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Sounds great. Yep definitely wouldn’t be making a habit of riding there and back, because the drops will happen more and more.
This is partly why they discontinued that bike I think - it’s not a pure enduro, it’s not a crosser, but on green lanes it works fine for a ‘heavy bike’. It’s a do-it-all but of a higher torque than most.
Well done on surviving the day!
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and Steves :(
This is the kind of thing I want to do but never actually do because I just go through all the things I'd do wrong and forget about it. Nice job on sticking with it, always helps when there is a friendly face.
Closely watching your CRF trips as I'm seriously interested in one for when I get the full licence. I'm only 15 mins from Salisbury plains, which got me onto the CRF idea.
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pdlouche
Haggis
@jambon
Just back from my first taste of motocross and enduro at a local venue so thought I'd share the experience while it's fresh and my hands are still numb. There was a 4km enduro loop through woods, over roots, tight single track, inclines and was a lot more nadgery than anything I've ridden before. Then there's the motocross track, which was probably half the length but a lot more open, very sandy with some impressive inclines/descents (for Bedfordshire) berms and jumps.
On arrival the organisers seemed confused that I rode there, albeit with 7L of petrol on my back, but soon found a spot amongst the paddock of white vans, Garys and Steves. I was a bit intimidated by the motocross track so headed for the enduro loop once the initial rush had died down.
On riding to the start, a marshal asked to see my helmet was done up correctly and I drop the bike. Great start. Then I proceed to probably hold half the riders up as I wobble around for one lap feeling very out of my depth. My CRF is the road going version (L for legal), but despite being a 450 it isn't too spicy engine-wise. Having said that, trying to navigate the technical terrain I 'whisky' the throttle and ride straight through the boundary tape and into a bramble hedge. In terms of moments it's up there but manage to nurse the bike round to complete one lap with my heart pounding and questioning my life decisions.
Then comes the motocross track which is run in sessions of fast, intermediate and slow. Guess which group I'm in. To my surprise this really buttered my parsnips, and although there's a clear racing line through the sand there's more room for people to overtake. I felt a lot more comfortable here and dare I say it didn't hold too many people up. Presumably because I was at the very back, a friendly marshal followed me before bringing the session to an end then found me in the pits to give some riding tips. Really friendly guy and seemed to find me the next few sessions with helpful advice. Blasting through dust and 2 stroke smoke with rocks flying at you was something else.
Overall the bike did fantastically, and bearing in mind I rode there and home it felt like the right tool for the job. No regrets on that front. Coming from a road background it was really satisfying controlling the rear wheel spinning out of corners and getting some very modest air - after I learnt to lean back things seemed ever so less sketchy. Would definitely do again once the arm pump is gone and a great way to spend a Sunday for all of £45.
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