Big Muskie National Enduro 2011

IMRiz

IMRiz

PR Member
The Ohio Big Muskie National Enduro is this weekend on Sunday, August 28, 2011. The Riz and his meager "team husky" unsanctioned, unsponsored, unrespected, unrested, unto myself till death does me part, will be there on my gleaming Husky WR250. Considering pulling my plate off for this one, don't want to lose another one, and they are not needed for this race. The sheriff will be involved in all road transfers. This is a pro-national points race, there will be way-fast guys, hopefully in-front of me. the pro's are in the starting lines I believe in the 20's and 30's. I'm on row 52 because of my early registration. From what I could tell, there could be like 500 bikes, okay maybe an exaggeration, but at minimum 300. This enduro is being put on by the good dudes at Zanesville Trail Riders, here's their website: http://www.zanesvilletrailriders.com/[/url]

The starting point for this Enduro is located 10 miles SE of Zanesville, in Chandlersville, Ohio just a few miles from "The Wilds". No lights or license plate needed. Show up, sign-up and ride. (as long as you have a spark arrestor and your bike is somewhat quiet). Granted, you'll need your AMA license, and a 1-day rental on the transponder for scoring. The race will be approximately 75 miles including road transfers, 50 miles or so of trail, tight-assed trail too.

If you aren't into the whole off-road thing, ride your road machine down and watch. There are some spectator areas set up to see the pro's and spectating is FREE! There will be a KTM sponsored fund-raising dinner on Saturday night, entertainment and free camping. Actually I read there will be food available all weekend. Last year they had a nice setup, this year it became a pro national so it will be even bigger and better. I expect motor-homes everywhere, eclipsing my little tent, easy-up and dog/dog cage. But Riz-team husky operates on a shoe-string budget, with barely any permission granted from my higher power, my woman, who expects me to be putting in my living room hardwood floor this weekend. I expect some couch time tonight, welcomed of-course, and I won't eat any unsealed food she packs for me in my cooler without a roll of mountain money for the trail.

This is gonna be a killer race. Come on pit-board guys, you motocrossers, try the woods for a change. The trees will only seem like they are 2 feet apart, heck they'll be blurry anyways.

Husky to Win! Oh, the team husky pro that will be there is Gleen Kearny from Australia, now NC, on a TXC250 2-stroke. And of-course those snobby KTM guys that think they found the fountain of youth will be the rest of the riding field. So it will be like 300 ktm's, 2 huskys, 2 Gas Gas, a handful of Husabergs, a decent representation of Honda's, some, liberally some Kawasaki's and a handful of yellow bikes you won't be sure of what they are. See you there boys!!!
 
The red rider will be there. Riz please keep an eye on my plate for me ( you will be back there?). I can't believe you didn't mention yor wingman in your 10 pages thesis.

webz
 
Well pitboard, I am a trophied National rider. that's right, I took home the coveted 8th place at the Rekluse Big Muskie National Enduro last weekend, in the 50+C class. you can't get much..... wait is there a 60+???? Not the womans class, they smoked me all day. Those girls can fly! Anyway, all kidding aside, what a great ride, and a fantastic expereince. the camping was grand, I had a great spot, walking around the pits was great, Team KTM, GAS GAS, Husaberg were all there, the pro's, Bobbitt, Mullins, Lafferty, etc. were all there. Lafferty even had a helmet cam on, need to do a search on youtube for it. there was plenty of food, great energy and trophies up to 8th place, so the Riz got his first trophy, and I suck! Persistance, that's what saved me. I just keep ticking away, I don't stop. Actually I never got to stop cause I was so late into each check that immedieatly I went onto the next section. so no rest, just throttle and lots of brakes. Uphill, downhill, off camber, no berm, dusty berm, hell I don't even see the big trees across the trail anymore. I hate the roots, roots suck. they are slippery and the don't move. also, it's good not to put your foot down in a corner cause if they hook a root which sometimes they do, you could loose your leg.

Great time, now I'm pumped. this weekend is the Black Diamond Dual Sport out of New Straitsville, Ohio. About 200 miles, two days staging at Begley's Campground in Wayne National Forest. All trails are on private property, we won't be riding any part of wayne. here is the link to the flyer: http://nsenduro.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/blackdiamondsflyer8.05.11.pdf

For the complete webiste, go here: www.nsenduro.com

See you there boys, Husky to Win!

