It had to be great! With 4 months since the last SERA Enduro how could any Enduro not be a great event? The crew from NATRA has increased this year since Paul has started riding Enduros. We all packed up at different times, but we met on Saturday and watched the kids races, prepared our computers and discussed the next days event.

The Pecan Orchard still looks great. Every time I drive down to Wiggins there is a picture in my mind of the orchard and the great parking area. The weather was not too cold and not too hot. The soil was dry on top, firm and moist underneath when a bike rode hard across the sandy area.

Naturally I had to thank God for my health, so I dropped by church with Doty on Saturday night. Hopefully I can "walk the walk" that Doty outlined in his presentation. By the way, we can start calling him "The Electrical Cord" since he is our contact with the man.

Benny and Mike snored ALL night before the event. Even worse, the noisy generator in the camp and the snoring started to harmonize. I few swift swats at the snorers helped, but I was almost sleepless!

Sunday morning finally came. I felt like a kid at Christmas! I went through my usual routine of getting my riding gear on and doing the final prep on my bike. This is my 30th year of riding enduros. You would think that I wouldn't have the pre-ride jitters, but I still get that feeling before my minute counts down.

I don't get to visit too much in the morning since I ride row zero. We had a few beginners at the start, but one of my regular riding buddies showed up and we rode together all day. As a matter of fact there could have been a tow rope on my bike that would separate us for most of the day. I started to tire in some sections because of the lack of riding during my knee re-hab.

So how was the course? It was GREAT!!! We had the most perfect conditions for temperature and soil conditions I have seen in many years. The checks were all spot on and the crews were efficient. The ending portion of the 1st loop had a section were several folks got lost and cut a portion of the course out. We almost lost the trail in one place, but quickly found the next arrow and went on.

The gas stop was after a nice fun section of grass track. The Hare Scrambles have been using the grass track and it is a bunch of fun. The second loop was more great trail. It featured a VERY slow 15 and 12MPH section. I didn't realize how hard it is to ride slow in the deep sand until I went down a small drop-off into the deep sand (trying to go slow). I stuffed the front end into the dirt and the guys behind me had a good laugh! From what I heard, several other riders did the same thing in the exact spot.

The ride did feature several REALLY fast logging roads. I had my poor 250 singing at the top of its voice and wanting more several times. To match the fast stuff the club put in some nice tight sections. The fast guys only dropped a few points on this loop. The end of the 2nd loop was weird for the timekeeping. The FREE section actually had a reset where mileage went backwards at the initial part of the 3rd loop. The C riders and Special Class riders cut off after the 2nd loop. I felt good so I went ahead and rode the 3rd loop. The last section was a copy of the first loop except at 18MPH then 30MPH. I wish they had not stopped the race at the middle of the re-wound loop. I wanted to ride the trail back as part of the race. It was a long trail to just return to camp.

Scoring after the race went slow. We waited because Benny won his class. Ron also picked up 1st place. I ended up 10th in the Super Senior Class. I started to compare notes and realized that I could have been 10 in the Senior class, 7th in the 4 Stroke B class, 6th in Open B, etc. I guess Jack is right about waking up every day. If I wake up every morning and finally outlast my peers I will eventually win my class and get that helmet at the end of the year.

Even the club was happy with the race. How can you argue with a great day, a great course, a fun time and another wonderful start to our 2005 SERA racing season?

Ed Larosche

March 2005