
across the track for about 30 feet. This pile was probably 3 feet high.
At the end they dropped back to dirt and then immediately had to climb a
two step platform. The first step was about 2 feet high and fronted by a
huge log maybe 2 feet in diameter. The platform was just deep enough for
a bike and then jumped up again about 2 more feet faced by smaller logs
only 6" to 8" in diameter. Timing was critical on this section. Getting
the rear wheel over the top of the platform was the rule for finishing
the race as this was also the finish line. But the track continued. For
the small bikes with little kids they turned left into the end of the
arena and crossed to the other side to enter lane one just like from the
start of the race. For all the other bikes and also the ATV class it was
a little bit different. Once you made it over the platform you had about
12 feet and then you started up a 56' ramp to the third floor of the
arena. The first 3/4 of the ramp was metal grated with good traction but
no guard rails and a long fall if you went over the side. The last 1/4
of the distance got a bit steeper and was slick wood. If you didn't have
some momentum you might not make it to the top. As soon as you made the
top you had to make an immediate 90 degree turn to the left onto a
concrete floor with some pretty slick dust like stuff on it. Riders
didn't try to pass here. They just tried to stay upright. This top
section transitioned the riders to the first lane with a 90 degree turn
left at the end of the concrete floor. They then had to descend another
ramp to the first lane. This ramp started out just as steep and slippery
as the ramp they rode up. But a water section was added near the top
with water shooting about 3 feet into the air and landing on a slab
holding rock like protrusions for about 12 feet. Then there was a 2 foot
section of grate with grip and then another slippery and wet surface for
4 feet. After that the riders were at the bottom of the ramp and in a
mud section for about a bike length. Now they were back to where they
started in lane one.
You can tell this wasn't an easy course. I don't think it was easy if
you weren't racing. With plenty of folks on it at the same time and
trying to make time it was down right tough! There really wasn't a
breather for the entire time you were on the course.
I talked with one rider who had practiced all day but just wasn't in
condition (sick) to race last night. He agreed it wasn't too bad if you
only had to get through each section but without a breather like you'd
get on a forest trail and trying to stay ahead of other folks this just
took it out of you.
He didn't think a guy on a KLR would be able to make it through the
course. I'm not sure I agree with him about that but for sure it
wouldn't be easy. I think Lava Mountain on the Great Divide Ride in 2004
with Mike, Martin, Bill, Steve and I had some tougher sections. And I
know the Apache Indian Reservation Steve and I did on De Tour in 2006 was
as tough. But in both areas we could stop to take breathers. And were
also weren't racing. I think with my KLR geared with a 14/46 sprocket
combo I could make it over and through everything on this course. I just
couldn't do it fast.
The rider I talked with for a bit was veteran class over 40 rider. He
said some guys on the motorcross bikes burned up there clutches during
the practice. I could tell lots of the riders were used to motocross
type riding and didn't have some of the skills needed for slow riding in
tough conditions. I watch lots of guys get hung up because they didn't
stand on the pegs or transfer weight appropriately.
One of the largest factors I think I noticed in this event was riders
getting tired while riding. Form changed a lot between the beginning and
the end of each race. On the last lap it was really interesting to watch
guys that were hung up trying to get over the lifesaver tire stack or the
finish platform and just not have the energy to make it happen. One guy
in the main event was on the platform for probably 3 minutes trying to
get over the last level. All he had to do was move the bike about 6
feet. He finally needed help as he couldn't even drag it that far. All
the bikes I noticed were probably at least 100-150 pounds lighter than a
KLR. Two guys rode on trials bikes and I think they would have done
better if they had a bit more skill in slow riding. Still, high kudos to
all who rode. I enjoyed watching.
One last note as I get ready to close. The start was pretty interesting
as it was a shotgun start meaning everyone goes at the same time. But
this was just a tad different. Once all the bikes were lined up a couple
of rows deep the riders got off the bikes and straddled the front tire
facing the rear of the bike. The starter was at the rear of the pack and
on his signal the rider moved off the front tire, started their bike and
rode into lane one. A few of the riders had unbelievably fast starts.
And a few had to kick their bikes over a few times to get them going.
Well, that's about it for now. Just thought you might find this
interesting. I'll go again next winter if they host it here again. But
I don't think I'll be entering it with a KLR. : )
Best,
Jeff Saline
ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal
Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org
The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota
75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT