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| Photo by Joann Hauser |
Race: ECEA Round 3: PBER Enduro
Bike: 09 KTM 200
Result: 1st A-200, 14th Overall
Sponsors: I would like to thank Stickman
Graphx, Unabiker.com, EKS Brand Goggles, Kriega USA, Rekluse, All Balls Racing,
EBC Brakes, 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:
Since the last enduro, school and my
other commitments have taken up most of my time. Unfortunately, I did not get to ride at all,
but I was able to focus on some training.
Prior to this weekend, I have been mountain biking close to ten miles
each day. I am hoping this helps with my
results on the weekends. Coming into
Sunday, I was hungrier than ever for a top 20 finish. I just wanted to put in a solid ride where I
could showcase my speed and progression.
Sunday morning, my dad and I left
for the PBER enduro. Once we arrived, I got
prepared for a good day of whoops and made sure my bike was all ready to
go. It was ready to hit some sand whoops
and prepped to withstand the sand with my DT-1 triple layer air filter. The first 20 miles of the day consisted of
time keeping which I luckily only lost 1 second on. The second loop of the day was where the
majority of the racing occurred. The
first section was close to 13 miles long.
This wasn’t just any section, but the roughest section of sand whoops I
have ever been on. It was just whoop
after whoop after whoop which caused me to get arm pump. I made a few mistakes in here as I got lost
twice and missed a turn. Needless to
say, this cost me valuable time and my poor score reflected it. Additionally, I decided I needed to go in a
new direction on suspension settings. They
worked great in the whoops the weekend before but the trail was so beat up that
even stiffer settings were needed. One
thing I have learned is to not be afraid of making changes. These helped a lot as we headed into the next
section. This time, I rode great with
strong intensity throughout the section.
I felt awesome and my changes helped a lot. I was unlucky though and missed the flip on
the way out by 3 seconds.
At the 2nd gas stop, I
did something I have never done before. Because
of the rough trails, my stomach was in knots and ended up puking. Now that is what rough whoops do to you! The rest of the day was uneventful as we hit
another sneaky check and then rode back to the finish. At the end of the day, I won the A-200 class
and finished 14th overall.
This is certainly an improvement but I feel I haven’t been able to
showcase my full potential just yet. We
will have to wait until the Tri-County Enduro this Sunday. Thank you to my dad for his pit support and
everyone behind me!
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