Eastern CEC Rounds

[thirtyseven]

Well, it's the morning of the last race, actually having problems with the motivation today, I hope it all comes back when I get my gear on. The whole western gang is getting "road fatigue" every one just wants to go home.

[twotired]

Motivation?!!! Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!!!

Dig deep buddy, you've got it in you. Keep your eyes on the prize.

GO THIRTYSEVEN GO!!!!!!

(Sorry I maxed out @10 smileys!)

[Rider Eh!]

Howard, next time your throttle gets stuck like that at a race just clutch it and keep going. Did this at St Francis once, though the bar code scanner ladies didn't appreciate the screaming bike each lap at the check haha.

[thirtyseven]

She's all done but the waiting... Didn't push as hard today the body wasn't giving me anything and at my age the mind has a healthy respect for the aches and pains...

[thirtyseven]

Hey all, I really really want to thank you all for your support, help and encouragement over the year. In particular Dirtyboy has been an INVALUABLE resource and helped me every step of the way. Cycleworks in Calgary has also really helped, from ongoing normal items to last minute panic orders, and not just me they have been an excellent supporter of the RMDRA.

I managed to squeak out another win today. To make a long story short you may remember that one of my goals enroute to the championship was to make the podium at least once. I far exceeded my goals and only missed the podium once with 3 #1 positions, thank you all, I AM PUMPED....

[Bark]

Awesome, way to go!!

[AJRJ]

Time to change your avatar!!

[Rod]

Congrats 37, it has been a joy watching your posts and videos throughout the year. Thanks for starting this thread, it's been a great inspiration. Can't wait to see more!
Cheers,
Rod

[Hendrix13]

That's awesome. Congratulations Thirtyseven

Thanks for sharing your journey with us this year.

[thirtyseven]

Thanks guys, this is the Enduro test from the Ontario rounds. I put the whole thing in cause I loved it all, and the one thing about "special tests" is that the whole thing counts, and for us amature unfit clowns the long special tests are also about staying on your mental game, making sure mistakes are minimized and don't don't amplify from seconds to minutes... Anyway enjoy.

Thirtyseven can't believe he won!

[Apex91]

Nice helmet cam work! I loved the test as well, but for some reason I remember more rocks and hawthorns My wife has lots of pics up on her site now, http://sharpshooting.smugmug.com/ not many of the enduro test....... she said it wasn't as exciting as the cross test.

Anyway, thanks to all the western guys .... and gals who made the trip to ride with us in the east, I for one appreciate the effort and the competition you guys bring!

[dirtyboy]

37 that was a STRONG test! I see what you mean about it being long and fitness was a factor. Good focus! I think you did exactly what you tried to do.

Did you soften or stiffen your clickers for that day?

[thirtyseven]

Apex91 the eastern rounds were priceless learning for me!
Dirtyboy, thx. In the late stages of day one I started thinking "my only chance of winning this is in the Enduro test, I suck at a real mx track and the extreme test was too short to make a difference (unless you crashed). by the end of day one fist size rocks were appearing in the corners of the overgrown fields so I figured I would loose time on all the flat corners... To make a long story short overnight i thought "what would Dirtyboy do?" "I know, he would figure out how to go faster in the sections that were rocky in the trees!" So day 2, right after the mx test I started fiddling with the clickers in the transfer section rocky areas, turned out all I needed was one click softer than Alberta setting on the front, (I couldn't get a good feel for the back, and just put it back to what I was used to). Two clicks was nice in the rocks but didn't feel as good on the faster stuff(I was on front brakes hard for some corners and it felt a little soft). The result was I didn't feel I had to choose a line, I could go straight through and wound up being a gear higher on some of the stuff in the trees, this let me be a little more cautious on the corners in the fields that had all the little rocks, so overall my time in the test stayed consistent, AND it felt cool to be able to make little adjustments to make it better!

I was very impressed with the stock XC suspension, on day two in Labelle when I was starting to get a feel for the conditions, I started giggling to myself that I hadn't even thought about the suspension! I realized it was soaking everything up, square edged rock ledges, no prob! Big hill with loose round rocks bigger than Dobi's head... No prob!
I've said this before, but it's like ktm had a test rider that rides just like me, and he had the final say in the design. Great stuff.
In retrospect the only thing I didn't do which I should have is put it on the soft map for Labelle.

[thirtyseven]

Ok guys, this is the last one from 2011, its the enduro test from round 6 at Labelle. Round 5 I had riden like a squid and wound up on my head often. For round 6 I wanted to keep it to just riding like a squid
Had the great fortune of passing Victoria Hett in a mudbog just prior to the test (she was in there for about 15min) so she was keen on having a breather before the test. I was paranoid she would catch me in the test but she crashed twice and got stuck in one of the ruts in the test. Rode with her for a good portion of the transfer trail out until she decided to leave the old man in the dust.... she is TOUGH!

[dirtyboy]

Nice vid 37. That was a long test. Nice work on it.