Sandy Lane enduro, NJ
- Thread starter Brian VT
- Start date
GMP
Active member
This is the first time in years I will not be there. NO BIKE. Its usually a good enduro, challenging but not a ballbuster, which is fine with me lately.
I'm in north Jersey and we got about 8"-10" of snow and ice pellets, but south Jersey got mostly rain. Wet sand is awesome! Just be carefull of the swampy sections, especially on your number. Good luck and ride smart.
I'm in north Jersey and we got about 8"-10" of snow and ice pellets, but south Jersey got mostly rain. Wet sand is awesome! Just be carefull of the swampy sections, especially on your number. Good luck and ride smart.
fury1
New member
good luck brian,surprised you got such an early row #! pretty sure the locals get the early rows,the only one thing I dont like about the sandy lane enduro is that most of the local riders who know all the trails around there,dont stay on the trail markers,they seem to know you can blitz straight ahead for miles while I zig zag through the forest,with no leaves on the trees and fairly flat terrain it looks very easy to make up time,at one point it was like the indy 500 with bikes everywhere around me just going straight ahead instead of following the trail,only to realize most were guys I had passed earlier in the section
Last year my group had me sign up as a B (I'm definately a C) and we had an A in our group. We got row 13 somehow. I got to see some FAST riders for 8.6 miles 'til I stuffed a tree an mashed my knee. Game over.
7 hr. drive + hotel, etc., etc. for 8.6 miles and a week on crutches. Why again do we do this ? lol
I hooked onto a guy today that was cutting corners. He wasn't gaining on me though. He just looked too tired to turn. lol. I liked staying in the trees and berms. I feel like I'll loose the front end if I don't have something to push against.
I ended up 1st in C-Open with a 94. How can that be ? These guys aren't giving me much incentive to quit beer and cigs. lol
The bike was flawless as usual. I saw a lot of bikes overheating since the speeds are so slow in there. The gas reserve doesn't leave much. Maybe 3 trail miles worth. I got pretty nervous wondering if I'd make it back to the truck.
WoodsRider
New member
Good job Brian! Pretty sure I spotted you at the 2nd gas stop. Yellow 300, right? I was too busy stuffing my face with an energy bar and trying to recover from the A/B test section. Wedged my bike between a couple trees and after I got it out it wouldn't start. Had to change the plug at 2nd gas to get it started. Pretty sure my pilot jet is too lean. Probably should bump it up and also do a top-end.
Starting on minute 77 put me out of contention right away. Lots of slower riders to pass in the tight stuff. Quite a few were kind enough to pull over and wait a second or two, but a couple guys just didn't get the hint. Then when I'd go to pass them they'd speed up. I don't know about you, but if someone behind me is screaming "trail" and bumping my back tire I'm going to pull over. Ended up taking some very "creative" lines to get around them.
From what I calculated I dropped 79, but my math could be off and I don't remember where I put my scorecard. Not sure where I finished, but high-point in B-Sr, was a 44 so I'm probably a long ways back. In any case it was a fun ride.
Starting on minute 77 put me out of contention right away. Lots of slower riders to pass in the tight stuff. Quite a few were kind enough to pull over and wait a second or two, but a couple guys just didn't get the hint. Then when I'd go to pass them they'd speed up. I don't know about you, but if someone behind me is screaming "trail" and bumping my back tire I'm going to pull over. Ended up taking some very "creative" lines to get around them.
From what I calculated I dropped 79, but my math could be off and I don't remember where I put my scorecard. Not sure where I finished, but high-point in B-Sr, was a 44 so I'm probably a long ways back. In any case it was a fun ride.
It's tight as hell in there but I had no problem getting out of the way for others. I'd just cut a corner and stop there for a second. I only had 2 guys fail to yield. One was a pita and I ended up taking a risky shot off course to get by him. I was pissed. You can get hurt bad in there.
The other held me up for about a 1/2 mile and then he suddenly got a rythym going and we ran a good pace 'til the next check.
Great day. No stoppers and no traffic jams.
The other held me up for about a 1/2 mile and then he suddenly got a rythym going and we ran a good pace 'til the next check.
Great day. No stoppers and no traffic jams.
WoodsRider
New member
I didn't think it was that bad taking a "creative" line. Most of the small stuff would just deflect out of the way. Up to a certain diameter it had plenty of give. Taking creative lines at a NETRA enduro is a lot riskier due to all the hidden rocks. I ran a set of mini bars and cut them down to 30" barkbuster to barkbuster. More than once I clipped trees on both sides.
In one section I was following this guy who would sprint away from me when the trail opened up, but slowed way down in the tight stuff. He kept diving to the inside on corners and clipping trees. Taking the outside line allowed you to lean the bike over and get on the gas without clipping anything.
Can't believe how little wear there was on my rear tire. I mounted up a fresh knobby and it still looks good. Now I gotta put the Trellies back on.
Thinking about going down to the Stump Jumper Enduro on 4/29. Any plans on riding that one?
GMP
Active member
If I get my bike in time, get it set up and broken in, I'll be there. Stumpjumper is usually tougher than Sandy Lane. Long tight jersey shredding morning loop, and faster whooped out firecuts in the afternoon. The long deep sand whoop sections suck with rock tuned suspension, I'd rather thread the needle through the trees.
Pine Hill in May was always an easier run that let you work on timekeeping. New trail boss last year made it a whooped out killer.
You can run the same tire for many south Jersey enduros, and pipes and pegs rarely get bent. Chains, sprockets, and all the pivot points are what take a beating from the sand if you ride there a lot. Plastic can get torn off in the stick farms as well. Notice the rad grills on the trail?
Pine Hill in May was always an easier run that let you work on timekeeping. New trail boss last year made it a whooped out killer.
You can run the same tire for many south Jersey enduros, and pipes and pegs rarely get bent. Chains, sprockets, and all the pivot points are what take a beating from the sand if you ride there a lot. Plastic can get torn off in the stick farms as well. Notice the rad grills on the trail?