Riz

PS. you heard it here first, I'm announcing my retirement from checker flagging at Smith Road after this Labor Day's race. After 18 years and a new owner/no more George, I've decided to have my holidays back. I've only hung in there this long cause of Geo, he's the man. So, looks like my last time this Monday. Like George said to me on the phone, "You can't take it to the grave Timmer..." and I think he's right. He's gettin' out, and so am I. Yea Haw. thanks for the memories everybody.
 
WebZ is my official wingman! there, mentioned. Except, you won't be wingin' me this weekend at the Black Diamond Dual Sport, looks like I'm solo. Of course my woman is still in Texas so I don't need, actually harder to get, permission. forgiveness is always easier after the fact. unless she goes out and... well gets revenge. At least I'll still have my dog and my husky, that's all I need!
 
Right-On Riz!!
A huge congrats on grabbing that coveted 8<SUP>th</SUP> place….I’m sure it’s not an easy feat! ….those races are tough!
I love reading your off-road ramblings…..keep em coming. It sounds like you guys have a good time at those Enduros.
And thanks for all the checkered flag waving throughout the years. You’ve had a good run at it and always enjoy the enthusiasm and energy you bring!
See ya on Labor Day!
 
Thank You Sharc

Whew, what a weekend. Started with camping Friday and Saturday nights in New Straitsville, Ohio for the Black Diamond Dual Sport. What a great event to put it mildly. For only $85 dollars I got to ride two days, 180 miles mostly through private land, woods, eat lunches both days during the rides, a Hog Roast on Saturday night hosted by the New Straitsville fire department, Breakfast served on Sunday, and a very nice T-shirt. The ride staged and we camped at Begley's campground at the tip of Wayne National Forest. When you enter New Straitsville, the sign says, "Welcome to New Straitsville, an ATV Friendly Community, by ordinance." There were 4-wheelers and dirt bikes everywhere, at the bar, at the diner, in the park, runnin' around the ball diamond. Need anything from town, hop on your rig and hightail down main street. Totally cool town. The one thing about dual sports I really enjoy, other than all the food, is they really go out of there way to make the riders feel welcome and comfortable. The whole town, and neighboring towns, all roll out the red carpet. They feed you, they direct you to gas when you need it, if you need anything and they don't have it, they send someone for it. Gas? Man, I can't tell you how many strangers help out the riders. The host, Steve Wheeler gassed my bike up during the Sunday home cooked dinner at the Shawnee Fire Department. He said which bike is it, I told him the yellow husky, it's not like he had to look too far. Seeing that I limped in on fumes and reserve (Husky WR's have a reserve), he gassed me up and I came out from a ham, beans, cornbread, home made ice cream and a bag of cookies dinner and hopped on my newly pressure washed bike thanks to the Shawnee fire department, filled with fuel, and powered home. Loaded my truck up in less than an hour and was sittin' on Skype by 7 pm for my girls birthday party in Texas.

Let me just say this about dual sporting. Guys, you really need to try this out if you never have. These clubs cut single track trails through the most awesome woods, woods just like Wayne National Forest. They are single track so they are tight, no 4-wheeler ruts on these trails. Yes, there are trees, the pros and A & B riders fly, I don't know how they do it, I don't want to do it, I just move over when I hear em comin'. But you can expect uphills that you don't see in advance that go forever, then a long ridge ride with drop-offs and great views, then a sudden straight downhill that you say, "holy smokes, look at this drainage rut I don't want to get..... aw poop, ride it to the bottom til you can hop out of it (glad I changed my rubber)," then usually some grassy soft mud great for roostin', then a creek or river of some sort then.... awww drats, another uphill, get on the gas quick. then you come out in some really remote places, awesome scenery. Part of the black diamond was run on the GNCC course, another part was an enduro loop used in other events. Fun stuff, all ride-able but really pushes your stamina. Then you can't stop on the side of the trail without someone riding by and asking, "are you okay?" Need a tool, someone will have it, flat tire, change it, gas? get out your Gatorade bottle and let me give you some.... that's dual sporting. This was a little smaller, we had only 114 bikes on Saturday, I didn't hear what Sunday's count was. The money raised goes to the club, and all the fire stations that helped out, and some to the local community park that lost state funding. These Southern Ohio towns rely on these events, so when I'm there I try to spend all my money in the local businesses. Tip the firemen that wash our bikes, tip the people that cook the food, pick up trash if you see it, give someone gas is they need it, listen to someone tell you about the mud pit they were stuck in even though your thinkin' about your own mud pit, let your dog walk around without a leash, it's all good stuff. I love dual sportin', fun stuff.

