Unabiker Family!

While browsing the internet the other day, I saw that one of my sponsor's updated their website.  I quickly clicked on the link and checked out their new website.  Unabiker has been helping me out most of this year with trick radiator guards that have saved me more than once.  Check out the new site, and see how they nicely added me to their page! http://www.unabiker.com/?page_id=45

Stump Jumper Enduro Photos

Photos by Rick Cornelius

Michaux Enduro: 13th overall!

Photo Credit: Melik Family

Race Report: ECEA Enduro Series Round 16: SPER Michaux Enduro

Rider: Zack Huberty

Bike: MotoFIT KTM 200 XC

Result: A-200 1^st, 13^th Overall

Report:

            After a frustrating ride at the Beehive Enduro with a third place finish, I was determined to come back strong at the last rock race.  After class on Friday, I made the drive home and got to work mowing lawns.  After mowing, I got the rest of my gear ready for Michaux.  Saturday night, my dad and I drove to Michaux and spent the night.  I was unsure of whether or not to run a Vee Rubber Trials tire at Michaux as it had rained for a couple days, although it appeared dry where we camped.  Sunday morning, I made the swap to the Trials Tire as I thought it would be a good choice for the technical terrain (Also, it was the advice given by Pete Wright).  We used a National Enduro format for this enduro with 6 total sections ranging from 3.3 miles to 8.5 miles.  Most of the sections were around 8 miles which spread out the scores.

            My goal for the first section of the day was to ride smooth and under my ability as I have been having a tough time in first sections at enduros.  I have been getting bad arm-pump, riding over my head, and crashing a lot.  I decided to take it easy the first few miles and then turn up my speed.  I was able to navigate the technical section with no falls and dropped a good score.  A lot of riders had trouble here with big crashes or broken equipment.  The second section of the day was probably my worst as we got lost and added an unnecessary ½ mile by making a wrong turn.  Because of this, my score wasn’t where it should have been but I finished the section strong.

            The rest of the day, I was able to ride flawless and I rode a little out of my comfort zone in order to stick with the faster riders on my row.  One of the craziest sections featured a 35 mph speed which consisted of logging roads, ATV trails, and mountain side paths.  I was able to tie some of the AA riders in here (although I ran out of gears in a lot of areas).  The 5^th section featured 3.3 miles of technical moon rock and jagged rocky single-track.  I did my best to pick good lines and not get stuck.  I was able to drop a 2 here which was what the other AA riders dropped.  The last section of the day was the most fun for me as I battled Pete Wright who later took home 6^th overall and the High Point A award.  I was able to make 2 passes on him and kept with him over the 7.5 mile section.  If I can continue to follow him in upcoming races from the beginning, I should be able to do better.  The current AA pace is uncomfortable for me at times but it is allowing me to learn how to go their speed.

            At the end of the day, my hard work paid off with my seventh win of the season and a 13^th overall finish.  I am hoping to continue to ride strong at the last two enduros.  I have a month and a half off right now from racing so I will mountain bike weekly, eat healthy, and prepare for the last two rounds of the ECEA Enduro Series.  I would like to thank my dad for helping me out the past few races by driving me to the races, helping me get prepared and pitting for me.  Without his help, I wouldn’t be as focused on the racing part at the enduros.    

I would also like to thank the support of my family and friends, as well as my sponsors which are Johnny Limp at Torc1Racing, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, Tech Tube, Mike at MotoFIT, PowerSeal USA, Unabiker, FMF, Jerod Stoner at JS Designs for the jersey lettering, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Sixsixone, Mika Metals, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, Fly Racing, DT-1 Filters, Motorex, Hinson Clutch Components, Acerbis, and Clockwork KTM.

A-200 Class Results

1) Zack Huberty (MotoFIT KTM) 29-533

2) Steve Aretz (KTM) 38-642

3) Ron Decaro (KTM) 42-750

4) Brad Gelwicks (KTM) 48-948

5) Rob Mohn (KAWI) 58-981

For more information:
Check WER Suspension out on Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”
Check MotoFIT Motorsports out on Facebook “MotoFIT”

Check Zack Huberty out on Facebook “Zack Huberty”
Check Zack Huberty’s Blog http://zackhuberty323racing.blogspot.com/

Thanks to the Melik Family for the photo.

ECEA Enduro Series Round 12: Rattlesnake National Enduro

Photo by Kevin Novello

Race Report: ECEA Enduro Series Round 12: Rattlesnake National Enduro

Rider: Zack Huberty

Bike: MotoFIT KTM 200 XC

Result:            Nationally: A-200 2^nd, 42^nd Overall

                        ECEA: A-200 1^st, 19^th Overall

Report:

            Following my win at the Foggy Mountain enduro, I was feeling a little more confident in myself.  I am slowly building my confidence as I finally can see that I have what it takes to win in the A200 class.  During my two weeks off, I was unable to ride because I had to catch up on work that needed to be done around the house.  I wasn’t that bothered by not riding as the long season makes a small break a good time to rest.   I pretty much kept the same bike setup going into the national enduro and made sure I had a trials tire ready in case it got extremely rocky.  I have been running a rock setting most of the year that has given me a lot of success.

            After a lot of rain throughout the week and on Saturday, the track was pretty slick at the race.  I rode on row 45 with another A200 buddy, Tanner Thomas.  Tanner has won every national enduro he has entered this year so I was excited to ride with him.  At 9:45 we took off on the first test which was fairly uneventful other than trying to stay off the ground.  The grass track was extremely slick and the woods were very dark.  I got horrible arm pump in this section which I have been battling recently.

