Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX'ers

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thirdgenlxi
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Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX'ers

Post by thirdgenlxi »

Sooooo yea..... as the title states, I did my very first enduro this past weekend! The Little Brown Jug Enduro in Buffalo, SC (65th annual.... it's been around awhile! lol). This makes for my 8th race so far. Always heard people talk about how much fun enduros are, so wanted to give it a try for myself

Anyways.... on with the pics. Since these things apparently start so dang early (I work 2nd shift, I'm not used to waking up before 9-10 am, haha), I went down Saturday and camped out. Nice bright moon and cooler temps..... beautiful weather for camping!

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Up and at it nice and early..... watched the sun rise then went over to get signed in and get my rider pack. Doug (doakley) is camped out right behind me here

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Got signed in, bought a t-shirt, ate some breakfast, lubed chain, check tire pressure, gas up, gear up.... and we're ready to roll! Dougs buddy Travis (CRF-450) and his brother Kyle (Beta) were with us as well.... we all got signed up for row 4 together. We get up to the starting area, and Doug and I instantly start making new KDX buddies :lol: Seen here, Doug is down talking to the guy on the end there about his KDX. And get this.... it's a 1986 air cooled KDX..... 31 years old and he's still out there racing it... hell yea!! He said he's ran that bike the entire season, and just can't convince himself to get anything else. He said the bike runs strong as hell. He was starting two rows behind us on row 6

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Aaaaand, we're off! Just after the start.... she managed to get all of us. I'm not sure who the 4A guy is, but he beat all of us off the line, lol. That's Travis right behind him on the CRF (usually he's Team Green too on a KX-450, but a shop royally screwed up his forks a couple days before the race, so he had to dig his old CRF out of the shed)

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Then yours truly, then Travis' brother Kyle on the Beta

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And then Doug right behind Kyle

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Got a wave from Doug on one of the first road sections, haha

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Wheeeee!

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The guy with the 86 KDX passed me around 14 mins in

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Looking through the pics, I spotted a few others too

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Aaaaandd after a good solid 7 hours.... and completely exhausted, I finally finished, lol. We started at 9am and I got back right around 4. Ended up being right at about 55 miles.... and not easy miles. Even harder for me since I'm slow, and never made it to any of the reset in time to take a break, and had to get scored then just keep going. Only break I got was the gas break around the middle of it. I wish my camera battery would have lasted longer.... I only got from the first 1 hr 45 mins or so before my battery died. The trail seemed to get progressively harder as you went along. Nothing actually difficult, per se.... just tighter and tighter. The last about 13 miles or so were brutal.... I was down to 1st gear many times, and just lock to lock to lock to lock.... non stop back and forth just zig zagging through the trees, and up and down hills (while still zig zagging through the trees). Some of which I didn't even fit through and had to wiggle. My arms were jello. The trail you see in my video below is like a highway compared to what we had at the end. Plus there was a pretty sketchy creek towards the end too.... had to ride lengthways down the creek.... it started off just rocky but then got deeper. Doug was in front of me, I held back a ways to make sure he made it first before I followed behind. It was legit about 3/4 of a wheel deep. Wish I would have had the camera for that one, haha. We both made it though, nobody went swimming, lol

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This actually is a little low.... I realized afterwards that I had forgot to change the tire size in my trail tech, from when I was running the supermoto wheels (17") a few days before. Trail was 55 miles though

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Video..... Doug giving me a wave on the road section not too long after the start, then I was following him for a bit. Another buddy gave me a shout at 11:38.... didn't even recognize him at the time, lol Thought I heard somebody yell my name though. Then the air cooled KDX guy passed me at 12:12. As always, nothing too crazy here.... I'm slow, lol

