ECEA Round 2: Curly Fern Enduro

Photos by Joann Hauser

Race: ECEA Round 2: Curly Fern Enduro

Bike: 09 KTM 200

Result: 1^st  A-200, 18^th Overall

Sponsors: I would like to thank Stickman Graphx, Unabiker.com, EKS Brand Goggles, Kriega USA, Rekluse, All Balls Racing, Fly Racing, Mika Metals, DT-1 Filters, Works Enduro Rider, FMF Racing, Vertex Pistons, Powerseal USA, Matto Cycle, Offroadviking.com, Clockwork KTM, Torc 1 Racing, Motorex, G2 Ergonomics, my family, and my Dad.

Report:

            One thing I am hungry for this year is success and it is a hunger that is going to be hard to feed.  Going into the first round of the ECEA series, I was disappointed with all of the mistakes I made on the riding side, but happy with the glimpses of speed that I had shown.  Going into this past weekend, I was excited to hopefully improve on my previous result.  I knew going into the weekend that it would be tough because the event was going to be a lot of time-keeping (I lack experience on this side) and I would be riding alone.  Normally, I try to ride with an AA rider which helps keep my intensity up and minimizes stupid mistakes.

            My dad and I left at 5:30 am to head down to Curly Fern.  Once again, it was another freezing morning with no hopes of warming up.  I got ready and made sure I ate a good breakfast to fuel my body for the day.  I also decided to wear a heavy jacket which was a blessing with all of the road we had to ride.  The first half of the race was fairly basic but featured a ton of emergency checks which are hard to zero on the 30 second mark.  A few of them were in tricky locations so my times weren’t looking that well.  Because of this, I knew I had to ride well in the points taking sections.  The end of the first section ended with a 3 mile piece that was muddy, rooty, and featured an endurocross section.  I felt good in here except I stalled on the tire section and ran out of gears on the wide-open sections.  I missed the flip by 4 seconds which was disappointing as my times were close to some AA.

            After resting at the gas stop, I geared up for the second half of the day.  I continued to focus on improving my day and rode well in the second half.  I zeroed most of the emergency checks.  I also felt I had great speed and my WER suspension worked awesome with some of my adjustments.  One thing I have learned is to not be afraid of making changes during a race.  I think you learn a lot and it is a good experience.  Towards the end of the day, some points taking sections were thrown in.  I made a costly mistake of not going into the check early which cost me two extra points.  After this, we headed back for another crack at the 3 mile section.  This time, I increased my intensity and hung it out.  I rode flawless except for getting stuck behind a rider who fell across the trail and getting pointed to a wrong line in a muddy section.  I was able to make the flip this time and match some AA times.  I feel I had a lot more in me and will be back to give it my best next race.

            At the end of the day, I won the A-200 class by a point and finished 18^th overall.  I think I could have scored 3 points less on the day which would have put me inside the top ten overall.  We will race the PBER Enduro in a couple weeks where I would like to get another win and finish inside the top ten.  Until then, I am going to test some jetting, change gearing, and find a better sand tire.  Thanks to all for their support and especially my dad for pitting for me!