Okay, the next one I am going to for sure is in October. It's called the Baby Burr in McArthur, Ohio. It is AMA sanctioned, KTM sponsored, two days, 200 miles. Interested? Read more, here's the flyer:
www.enduroriders.com/images/2011_Baby_Burr_flyer.pdf

Just one other word on dual sporting, yes your bike is supposed to be street legal, and No I am not going to say use an expired plate, a plate off your harley, someone else's plate, etc., or just simply go to the title office and get a title then the license bureau next door and a plate, like in Medina where i did it, I'm not going to say that. Nor am I going to say that since the towns are all in these together, getting money for their local fire departments, etc. that they look the other way, or the sheriffs stop traffic at road crossings for us, that as long as you have something that looks like a plate on your bike your okay, I won't say any of that. I have not yet heard of one ticket at any of these events, of course we don't ride wheelies down main-street either. I personally have a street legal plate on my bike though I have no turn signals, brake light or mirrors, but I ran my Harley plate for two years prior. So you can make your dirt bike dual sport friendly relatively easy. The more aggressive the bike is good anyway, these are not little backyard trails. they are typically laid out by really good enduro riders that like to make em challenging. Tech inspection usually includes a look at the back to see if there is a plate (no sticker check or anything like that) and a decibel check in your tailpipe, I think it's 94 for 2-stroke and 96 for 4-strokes, or the other way around. The check is usually more of a formality. Again, i am no way a representative of anyone, organization, etc. I totally recommend being completely compliant, that said, it's pretty lax usually.

After all that fun, it was Smith Road Raceway for George's final race. that was a great time yesterday. I didn't leave til well after 5, we hung out, took pics, ate food, blew off Walt's son Alex's tennis ball cannon, talked about all the old times, speculated on the new, then headed home. I didn't get one thing done around the house this weekend but my bike is clean, I don't have any injuries, and got to see all my friends that came out to say farewell to George. Good stuff, good times. Life is truly Grand!!!

Husky to Win!
 
Here's comes the 2012 Big Muskie "Dual Sport". Yes, I said Dual Sport. Last year and year's prior, this event was an Enduro race, last year it was a National Enduro hosting all of the pro's, and my amateur butt who took home the coveted 8 place trophy (Thank goodness they gave them out to 8th) for the 50+C class. Okay, sorry I had to blow some smoke up my butt. Heck I never win anything, and, yes, the three guys behind me got dnf's. Why did I have to tell you that? Anyway, this year's event will be a dual sport. Come on out, two grueling days on July 14th & 15th. It'll be hot, it'll be dusty, there will be "hero" sections and they will feed us lunch both days, dinner on saturdy, etc. here's the flyer:

http://www.zanesvilletrailriders.com/big_muskie_flyer_2012.pdf

I'm supposed to go but a little depressed with my archaic machine which took a bad hit to the forks with a big tree. But, I may change my tune. I know all the regulars will be there. So which one of you pitracer's want to finally try a dual sport?
 
Okay pitboard a new development. I bought a 2010 Husky WR300, awesome bike, set up by Ty Davis. This was one of his 2010 models, I was told never raced and used for parts. There were a few things I had to do to it, like add the skid plate, damper, license plate/tail light, headlight (neither work yet and I don't even know if I'll hook em up at this point). The bike had some nice extras and is in awesome shape, low hours. It has a really nice, long power band (comparing to my 250) and I don't have to pull up at all to get the front wheel in the air. It's got a great low end, and all the jet work has been worked out by the previous owner, who was Motohio in Columbus who bought the bikes off of ZipTy Racing.

I'm so pumped for this weekend. I'm going to see Joel Osteen on Friday night, then rolling out after the show and should arrive in the free camping ground around 2-3 am, sleep a bit, then be ready for two days and two hundred miles. We've spoken to a few guys who are putting this on and I heard some of the totally rutted really tough hills will have bypasses around them so if you get tired, take the bypass (just don't let any of your buddies see you). I'm pretty good at that (shhhhhhhhh). Should be dry, I heard tons of trees have fallen so some will be removed, some will be left, and there are plenty already there. If trees, steep ups and downs, dust, tight woods, rivers, etc thrill you, then you will be thrilled with the Big Muskie, put on by Zanesville Trail Riders. Get involved pitracer riders, check out this sport while you can. It's awesome that these clubs line up all this private land through a network of land owners, then clear the trials, mark them then feed 200+ guys!!! It's quite amazing. Also, if your nervous cause you don't know what to expect, there are green arrow easy outs in all of the tough sections that lead you out and back to the staging area.

Here is a link to more information:

www.zanesvilletrailriders.com/

Still, Husky to Win!
 
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