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I didn't finish well.... at all. Dead last, lol. But, I guess finishing last is still better than not finishing at all. Being my first time I wasn't expecting a good finish, I just wanted to do it and see what it was like. I really enjoyed it though. It was kinda rough just cuz I'm slow and never quite made it to the resets in time to get any kind of break, so just had to roll up, get scored, and keep on going. Only break I got was the gas break.... other than that, it was one big 7 hour ride, haha. I also got lost several times.... missed the arrows apparently and ended up having to come back and find the trail again. Another time I don't even know how it happened... followed the arrows and it looped me back around to the part of the trail I had just been on.... ended up going right back through the same check point twice. That same area passed a couple other bikes going the opposite way on the trail. Heard somebody say they think some local kids were in there messing with the arrows and got some people headed the wrong way. I also almost lost my Go Pro..... just happened to reach up and feel my helmet and it was gone.... stopped right away and walked back a ways to see if I could find it, didn't see it so started walking back, and found it not even 20 feet from the bike, lol. So that cost me quite a bit of time. Then towards the end I had to just pull over and stop for a few mins.... shortly after a younger kid pulled over with me, about in the same boat.... completely exhausted. So we just sat there and talked a few mins. Green tractor ran like a champ though.... no probs whatsoever. Didn't have any bad crashes, just a couple stupid little drops that were no biggie. Had a couple spots early on where the morning sun was in my eyes and I just couldn't see.... you can see me in the video playing "where'd the trail go??" a few times, lol

Oh and in case anybody wondered how the guy on the 31 year old air cooled KDX finished in the usual sea of fancy new orange bikes...... I guess "Quite well!" would be an appropriate answer here

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Dude is a beast on that thing! haha

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That's all I've got..... it beat me up pretty good but I still had a great time and enjoyed it. Weather was perfect.... couldn't have asked for nicer. And always fun spending some time with buddies too. All 4 of us are already signed up for the Bootlegger enduro coming up in a couple weeks..... should be fun!
Gixxer340
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX

Post by Gixxer340 »

Great story and pics. Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX

Post by david »

Seven straight hours?! Wow, good job on finishing.
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thirdgenlxi
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX

Post by thirdgenlxi »

david wrote:Seven straight hours?! Wow, good job on finishing.
Yup..... Other than a little break in the middle when we all came back to the starting point and filled up with gas and then restarted again, one big 7 hour ride. The faster guys were able to take breaks along the way at the resets, but between me being a little slower to begin with, and then getting lost a few times throughout the day, by the time I'd get to the reset spot, my row was already gone. I mean I could still stop and take a break, but I would get docked even more time than I already did to begin with. So I just got scored and kept on going
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX

Post by Friedom »

Having never raced or even been to a race type event, I sure appreciate this post. Maybe I can get in on one some day.
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX

Post by thirdgenlxi »

Friedom wrote:Having never raced or even been to a race type event, I sure appreciate this post. Maybe I can get in on one some day.
Hell yea, dooooo iiittt!! They're a lot of fun! And very inexpensive. Look up your local harescramble series and try one of those..... They're usually either 1.5 or 2 hrs long, and most have a trail riders class that's just a casual no points class, and starts back row so you can just kinda do your own thing back there and try it out. Just move over when faster riders come around and let them by. Its fun though. What area do you live in?
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX

Post by Friedom »

thirdgenlxi wrote:
Friedom wrote:Having never raced or even been to a race type event, I sure appreciate this post. Maybe I can get in on one some day.
Hell yea, dooooo iiittt!! They're a lot of fun! And very inexpensive. Look up your local harescramble series and try one of those..... They're usually either 1.5 or 2 hrs long, and most have a trail riders class that's just a casual no points class, and starts back row so you can just kinda do your own thing back there and try it out. Just move over when faster riders come around and let them by. Its fun though. What area do you live in?
Tucson. Desert. Hot. Our riding season will actually be starting soon as the weather starts starting under 100 in a month or two.
I know some OHV ambassadors and local trail groups though, and just went to a track for my first time. Didn't get to ride, as I discovered my swingarm bolt was missing the nut, but I feel like I've got a foot in the door, and from the feedback I've received I'm a decent enough rider.
I'll check around. I'm not a competitive person, I think the only legitimate competition is oneself, but hey if everyone on the track is there trying to outdo/ improve themselves, that's a perspective I can jive with.
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX

