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M '" 8> .. Q. ... ii Q> '" ~ w Z W .J U > U Only a couple more hills and 17 miles to go. fATIGUE TAKES TOLL Of ENDURO RI-DERS By Ron Schneiders Photos by Ron and Ellen Schneiders RED MOUNTAIN, CAL., Aug. 5, 1971 - The San Bernardino M.C. hosted the first enduro of the fall season here today. It was intended to be a tough, interesting run and it was. Possibly it was too tough. The run was 105 miles long and consisted of three loops of approximately 34, 30 and 40 miles. The [ifst loop was kind of a wann-up. Leaving the camp site, we headed east toward the farnilar, dusty Christmas Canyon area. There was some virgin territory on the way, but its doubtful that the riders on numbers higher than 20 realized it. After the first couple miles there was no more dirt road to speak of and the 24 mph schedule kept most riders pretty busy. In fact, the only way that you could tell that you weren't in an honest-to-gosh hare-and-hound race was by the number of very slow riders and obvious beginners who were on the course.. At the end of loop 1 there was a 25 minute break. Loop 2 went south toward the Lava Mountains, swung through and around them before coming back North. The big difference between Loops 1 and 2 was the amount of rock. It seems in retrospect that Loop 2 was nothing but rock, all sizes and shapes for miles on end, but of course it wasn't. There was some sandwash and even some fairly nice trail, but the overall impression was an endless battle against the bike-eating rocks. Again the schedules were so fast that "B" riders certainly didn't have to worry any about keeping time: it was just ride as fast as you can. By this time it was already quite warm and by th e end of the second loop, many riders, felt they had had enough. But there was another lbop to go. To start Loop 3 we jumped across the Trona Railroad tracks and rode parallel to the tracks on a neat, interesting off-camber trail that would have been fun if it hadn't been so bloody hot and if we hadn't already ridden 80 hard miles. As it was, only. the very experienced riders were still enjoying themselves. Soon we dropped into the granddaddy of all deep sandwashes and followed it (uphill naturally) for miles and miles. This was the type of sandwash that requires small bike riders to work like the deuce to stay on top, constantly shifting from 3rd to 4th and back again with the engine always screaming. There weren't a lot of .rocks in that wash, but those resent were strategically placed and well cam ouRalied. F ollowmg the sandwash was a trail across the edge of Searles dry lake. It was rough and' chopped up with two-foot drops every eigh th of a mile. No relaxing. As we swung back in a westerly direction, we started climbing into the Spangler hills. The spanglers are some of the roughest type of desert hills. Their surface is a mixture of jagged, broken rock in a bed of silt. It is extremely difficult riding under the best of conditions, but these weie far from the best of conditions. Riders were fatigued, and the temperature was extremelv hot. The hills seemed endless. Although 1 didn't count them, I believe there were between 15 and 20 difficult climbs. As we neared the end of the range many riders were in severe difficulty. Some made mistakes and fell, hurting themselves or disabling their machinery, as heat and fatigue took their toll. Others, suffered heat prostration and were unable to go on wi thou t rest and water. Heat prostration is a scary proposition: you feel a moment of cramps and dizziness and the next thing you know, you're on the ground. When you wake up you ~ave severe nausea and dizziness and your body feels totally unresponsive. In some cases the symptoms last for days, in others just for a short time. One rider ran out of luck in the Spangler hills. He collided with another rider and went over the side of the hill, crashing badly. He died a short time later of injuries received. Following the Spangler range was another 17 miles of trail but this was rather easy. If you got out of the hills, you had it made. But during the heigh t of the afternoon, there were about 30 riders sitting up in the hills, unable to go on for one reason or another. Most ef them finally made it out under their own steam but some had to wait quit~a while for help from Rescue 3 or the clean up crew. About 142 finished the run out of 375 starters. In sampling opinion after the event it became immediately clear that there are two prevailinp; attitudes. First there is the attitude of those that feel that enduros are supposed to be a mild form of competitive activity, less demanding than racing and, to them, more fun. These riders felt that the club had done a miserable deed in making the run so difficult. One such was ready to physically assault a San Bernardino Club member" because the club member refused to give him a finishing patch. He was well over two hours late but he though t that the fact that he got around the course at all entitled him to the finishing award. Only the fact that he was too exhausted to get off his bike prevented mayhem. The other opinion is that enduros are supposed to be a real test of endurance and should be every bit as demanding as any other form of sport. Naturally, most who hold this opinion area among the better riders, but there are a surprising number of beginning and "B" riders who share it. The majority of these felt that it was a good run. My thought as we got into the tough third loop was that it was a shame that this wasn't one of California's Nationals. Visiting riders would have had a run for their money anyway, in contrast to some of the boring events that they have been subjected to. Altogether .1 felt thatthe course itself was quite good and that the marking was well done, but that the club might have exercised better judgment in a couple of areas. There wasn't much doubt that the weather was going to be hot i,1 the first week in September. Since the third loop was not only the toughest but also the most dangerous, it would seem wiser to have it be the second or..first loop taking advantage of the cooler early morning air. Failing that, a stiff warning on tbe instruction sheet to the effect that loop three was going to separate the men from the boys might have kept some of the boys from starting the third loop and made Rescue 3's job a bit easier. It would also seem wise for a club running a difficult event in the heat of the summer in the desert to insist that the contestants carry a canteen. The number of riders out there without The helmet was a favorit~ spot for time cards. water was appalling. The checks were accurately placed and the times were right on, but rather sparse however, particularly on Loop 2. This is due to the traditional problem; not enough people showing up at the event. Clean·up was somewhat slow, too. Same reason. Whitey Gregory, who had about three jobs at this event, said that many of their club members promised to be present and then simply didn't show up. This is very disappoin ling for the club members who do show up. They must work twice as hard to make up for the others and then they see the results fall somewhat short of their expectations because one person .can't "be in two places at the same bme. Although the club was short-handed, everything did get done and the event was well run. To their credit, it wasn't until after the event that I even realized they were short-handed. Noone is willing to Jl.lake any predictions about the eventual winners, but Doth Dave Ekins and Ed Farrell were looking pretty good. The ability to lay ou t a good, ridable course that's both interesting and tough with no bottlenecks. is rare and appreciated. This rider would very much like to see the San Bernardino M.C. clean up a few of its internal problems and try for a National next year. Sometimes it's tc:>ugh to tell the difference between enduros and desert races!