Splash
Race Dog
The winner that came last
Have bike, will race is my motto, or at least that seems to be the case. I entered my first Enduro event which was just as much a challenge on the day as it was to enter. It all started with an email to Gary Franks at Enduro World magazine â?? what do I need to do to enter your race? Well a rather lengthy reply came back. Just do this and that, like join my club (thanks Gary), drive to Kyalami and register with Motorsport SA and then you can enter, but fax your proof of payment. Well all done and a little lighter in the wallet I was entered. Then the little problem of scrutineering raised its head. What do I need a medical board for and are the pain killers a normal part of every event? All was getting very interesting until I had to fork out a princely sum for an environmental mat, a carpet â?? it had better fly! I had not even gotten close to a circuit yet and was going around in ever smaller circles. I also had to worry about some training so off to the local track for some saddle time â?? not much that one can get done on a normal weekend â?? so much for all the preparation I planned to do.
The big day arrived and off to Parys for my first race. I did not expect to be as intimidated as what I was by the venue. I was scheduled to ride at 2:00pm which gave me a little time to arrive a bit early and have a look around. What I got to see was a whole lot of competitors navigating a very steep mountain â?? they must be joking â?? I would not even try and walk that let alone race. It had to be a special section for the pro riders. A little closer inspection of the chart of the route showed a rather different story â?? a special section was being left out but the mountain was still in â?? what possess people to do this for fun? It started to seem a little impossible at this stage. I walked a little bit of the course and got to see a whole lot of struggling bikers â?? this was a challenge like no other that any reality show could ever dream up. It was not going to be pretty.
Nonetheless, I had an entry and was going to give this a go, but a little more conservatively than I had imagined. It is amazing how one gets a reality shift when faced with the actual event. So, doing one lap looked a big enough task in itself. At the briefing, it was anticipated that we would all be at least riding two laps. I could have burst out laughing at that point but presumed that I was in much more esteemed company and I was just a big baby. Not much time left but to get to the start line.
I was actually going to take part in a motorcycle race â?? wow, for what it is worth the start line was fantastic â?? becoming an adrenaline junky rather quickly. It was a dead engine start which was not a problem for me as I was in no way going to rush into this. I followed the field toward the river where we had a delightful time riding up and down banks. Managed to stay on the bike so far. Then a little â??fastâ? section across a field â?? could actually get out of first gear, but that was not for long. The bike never got out of first for the rest of the race.
The mountain awaited. The first bit was fine and I was making my way steadily upward. After a little hiccup or two, things started looking a lot more dramatic. The bike was not really getting traction and I thought I had better get off to try and walk the bike up. To my absolute delight, I was taken pity on by one of the marshals who rather unexpectedly offered to ride my bike up the slope. Well, he did not have to wait for an answer, he had my bike and off he went. Well, so far, not looking too bad until he casually remarked that it is going to get a lot more difficult - `you have to be jokingâ?? was running through my mind over and over. Do I turn back, give up or just try to press on as best I can.
The course was littered with candy tape which somehow pulled one forward, on and on around a corner and then the next. I got to a major incline with a backup of rider not going anywhere in a hurry. I looked at this and basically prayed that someone would magically move my bike to the top â?? and what do you know â?? another very kind marshal took some pity on me and very expertly got my bike to the top. Well made it up, now little twists and turns and off I went. On one off camber corner I just could not get my bike to turn, so time to get off to walk it around the corner â?? I was getting a little tired, but was still in the race â?? vivid imagination I must have.
Getting nearer to the end, the course builder decided we needed to be able to climb rocks in a vertical plane. I just parked my bike and watched the mayhem. This was tough but the marshals were very good at getting one bike at a time up, mostly having to wrestle bikes over the last bit. I was getting a little more brazen or it may have been desperate. My bike is R505, could you please , big please ride it up? Well they did an awesome job and I think I would have unfortunately crashed if I tried as the marshal left with a comment that my bike is a beast! The big downhill was now the last bit to get done. At this point, my battery was flat, no more, just finished. I could only just manage to walk my bike down â?? it was great to hit flat ground again. This was just the end of lap one, this is just madness! The timer said I only had a little time left before the course would close â?? no more needed to be said, I called it a day. Well I managed to get back in one piece and with no damage to the bike. I think my dealer was expecting to see me on Monday morning â?? not this time.
My result were terrible, came last with one lap of around 11kms in 1:06. The winner of my class did three laps and his first was in 28 minutes. I now fully understand that Enduro is not for sissies. I did get to meet Louwrens Mahoney and my absolute admiration and respect for what they do on a daily basis.
I had won my race by completing one lap even though I was last. What now, I am not sure. Did I have fun, definitely, would I ever be able to really race, I doubt it.
