Monday, May 7, 2012

ENDURO 101

This week i am going to explain how enduros work and how to ride them. An enduro is not a race of whoever is the fastest wins, it is a test against the clock and the terrain. The course of an enduro might be from 50-150 miles in length, I would say for Ohio an average would be about 75 miles in length. You will ride very little if any of the same trail twice. I will go through this process step by step and try to take the confusion out of this sport.

You will need to go to Tech inspection, tech will be looking for Sound output, Also included for tech will be Headlight , Taillight, and a license plate. After successful completion of tech you will be given a pass from the tech official to continue to sign-up. There you will need your AMA card as well as District card or Racing Organization card if needed as well as the entry fee for the event. After paperwork is completed you will need to draw for your row or number for the days event. For this example you drew 20 which means you will be on row 20 for this enduro. There will be 3 other riders on the row with you.

At the end of the race all scores are added up from this scorecard. Next step is the route sheet that you got at sign-up, this chart shows the Key time (time the event starts) as well as every major intersection on the course. Each turn will be listed numerically, followed by direction of turn, exact mileage and time you will need to be at each turn. Next thing to prepare is your digital watch, you will need to set your watch back 20 minutes, so it shows 10:00 when you leave the start line. This is done so every row leaves on the same time. The speed average for most all Ohio enduros is 24 mph average so that equals out to .4 (4 tenths) mile per minute of riding.
http://www.aces-races.com/graphics/enduro_101.jpg