Trail Ride with Mika Metals Handlebars

Yesterday, I had the chance to go on a trail ride with my buddy in Delaware.  After spending the past couple of weeks tearing a part my bike and going through everything, the bike was finally ready for a nice trail ride.  One of the biggest changes for this year was running a new line of handlebars, chains, and sprockets by Mika Metals.  Yesterday, I tried out my Mika Metals 1 1/8" handlebars which are made from an aircraft aluminum.  I chose to go with the CR low bend this year because I have been told by multiple knowledgeable riders that the lower bend will help keep my weight over the center of the handlebars and help with turning.  Last year, I ran the Renthal RC/ Mini handlebars which are extremely tall but come not as wide so you don't have to cut them down.  On my Mika Metals handlebars, I cut 0.75" off of each side which is the most you can take off of them in order to have room for your controls.  With these handlebars, I am also running the Torc 1 Racing enduro grips with their grip donuts.  My friend and I went out to the farm and made a nice 1 mile loop that had perfect sandy dirt that provided great traction.  After breaking in this loop, I was very impressed with the way the Mika Metals handlebars felt.  They enabled me to get my elbows up in the corners and provided me with nice cornering.  At first, I was over-steering in some of the corners but then got a hang of the way these handlebars were working.  They seem extremely strong and I am excited to use them for the rest of the year.

I can't tell you how much of a blast it was to ride yesterday.  I am looking forward to a strong year in 2012.  I am confident in my equipment and I feel that I have the best support so far from my sponsors.  Next time, I will be trying the Mika Metals sprockets and chain.  Stay tuned for more updates!

New Sponsor: Mika Metals

I am proud to annouce that I have picked up a new sponsor called Mika Metals.  After being sponsored by DT-1 filters last year for the first time, I went back to them this year for more support because I was very impressed with their high quality products.  Paul Temmerman at DT-1 filters informed me of their new line of handlebars, chains, and sprockets under the new name, Mika Metals.  I took this opportunity to build my relationship with DT-1 Filters and Mika Metals, and I am excited to have them on board for 2012.  I just ordered my new sprockets, chains, and handlebars so I am excited to try them out over Christmas Break.  I will add more pictures of their products once I have them.

New Sponsor: MotoFIT

With the help of a close friend and ECEA AA rider, Bill Baker, I have now teamed up with MotoFIT.  With the help of Mike Omahony from MotoFIT, I look forward to progressing my racing in 2012 in both the ECEA Enduro and Hare Scramble series.  MotoFIT will be my source for KTM parts, information on the best set-ups, and bike help when I am ready to get a new KTM.  By executing my part at MotoFIT, I hope to bring their shop more business and show that they are dedicated to racers.  With this key support behind me, I am looking forward to the 2012 season!

The Off-Season Begins

With the start of my sophomore year of college, things have only gotten more hectic with my racing.  Since the start of college back in August, I seem to have been sick half of the days at school.  For some reason, I have caught every cold and flu going around at school.  Additionally, school has been extremely busy with lots of hours spent reading textbooks, doing sample exam problems, and watching podcasts.  Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the last two enduros with my hectic schedule.  However, I am looking forward to a strong season next year.  

As of now, I have sent out most of my resumes and I am waiting to hear back from a few companies right now.  With the start of a new season, I have made one change so far which is buying a pass to our great training facility at Penn State.  I will spend an hour or two at the gym everyday in order to build my cardio for the upcoming season.  In addition to working on making my body stronger for next year, I will also focus on riding more in the off-season.  Most winters I have been unable to train or ride much, but this year I am going to try to go south a couple times in order to ride and I will try to get to Blue Diamond MX park as much as possible.  In addition to this, I have worked harder in trying to build relationships with sponsors for 2012.  Soon, I will release all the sponsors for 2012 once I have everything figured out.  Until then, keep riding and have fun!

ECEA Round 16: RRMC Enduro

Race Report: ECEA Round 16: RRMC Enduro

WER Rider: Zack Huberty

Bike: KTM 200 XC

Result: A-200 3^rd

Point Standings: 3^rd

^{(Photo Credit: Kevin Novello)}

Before the Race:

            It has been a while since my last race report.  Since then, I have started my sophomore year at Penn State Main Campus.  The semester has been a lot harder than I have expected.  All of my free time has been spent doing homework or studying for an upcoming exam.  This has been my first real break where I have been able to write.  Additionally, I have come to the conclusion recently that I haven’t been having as much fun racing as I used to.  Not sure if it has to do with the difficulty of getting to and from races while in college, or that I am putting too much pressure on myself to win.  But, at the end of the day, there is nothing like to desire to ride and race on the weekends!  I am hoping to figure out ways to make it easier to get to the races next year so that I can raise that level of fun I was used to.  