            The next section went flawlessly as I flowed well and rode smooth.  The 3^rd section was the worst of the day for me as I rode over my head and made way too many mistakes.  I kept missing turns, almost crashing, and wadded up on two muddy logs.  This was the first time that I have ever had the rear wheel kick me in the head (pretty scary).  The rest of the day was uneventful as I focused on riding smooth, not making mistakes, and riding smart.  My strongest section came in the 9 mile A B section.  Prior to the section, I made the call to put on a Vee Rubber Trials Tire.  This was the best decision I made during the day because it helped a lot and I was able to ride very well.  The only problem I had was that I got tired towards the end but was able to ride smooth to the end of the section.

            I then decided to switch back to a knobby for the final section of the day.  I started to feel tired during the last section and it was also very loamy.  There were huge holes in the trail in this section which made it sickening as it was a rough ride.  I was so tired that I couldn’t even double the big holes.  I finished the section strong and was happy that I didn’t let the two AA riders behind me catch me all day.  At the end of the day, I was happy to finish 2^nd in my class and 42^nd overall at the National.  I was even happier to finish 1^st in the A200 class in the ECEA which now ties me in points for the lead.  I am also seeing a dietician now so I look forward to improving in the upcoming races.  I really want to get my first championship.

I would like to thank the support of my family and friends, especially my dad for his race support, as well as my sponsors which are Johnny Limp at Torc1Racing, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, Tech Tube, Mike at MotoFIT, PowerSeal USA, Unabiker, FMF, Jerod Stoner at JS Designs for the jersey lettering, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Sixsixone, Mika Metals, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, Fly Racing, DT-1 Filters, Motorex, Hinson Clutch Components, Acerbis, and Clockwork KTM.

NEPG A-200 Class Results

1) Tanner Thomas (KTM) 34:37

2) Zack Huberty (MotoFIT KTM) 47:04

3) Eric Kriberney (KTM) 49:47

4) Terry Yiengst (KTM) 53:10

5) Todd Vess (KAW) 55:00

For more information:
Check WER Suspension out on Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”
Check MotoFIT Motorsports out on Facebook “MotoFIT”

Check Zack Huberty out on Facebook “Zack Huberty”
Check Zack Huberty’s Blog http://zackhuberty323racing.blogspot.com/

Round 11: SORR Foggy Mountain Enduro

Erin Lyn Photography

Race Report: ECEA Enduro Series Round 11: SORR Foggy Mountain Enduro

Rider: Zack Huberty

Bike: MotoFIT KTM 200 XC

Result: A-200 1^st, 17^th Overall

Report:

            After feeling like I couldn’t put a section together at STER, I was hoping that I could put in a solid ride at Foggy Mountain.  Going into the race, I knew that the heat would be a factor, and I also debated using a knobby or a trials tire.  Prior to Foggy Mountain, I picked up a Specialized Hardrock 29er from Lee Rogers at Bicycle Therapy in Philadelphia.  It has been a goal of mine to buy a mountain bike this summer and start training more by mountain biking.  Lee was extremely knowledgeable about mountain bikes and walked me through everything on the bike.  He also introduced me to Hammer Nutrition products which I am going to look into as I want to start focusing on fueling my body the correct way.

            We left at 4am on Sunday morning and my Dad took care of all of pitting needs throughout the day.  Through the first two sections I suffered some small arm pump as I was holding on too tight to the bars.  Despite a crash within the first mile of the first section, I rode flawlessly the rest of the day.  I focused a lot more on trying to be more aggressive down straight-aways by riding the bike a little higher in the rpms.  The day was fairly uneventful as I just tried to focus on riding smooth and mistake free.  We made two small errors throughout the day when we checked into two sections later into our minute than I liked, but it didn’t hurt us that bad.  I rode along with Pete Wright most of the day who has consistently been a top 15 rider.  For the first time in a while, I stuck behind his wheel almost all day and even made a pass in the final section.

            At the end of the day, I was able to beat 2^nd place by 3 points and my closest competition by 6 points.  I am trying to keep my riding intensity and focus up throughout the races so that I can ride stronger.  This was also the first race I used my Tech Tube in a Bridgestone M404 and it worked awesome.  It is great to know that you don’t have to worry about a flat.  My MotoFIT KTM 200 worked excellent and the small jetting change I made seemed to work all around a lot better in the heat.  I have to say that my day was a lot less stressful since my dad was out there pitting for me, filling my camelback, and taking a look over my bike at times when I was resting.  In two weeks, I head to the Rattlesnake National Enduro where I will try to put in another solid ride.

I would like to thank the support of my family and friends, especially my dad for his race support, as well as my sponsors which are Johnny Limp at Torc1Racing, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, Tech Tube, Mike at MotoFIT, PowerSeal USA, Unabiker, FMF, Jerod Stoner at JS Designs for the jersey lettering, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Sixsixone, Mika Metals, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, Fly Racing, DT-1 Filters, Motorex, Hinson Clutch Components, Acerbis, and Clockwork KTM.

A-200 Class Results

1) Zack Huberty (MotoFIT KTM) 17-408

2) Brad Gelwicks  (KTM) 20-399

3) Ron Decaro (KTM) 22-491

4) Steve Aretz (KTM) 23-525

5) Denny Mann (GAS) 33-722

For more information:
Check WER Suspension out on Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”
Check MotoFIT Motorsports out on Facebook “MotoFIT”

Check Zack Huberty out on Facebook “Zack Huberty”
Check Zack Huberty’s Blog http://zackhuberty323racing.blogspot.com/