Post by jjavaman »

Thanks for posting, you still finished ahead of everyone on the sidelines!
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Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX'ers

Post by Dekon »

Great ride report.
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doakley
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX

Post by doakley »

Heck, he beat me. I got lost and managed to completely miss the checkpoint Jared went through twice! Automatic DSQ . Otherwise I finished which is about all I can say. That last section was the tightest woods section I can ever remember and completely whipped me! I rode the last 5-10 Mike's on a flat rear tire to boot.
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX

Post by sthutch »

Great Job! I remember my first Enduro , I was 48 and it kicked my butt!!! Keep at it!


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1st Bike: '72 Arctic Cat Whisker (rode it to the wheels fell off)
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5th Bike: '04 RM65 (okay, he's now 10 and it's gone)
6th Bike: '08 KTM 105xc (okay, he's now 13)
7th Bike: '06 KTM 200xc-w (okay, he's now 16)
thirdgenlxi
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX

Post by thirdgenlxi »

sthutch wrote:Great Job! I remember my first Enduro , I was 48 and it kicked my butt!!! Keep at it!


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Hell I'm only 35 and it kicked my butt too! :lol: :lol:

The same 4 of us are already signed up for the Bootlegger Enduro coming up in a few weeks as well. And I'll prob be doing harescrambles this weekend and next. I guess the bug has bit me kinda bad here lately, haha
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX

Post by sthutch »

LOL, it's a nasty bug too! I did a few harescrambles, but I liked the enduros better. I haven't had a chance to ride any for the last couple of years, but I am hopeful to do it again next season.

That trail looked like a riot!



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1st Bike: '72 Arctic Cat Whisker (rode it to the wheels fell off)
2nd Bike: '76 KT250 Trials (gone, but not forgotten)
3rd Bike: '01 KDX200
4th Bike: '96 DS80 (okay, my 9yr old's and it's gone)
5th Bike: '04 RM65 (okay, he's now 10 and it's gone)
6th Bike: '08 KTM 105xc (okay, he's now 13)
7th Bike: '06 KTM 200xc-w (okay, he's now 16)
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX'ers

Post by Husky250 »

New to the boards here at the KDX place so dredging up an old post 'cause it caught my eye. thirdgenlxi you said, "I didn't finish well.... at all. Dead last, lol. But, I guess finishing last is still better than not finishing at all". Now I between motos, bicycles, triathlons and running I've done quite a bit of racing in my life. I've been lucky enough to win a few. I've been front of the pack, mid-pack and even back of the pack but I have never managed to finish dead last. This brings to mind an old picture in Dirt Rider Magazine (if I remember correctly). It has a picture of Motocrosser Jeff Glass shredding a berm with half a dozen other riders around him and dirt flying at him as he roosted the racers behind him. He had an average type day. He wasn't first, he wasn't worst... The caption read "Ain't nothing easy about running mid-pack". Now ain't that the honest to God's truth!!!!!! Hell, even in the Tour de France the guy in last place gets a special award each day and wears a red number which pays homage to the races infancy when the last guy in the race carried a red lantern and to this day he is called the Flamme Rouge. It takes way more discipline and dedication to carry on in last place than it does to win. You are my hero and I hope you are still out there banging out the miles on the ol' KDX.... Sir, I Salute you!!!!!!!!!!!
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX'ers

Post by JoshJHTX »

man, great story!!! i have been wanting to race an enduro with my 2000 KDX 220R and just kind of got discouraged at the thought of racing against brand new high tech 2020 KTM's and Husky's long story short, this post really makes me want to actually race!!!! good stuff man
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX'ers

Post by doakley »

Your KDX can be competitive with the "modern" bikes, especially in an enduro. go check out my thread under "Racing the KDX" about riding the entire National Enduro series. It is a lot of fun and your bike will be perfect for it!
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Re: Did my first enduro.... Little Brown Jug. And fellow KDX'ers

Post by Mnolan660r »

That is a great story!! and seeing how well the guy on the air cooled KDX did is awesome to hear!!!
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