Report:

                After two cancelled enduros due to rain and my club’s race, I was pretty pumped to race.  Leading up to the RRMC enduro, it rained, rained, rained, and rained some more.  My dad, sister, and I drove up to New York Saturday night and we were greeted by rain the whole drive up.  We slept through the rain and woke up to it as well.  I woke up Sunday to the temperatures in the low 40s and a muddy day ahead of me.

                With new tread, mud guards, and a desire to ride, I lined up at the starting line.  I was looking forward to riding in the sloppy mud as it tends to always be a race of human and bike survival.  5 4 3 2 1 go! And I took a slow start as my wheels spun on the slippery ground.  I gained speed and shot down the straight-away and lost control at the first dip, which sent me sliding (stupid me).  As I was sliding, I pulled in the clutch and was able to get back upright without losing much time.  The first section of the day consisted of 7.5 miles of their hare scramble track.  It had a lot of grass track which was tricky since it was hard to find traction on it.  Once in the woods, we rode through tricky areas with slimy roots, run-off water that formed into rivers, and big mud holes.  The first section went pretty flawlessly for me as I made my way through the woods without getting stuck and used good throttle control in order to get as much traction as possible.  I liked the challenge of trying to keep the bike hooking up in the fields and being on the verge of sliding out but keeping it together.

                After an 8 minute break, we headed across a deep stream and up an ATV trail into the heart of the woods.  Water was flowing down the mountain from all angles and everything was as slick as ice.  Once we got towards the top of the mountain, the woods started to tack up and I was able to get more traction than I thought.  I felt good and confident.  I rode smart which was my goal.  At the end of the section, we had to go down a hill which was very slippery.  My bike almost slid down the side of the hill so I had to carefully maneuver my way down the mountain to the check.  By the end of the check, I was ready for a new pair of gloves and decided to go without goggles for the rest of the day.  After the club sent us through a couple more deep streams (3 feet deep in some areas), muddy fields, and a lot of blacktop, we got to the first gas stop of the day.

                At the gas stop, my dad worked on my bike by getting all of the mud off of it.  Usually my dad races with me, but this weekend we had to bring to my youngest sister along so he couldn’t.  It was nice having him at the gas stop because he was able to get my camelback re-filled, tighten my chain, and get all of the mud off the bike.  It was a big help.  After the gas stop, we had three more sections before the end of the race.  In the 3^rd section, I got off to a great start and was following AA rider, Jarod Kulp, and I felt comfortable with his pace.  He would pull away a little in areas but I was able to reel him back in.  After 2 miles, he started to pull away and before I knew it, we were both stuck on a bank.  I tried to get up the one side but fell into the creek with my bike.  After struggling for 5 minutes or so, I got up the bank and was exhausted.  I knew I wasted my chance for having a good day.  I was frustrated coming out of the section as I knew I had made one mistake.  In the A class, the winner is the fasted rider but also the rider who makes the least mistakes.

                I went into the 4^th section determined to ride smart and make-up time but I got stuck on a steep uphill that was covered with slick rock.  I struggled to get up the bank and eventually made it after falling a couple times.  My energy was shot and I just tried to minimize my errors while tired.  I came out of the 2^nd to last section feeling defeated as I knew my day was done.  As I rested, I remembered my goal going into the day, and it was to have fun.  I started the last section of the day making sure I finished the race on a good note, and that was enjoying what I do. And that is riding/racing.  The last section of the day was on a part of the course that we had already ridden earlier in the day.  I was able to zero this section which I was happy with.

                At the end of the day, I was able to end up with 3^rd which was 6 points off of 1^st.  I felt as if I had the speed to win, but my two mistakes cost the win for the day.  I will re-group and try to come into the next race even stronger.  I will be switching things up next race by racing the NEOC Series and trying to win a couple dollars with their A pay-out.  Until the next race report, I will be putting in the work and wrenching on bikes (although the majority of my time is spent sitting at my desk doing homework).

            Once again, I could not have done all of this without the support of my family, especially my dad for his race support, as well as my sponsors which are Johnny Limp at Torc1Racing, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, PowerSeal USA, FMF, BRP, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Galfer USA, Sixsixone, Kenda, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, AXO, DT-1 Filters, AP Brakes, Motorex, Acerbis, Matto Cycle, MotoConcepts, Renthal, Clockwork KTM, and Topar Racing.

For more information:

Check WER Suspension out at Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”

Check Zack Huberty out at Facebook “Zack’s Racing”

Check-out Zack Huberty at http://zackhuberty323racing.blogspot.com/

Trail Rider Magazine Clock Run Enduro Article

Check out pages 27 and 28 of this month's Trail Rider Magazine for the article I wrote... Get your subscription today at trailrider.com!