The 2024 TSCEC Iron Mountain Enduro was everything an enduro racer could hope for in an enduro. The Barnwell Mountain Trail Riders laid out a technical course that had just enough flow and fast to keep the cramps down. Regardless of my result on the day, I will be voting for this race to be Enduro of the Year!
The weather coming into the race weekend was questionable. Barnwell Mountain had received a good amount of rain the week leading up to the race. The property takes moisture well, but we knew the rocks and roots were going to get slick. I went back and forth all week on whether I should put a gummy trail tire on the Sherco. At the last minute Saturday morning I decided to swap my mousse balls over to a Tusk Talon Hybrid I had in the garage. I’m going to do a full recap on the tire, but it’s safe to say it was a good decision.
The race started right at mile zero. It’s always nice when you get a few miles to warm up, but NOT TODAY! The seven mile test section jumped back and forth between new trails and old trails being run backwards. I LOVED the layout of this because the new trail was fun, and the old trail backwards felt completely new. I bet it was tough on the C and Super-short riders, but what better way to gain enduro experience.
Test two was one of the most fun of the day. The Trail Riders had access to a few new acres, so they cut in a wicked wooded sand track. I was nowhere near the fastest on the day in that section, but you couldn’t help but have a huge grin in those trees. They ended the section with some slick, tight single track; I approve.
Test three and four felt very similar. One had more open fast roads than the other, but the single track felt similar. They were both also the longer tests on the day, being at, or around, nine miles long. I began catching riders quicker in these sections. You could tell they were starting to ride a bit slower, as the day and miles started to take their toll. My Utility Can Caddy came in clutch at the remote gas stop after test four. I had water, Neutonic, Ucan Energy Gels, Ucan Hydrate + Aminos, rice, oranges, and extra gas.
Test five and six is where it got spicey. Five was the first A & B section. It was just a bit more of everything we had before and dropped in mileage a bit to 6.8 miles. Test six was the A Only section and it was a hoot. The hill climbs got a bit gnarlier and the downhills got a bit steeper. I know a few of the back rows got caught in the storm that came in, making it even more challenging.
The Iron Mountain Enduro is what enduros should be. It was challenging at all times because the technical level asked a lot of the riders. If you wanted to ride fast, you had to pay attention and find a groove. If you just wanted to ride at a casual pace, you could, but going too slow sometimes could also be challenging.
I rode like I knew I could because I stopped holding myself back. After the Golden Eagle Sprint Enduro I broke down my weaknesses, realizing my ego was getting in the way. I made some motivational reminders to place on the inside of my Enduro Engineering open guards so I could remind myself what to focus on. At the start of each test, I would breathe, remind myself to attack and not to think about the result until the end of the day. Turns out riding like that won me the Overall A award.
Can this happen again? Sure. Do I expect it to? No. There are so many factors that come into play for an Overall A award. I have to continue to focus on what is in my control, which is the way I ride in each test section. If I can ride to my full potential again, and that equates to another Overall A, awesome. If it doesn’t, that’s ok too. I don’t need validation from a result to know I am putting in the work and riding to the best of my current capacity.
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