Preparations for hosting an ISDE Qualifier are tough. In addition to cutting trails and working long hours laying out the course we decided that we should ride a modern ISDE Qualifier.

In 2006 there are four Qualifiers in the USA. We decided to ride the Stillwater, Oklahoma round. TJ has relatives in the area and he graduated from the University in Stillwater. The last Qualifier I rode was 1978. I figured that things had changed since then. Also my trick Hodaka failed to finish in 1978 at the California City, California round. I was determined to finish the 2006 event on my KTM 200XC-W.

We met at the NATRA club meeting in Huntsville, AL. After the meeting we hopped in TJ's truck and hauled for the Sooner state. It took about 11 hours of driving to get there. None of us slept well.

TJ's family (actually his wife's family) have a great place! In addition to that they were exceptionally gracious hosts. We took a tour of the ranch. I decided to have a allergy attack. I was toast for the rest of the day. We did drive over to the sign up at the Coopertown MX track. Nice place. The area was well down on rain and the dust was bad just driving inside.

We went back to the ranch and ate a great meal. Lynn (TJ's wife) and her sister caught me literally sleeping at the diner table. I found a place to crash and slept heavily.

There was little to no information about the course on Friday. Saturday morning we went to the rider's meeting and found out they had posted the miles of each section and the time required to complete the section. I found out that this was the only information needed to keep time at the event. Actually the mileage they gave was in-correct, but it didn't matter.

Since we were not LOI (Letter of Intent) riders we didn't have to impound the bikes. We started after the LOI riders. You pushed your bike onto the starting area and the starter signaled when your 1 minute to start began. We had no problems. With a short ride we got to the first special test section. It doesn't matter when you get there. It only mattered how fast you went from the start to the end. They used a computer with a beam break system to start and end your times. Your number was manually entered into a computer and your time marked by the beams.

All the special tests (except one) were grass tracks. It turns out I can't rider grass tracks worth a hoot. Oh well at least the trail was relatively easy. The checks were easy. You rode up to the check and waited until your minute was came up. They had time-of-day clocks pointed towards the riders so you could verify your time. I used a stop watch and had no problems. I had set my odometer, but it really didn't matter. I had no problem getting to the special tests, riding them and still being on time for the check.

The trail went for about 40 miles before the lunch break at the trucks. I had some time to wolf down some food and still get make the time for the check. We then re-road the same trail for the second loop. They added in a special test called an "Enduro test". This was partial grass and some trail. I liked it much better. It was longer and was not completely flat.

On the 20 mile trail section after the special tests I got a little tired from my allergies and the heat. I lost a few trail points at the end of the day. If I was feeling better I would have been able to complete the day with no trail points lost.

After the first day of the event we took off to the ranch. TJ had a bad crash and his hip was pretty beat up. Ron's shoulder was bothering him. I was the only one to complete the entire trial ride. Dinner was excellent again. What great hosts we had! I fell asleep at the table again. Lynn will probably make fun of me for the next few months!

After a long night's sleep we headed back to the race. Day two was the same trail as day one without the last 20 miles. They had a few people overheat so they decided to drop the last section (which didn't have any special tests).

My times for day two were OK. Some were faster than day one. I was getting better at the grass tracks, but more tired as the day went on. Again Ron and TJ did not finish the entire ride. I ended up a Bronze ride.

What did we learn for the NATRA Qualifier? Well we don't need speed averages. Just post the distance between the checks and the time to complete the distance. Timekeeping was exceptionally easy. I thought of the Qualifier as a Trials event with special tests instead of sections.

Will I ride another? Yes! It was fun and different.

RAD DAD