The drive from Bonham, Texas to Wellston, Ohio could be done in one day, but that’s not how I roll. If I’m taking time off of work, I want to enjoy my time away as much as I can. Strapping myself into the motovan before the sun is up to stumbling out after sunset just to arrive on-site sounds gross. Sometimes it must be done, but after having to do that to get to Georgia, I’m taking my time when I can.

For this jaunt across the country, I was joined by Noah Willet. Noah is a 17 year old racer in North Texas, and he’s trying to figure out the AA speed in TSCEC. What better way to be humbled at a young age than to be thrown into the lion’s den of the wet and slimy Ohio clay at the Little Raccoon National Enduro.

To be fair, when he signed up, we didn’t know we were going to get the introduction we received to Ohio clay. At the time, we, as did most of the country, hoped the wet weekends were behind us. Alas, they were not, as we received a good amount of rain Saturday evening that turned the dusty Ohio singletrack into an eye-opening experience for us Buckeye Newbs.

My first mistake

So far this year racing the National Enduros I have had decent learnings at every round. That’s part of what this year has been about and the videos I am creating, new experiences and knowledge. Learning from others’ experiences is great because you don’t have to learn the lesson the hard way. Here’s the rub, sometimes you have to make the mistake yourself to learn from it.

Before this event, I was texting with Barry Hawk about tire choice. He has continued to support the AT82 front tire for OH and PA, going so far as to troll me online about it (it’s Barry Hawk, I’m cool with it). I gave in, purchasing an AT82 front tire from Adventure Moto and mounting it up with my Rabaconda. During these tire discussions, we also talked through the MX34 rear I had on, saying it’s probably not the worst, but also not the best. When I gave it a quick look, I remember saying “ok, it’s got one more ride in it”. What a dummy.

If I were going out for a ride with some buddies, the tire would have been fine. But that’s not what this weekend was about. This weekend was about driving over 1,000 miles to race my dirt bike, to give my best effort. The condition this MX34 was in wasn’t up to that task. What made matters worse for the rear tire’s condition was the rain that came in Saturday evening. It set me up to struggle with traction more than those smart enough to at least have a new rear tire on. At this point, any new rear tire would have been better than a “one more ride in it” MX34.

Lesson Learned. Save more money and buy new tires when it matters how you want to perform at a race.

Boiling My Clutch

As mud accumulated on the bike, and airflow seemed to be non-existent in the Ohio woods, I started to get a weird popping sound from the bike. Then with about two miles left in test 4 I noticed the clutch lever felt weird. I started having to pull it all the way to the handlebar, getting little disengagement of the clutch, so I had to pay attention to roll speed.

As I was trying to exit the 4th test section, the check out chute was so tight the bike wouldn’t stay running. I finally succumbed to pushing the bike through the rest of the chute to make sure I got scored. After exiting the woods, I asked a few different friendly faces at the rider support area if I could get a bottle of ice water for my bike and body. Some of the water went on the clutch slave cylinder, some went on the clutch cover, and the rest went onto my neck and back. The bike wasn’t the only piece of machinery that needed cooling off. This middle aged rider was starting to feel the humidity and heat like the GasGas was.

This is another tough lesson I learned. I know how to bleed a clutch, and I know when to do it, I just didn’t. It was one of those maintenance items I was waiting for a sign to work on. This makes no sense thinking about it, because like nutrition, if you wait for the problems to arise, you’re already behind the issue when it pops up.

As with the rear tire, there was no excuse. I was driving across the country to race my dirt bike, I should have prepared the bike and the body for the task at hand. After the packed-on Georgia clay from the Cherokee National Enduro, I should have known the clutch and brakes needed some love.

Coming into the Rattlesnake National Enduro, I’m wondering what other bike issues will arise that I am currently not thinking about. Who’s taking bets?

The Technical Nature of Slick Ohio Clay

If you haven’t read my Ode to Test 6, the A Only test, please do. It showcases just how steep, slick, and technical this test was at the end of the day for us A racers. Truthfully, I felt like a beginner all over again.

The way I’ve been riding the four stroke at the technical races this year showcases that I haven’t gotten comfortable on the platform yet. The power is great, but it’s the physical nature of the bike that I haven’t adapted well to. The bike is heavier, period. In a technical situation, there are times where you will need to man-handle the machine around. I don’t have the physical stature built up yet to handle the bike for a full day of racing.

The Flying W Enduro was the first race where I felt like I rode the bike the entire time. There weren’t many times where the bike was riding me. In Georgia and in Ohio, the slick sections took a heavier toll on my upper body to control the bike. This has been wearing me down faster on the day, regardless of how I try to plan my nutrition. Now that my knee is feeling better after my High Voltage Sprint Enduro crash, I am able to get back to more full body training. We’ll see where this gets me as the year keeps going. All the rocks in PA are going to make that event heavy on bike control. I’ll need to ride smart, attacking in a controlled manner so I can carry speed through the trails.

Thank You Appalachian Dirt Riders!

The Little Raccoon Enduro was an awesome event. It was well marked, technical, and challenging. I’d love the opportunity to race it again. If that does come to fruition though, I’ll have two new tires, and I’ll probably be on a two stroke 😱.

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