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Sand
Booger & Sand Goblin = True Fun for Families April 21st
& 22nd, 2007 Sand Booger
Family Enduro Sand Goblin
Enduro Presented
by: Grand Kankakee Trail Riders Roselawn,
IN Photos
by Stineback.com It’s
hard to put into words just how fun these events were, but I’ll try my
best to capture the highlights. The
Grand Kankakee Trail Riders weekend started out with the Sand Booger
Family Enduro on Saturday and ended with the Sand Goblin (adult) enduro
on Sunday. It’s hard
enough to put on a regular enduro, but to put on two in the same weekend
is quite the feat, but the GKTR club pulled it off in grand fashion.
Sand
Booger Enduro: The
family enduros have been started as a way to get kids and new riders
involved in sport of enduros. The
concept is great, typically a 13-15 mile that is run twice, once at a
12mph and once at 18mph. Up
to 8 year old riders (typically on 50cc bikes) one run loop and the rest
of the riders (I know some were well into their 60’s) got to ride two
loops. The classes are
broken down into age groups rather then displacement classes, which I
thought were perfect as most off-road riders know it’s not really
about the bike but the rider and their abilities.
The events are run as true enduros with timekeeping and
everything and no timekeeping computers are allowed, only odometers and
watches can be used. This is done so that kids and new riders learn the art of
keeping time instead of letting the computer do it for them. The
Grand Kankakee Trail Riders laid out a perfect 13 mile loop for the
family enduro. It started
off with a huge grass track out in the cornfield, headed into the woods,
then ended up back in the grass track that had the now famous Fredette
Escargot layout. The woods
were a good mix of open and single track trails and the arrowing was top
notch. The best part was that even the little riders on the
50cc’s could get around about 98% of the course with no help.
Only a couple times did I have to stop and help my son or another
50cc rider over a log over up a little hill.
There was truly nothing that was un-ride able by even the least
experience riders. I
have to say the best part of the whole event was seeing the families out
riding together and enjoying themselves.
I stood in line at sign up with a family of four that were
riding, dad, mom, and their two boys, everyone was excited.
There were many families out there and a couple of them had three
generations of family members riding together.
I got to talk to the Darmon family and they were one of the
families that had three generations out there riding together.
Eric Darmon had his two boys, Tyler and Jake with him along with
his brother Jon and father Joe. His
father Joe last rode the Roselawn Enduro back in 1973 on a Suzuki PE
250, a bike he rebuilt over the winter so he could ride this event with
his boys and grandsons. Joe
was all smiles as it reminded him of the fun times he had riding with
his boys 30 years ago. Both
of Eric’s sons put in great rides too with Jake taking the win in the
4-6 year class and Tyler taking second in the 7-8 year class. Another
great part of the Sand Booger Family enduro was the trophy presentation.
Every kid got a trophy and some were way bigger then the kids
could even carry, which put the biggest smiles on kids faces I have ever
seen. And handing out the
trophies was none other then Mr. ISDE, Jeff Fredette.
I think Jeff was having just as much fun handing out the trophies
and the kids were having receiving them.
The
Darmon Family at the start and at the end. Sand
Goblin Enduro: After
such a fun time was had at the Sand Booger everyone was excited about
the Sand Goblin, all 97 miles of it.
With the Sand Goblin paying points for Districts 14, 15, 16,
& 17 and 253 riders showing up everyone knew the competition was
going to be fierce in all classes.
Luckily the sun was out and all the riders were ready to take on
the trail and the clock. The day
started out with the now famous Fredette Escargot layout having riders
circling around the cornfield wondering if they were going to run into
each other. After the
Escargot fun it was off the Millers woods for the first test of the day.
This section is always fun with fast flowing woods and some sand
whoops to keep it interesting. Somewhere
in the sections some rides missed a hard left that caused them to miss
some trail but not any checks or observed checks, so they got lucky and
gained a couple minutes on the their competition that caught the left
hander. The next
section started out with the typical Midwest cornfield riding then into
a pasture. It was easy
riding and most riders were riding a little ahead of schedule, which was
what the club was hoping for. The
club had thrown in an old school hidden check that caught many off
guard. It was classic old school, hidden at a bottom of steep hill
that could not be seen from up top.
After that there was a small road section then back into the
woods. The next check was
right after the 3.2 mile free territory which caught some more riders
off guard causing them to have some hot points.
The section ended with a little creek crossing and a check out. It
was off to the first gas stop and then back to more great trail riding.
With the club having creative checks in the sections before gas
everyone was on their toes and trying to guess what the club would do
next. The sections leading
up to the final gas stop included a great spectator creek crossing,
tight woods, open woods, and a little bit of muddy trail.
The checks were standard “check in” / “check out” so
every test section was just a test of speed. The
last two test sections were reserved for the AA / A riders, I’m sure
the C & B riders were plenty happy for this as they had already had
60+ miles of great riding. The
first of the AA / A section was back into Millers woods, but it wasn’t
the same trail. The club
out did themselves and had rerouted the whole section after everyone
rode it in the morning. This
kept things interesting and all the riders on their toes once again.
By this time the majority of riders were tired but there was the
final test of the day. As
we all sat waiting for our time to come up for the final test we
wondered what was in store for us.
Turns out the final test was more great trail, including the
“rabbit trail” that was tight and twisty.
It all ended with the Roselawn house, where I got to see a rider
literally stuck between a door frame and his motorcycle unable to move,
then the final check. In
the end it was Ohio Native Cody Mastin on his Funmart Racing / Moose
Racing / Enduro Engineering YZ250 taking the win with a 15 point drop,
besting the competion by 5 minutes.
In the runner up position was Daniel Janus on his Halls Husky Gas
Gas 250 with a 20 point drop. In
the 3rd overall and 1st 250A was Wes Donaldson on
his borrowed Neihaus Cycle CR250. Wes
hadn’t even ridden the borrowed bike before the start of the race and
hadn’t raced an enduro in a couple years, I guess when you have
natural talent it shows. The
ride of the day came from Jordan Mapes in the C Class.
Jordan is an up and coming rider from MI that has support from
Hiemjoingracing.com / KTM / Ford & Hammer Nutrition.
Jordan’s score would have been good enough for 3rd
overall in the B class. I’m
sure we’ll see Jordan moving up through the ranks in the years to
come. I
didn’t talk to anyone that didn’t have fun.
Everyone thought the course was great and had good things to say.
I don’t think anyone would argue when I say the club out did
themselves by putting on two great events. The
club would like to thank all their sponsors that include: Moose Racing,
Kawasaki, FRP, and Hammer Nutrition.
But they really want to thank all the landowners that are the
real reason that great events like this can happen. The
last note is to let everyone know why the scoring took longer then an
average enduro. The club
allowed the District directors to try out a new software scoring system
and since this was the first test there were a few hiccups.
The effort needed to input data, check backup sheets, and make
corrections was underestimated and it caused some delays in not only
posting the results the day of the event but the posting of the results
on line. A lot was learned and the scoring software shows great
possibilities for all clubs. Now
that the test of the software is over and it’s understood the effort
needed to run it efficiently the next rounds where it is used will show
everyone how technology can help enduro scoring. |