Have bike, will race is my motto, or at least that seems to be the case. I entered my first Enduro event which was just as much a challenge on the day as it was to enter. It all started with an email to Gary Franks at Enduro World magazine â?? what do I need to do to enter your race? Well a rather lengthy reply came back. Just do this and that, like join my club (thanks Gary), drive to Kyalami and register with Motorsport SA and then you can enter, but fax your proof of payment. Well all done and a little lighter in the wallet I was entered. Then the little problem of scrutineering raised its head. What do I need a medical board for and are the pain killers a normal part of every event? All was getting very interesting until I had to fork out a princely sum for an environmental mat, a carpet â?? it had better fly! I had not even gotten close to a circuit yet and was going around in ever smaller circles. I also had to worry about some training so off to the local track for some saddle time â?? not much that one can get done on a normal weekend â?? so much for all the preparation I planned to do.
The big day arrived and off to Parys for my first race. I did not expect to be as intimidated as what I was by the venue. I was scheduled to ride at 2:00pm which gave me a little time to arrive a bit early and have a look around. What I got to see was a whole lot of competitors navigating a very steep mountain â?? they must be joking â?? I would not even try and walk that let alone race. It had to be a special section for the pro riders. A little closer inspection of the chart of the route showed a rather different story â?? a special section was being left out but the mountain was still in â?? what possess people to do this for fun? It started to seem a little impossible at this stage. I walked a little bit of the course and got to see a whole lot of struggling bikers â?? this was a challenge like no other that any reality show could ever dream up. It was not going to be pretty.
Nonetheless, I had an entry and was going to give this a go, but a little more conservatively than I had imagined. It is amazing how one gets a reality shift when faced with the actual event. So, doing one lap looked a big enough task in itself. At the briefing, it was anticipated that we would all be at least riding two laps. I could have burst out laughing at that point but presumed that I was in much more esteemed company and I was just a big baby. Not much time left but to get to the start line.
I was actually going to take part in a motorcycle race â?? wow, for what it is worth the start line was fantastic â?? becoming an adrenaline junky rather quickly. It was a dead engine start which was not a problem for me as I was in no way going to rush into this. I followed the field toward the river where we had a delightful time riding up and down banks. Managed to stay on the bike so far. Then a little â??fastâ? section across a field â?? could actually get out of first gear, but that was not for long. The bike never got out of first for the rest of the race.
The mountain awaited. The first bit was fine and I was making my way steadily upward. After a little hiccup or two, things started looking a lot more dramatic. The bike was not really getting traction and I thought I had better get off to try and walk the bike up. To my absolute delight, I was taken pity on by one of the marshals who rather unexpectedly offered to ride my bike up the slope. Well, he did not have to wait for an answer, he had my bike and off he went. Well, so far, not looking too bad until he casually remarked that it is going to get a lot more difficult - `you have to be jokingâ?? was running through my mind over and over. Do I turn back, give up or just try to press on as best I can.
The course was littered with candy tape which somehow pulled one forward, on and on around a corner and then the next. I got to a major incline with a backup of rider not going anywhere in a hurry. I looked at this and basically prayed that someone would magically move my bike to the top â?? and what do you know â?? another very kind marshal took some pity on me and very expertly got my bike to the top. Well made it up, now little twists and turns and off I went. On one off camber corner I just could not get my bike to turn, so time to get off to walk it around the corner â?? I was getting a little tired, but was still in the race â?? vivid imagination I must have.
Getting nearer to the end, the course builder decided we needed to be able to climb rocks in a vertical plane. I just parked my bike and watched the mayhem. This was tough but the marshals were very good at getting one bike at a time up, mostly having to wrestle bikes over the last bit. I was getting a little more brazen or it may have been desperate. My bike is R505, could you please , big please ride it up? Well they did an awesome job and I think I would have unfortunately crashed if I tried as the marshal left with a comment that my bike is a beast! The big downhill was now the last bit to get done. At this point, my battery was flat, no more, just finished. I could only just manage to walk my bike down â?? it was great to hit flat ground again. This was just the end of lap one, this is just madness! The timer said I only had a little time left before the course would close â?? no more needed to be said, I called it a day. Well I managed to get back in one piece and with no damage to the bike. I think my dealer was expecting to see me on Monday morning â?? not this time.
My result were terrible, came last with one lap of around 11kms in 1:06. The winner of my class did three laps and his first was in 28 minutes. I now fully understand that Enduro is not for sissies. I did get to meet Louwrens Mahoney and my absolute admiration and respect for what they do on a daily basis.
I had won my race by completing one lap even though I was last. What now, I am not sure. Did I have fun, definitely, would I ever be able to really race, I doubt it.
