My First Enduro - Long Cane 1999

I hit the gym and watched what I ate for 7 weeks. I lost weight and was in better cardio shape than I have been in the past 4 years. Then I went on vacation the week prior to the event (that was why I couldn't help out at the LBJ). We travelled 14 hours to Michigan to see my family. While in Michigan I had the priviledge of meeting John Payer and his girlfriend Kim. They are great people and very liberal (just ask them to meet you at a Rest Area and they ask what time).

My grandmother spoiled me the entire time I was there. She insisted on me eating. Then on Friday we drove back to SC. I got in at 11pm and did not drink any water (that way we wouldn't have to stop too often). Saturday my wife and I threw a surprise anniversary party for her parents and I didn't get home until 11pm because we had to clean up. I am little upset when I get home because the roll chart I ordered has not come in so I didn't have it for the event.

I then woke up at 5:30am loaded up my bike and gear and hit the road (tip, diaper rash ointmet works amazingly well at eliminating monkey butt... more on that later). I arrived at the event at 7:30am, almost getting lost until I saw 4 trucks with bikes... that must be the way to go. I unloaded beside a couple of guys in the club, George is a B rider and Kim is an A rider.

I went to sign up and got my number. This was my first event so I was completely lost and had to ask a lot of questions. People were very patient and very nice. That helped calm me down a little.

I get to the start on row 36 and I am all excited. I am on the row with a couple of other Greenville Club members and they are all either A or B riders.

The first 9 miles is mostly gravel and paved road. My group arrives before the first check on time. Then we get in the tight stuff. I am feeling pretty good until I round a right hand corner and am surprised by a large creek crossing. It starts with 6 inches of water to the approach of one rock that slants from left to right followed by another rock that slants from right to left then there is 25ft of 2ft of water. I hit the water, slam the rock, carry momentum up on the first rock and lose traction and go down hard. My knee still hurts today. The bike is resting on the rock and blocking the best line. Still riders pass me with no problems at all.

I get up fairly quickly and pull my bike out of the way. 5 kicks and I am starting through the water. No problems from there for about 5 miles. Riders are passing me but not too bad. So far only rows 40 and 41 have caught up. I round a corner and lose traction and go down again. I get up and let some riders by then I go to start and stall. Get her started again and stall. Get her started again and dump the clutch with a hand full of throttle and almost loop out but I keep going.

The rest of the first 2 hours is going ok. I am losing time badly and before the gas stop I am 56 minutes late. I have 4 more biffs. I go high on some rutted berms and flip over sideways. I stall getting going again as I am tiring out. I have a lot of riders passing me now... rows 61 and 64. I then hear a guy hollering and when I try to find a good line for me to move into so he can get around I go right between two trees and the handlebars don't make it... thank god for bark busters.

I get going again and come around a curve and loose traction. I swap from side to side badly and try to save it. As I get the bike straight I hit a tree that is only 2 inches wide dead center causing me stop in my tracks. Luckily I didn't have a lot of speed when I hit the tree so I didn't get flipped.

Luckily there is a reset and a lot of road before the next check. By this time I am only 10 minutes late. I try to get a second wind but I am getting tired.

I drop the bike a couple of more times and slow down a lot. I foul my plug because of all the putting around I am doing. Between picking my bike up, the ride and changing the plug I am getting physically and mentally drained. I see a downed rider, I ask if he is ok and he is. I notice his odomoter says 49 miles (I don't have an odomoter yet on the WR). I figure I must be close to the end so I try to gut it out.

I get to another downed rider after what seemed like an eternity. He is ok and says he has gone 58 miles and the course is supposed to be around 70 miles and he got lost. This deflates me. I try to gut it out to the next check but I come to a small clearing and I stop. I pull off my helmet to cool off and as soon as it comes off all the water I drank comes up... 5 minutes later I just have the dry heaves... after that I pull off my chest protector and camel pack. I set the chest protector on a log and lay down. The woods is nice and peaceful, it is comforting to lay there and stare up into the leaves as a cool breaze blew. I come to the realization that I need to be in better shape before doing another Enduro. I lay there for about 30 minutes as riders whiz by me... I give them the thumbs up so they won't be delayed by asking me if I am ok.

I start to put my gear back on when the clean up crew comes around. They ask me what happened and I am surprisingly not embarrassed when I tell them I puked my guts out. I ask where the next check is and they said it is a mile up but I have already houred out. To my surprise there was that check, a repeat of loop one, and then road back. I never would have survived the repeat of loop one after getting so badly dehydrated. I decide to take the road back. I ask where the road is and they point behind me... it is only 30ft away, Damn I felt like an idiot.

There is a guy with a burnt clutch and I stay with him till the clean up crew comes back. One guy puts his foot on the silencer of the guy with the burnt clutch and pushes him back to the trucks... damn why didn't I think of that.

On they way back to the truck I get the dry heaves a few more times but not too bad... all I can think is that I am too out of shape. I only got dehydrated though, no cramps. I am sore today but not as bad as I have been when I first got back into riding in March. Once I get back and drink, turn in my time card I find out that a lot of people gave up after the first gas stop.

Even though I DNF'd I feel good about the event. The people were nice, they all yelled thank you as they whizzed by me. I heard thank you more in that 5 hours than I have heard from my wife in the 5 years since I met her :-) I would have finished if the course was only the 45 miles that I was told. I prepared mentally for that length not too much farther. I don't know how long the course actually was but I know I went in excess of 55 miles before getting sick. I at least pushed myself as far as I could go. I don't consider myself the worst rider on the course, only the worst to go as far as I did without finishing. If I was one of the worst I would have given up at the gas stop when I still had energy to continue.

I will do it again in February at the Pelion Enduro. I grew up in Pelion and never knew there was an Enduro in that town. Before that I am going to try a Hare Scramble and an MX. I think I will enjoy the HS a lot more than the Enduro. I spent 5 hours in the woods with the Enduro and I did good the first 2 hours. HS are supposed to be 2 hours long so I think I will do better.