Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Dave Upovsky cros..s logs at speed. Beginners shouldn't try this. Swampy action from a Georgia National. Don't complain about mud. without its bark - it's slick when wet. You ride it the same way, and if it's too big to ride over you've got to drag your bike across unless you're lucky enough to find a way around. With logs or pipe always slow down as you approach , shift to a lower gear and try to keep moving so you don't lose your momentum . If the rear wheel doesn't make it you'll have to drag it the rest of the way over. stumps and more rocks hide in the undergrowth alongside the trail. All this tends to slow you down and wear you out - until you get the rhythm of riding in the trees. Much like slalom skiing, you don't take one turn at a time but a series of turns , one after the other. When you finish one you're in position for the next. An essential part of this rhythm is the way you go between trees about the width of your bars, or 'a little closer. The technique is to aim for one or the other as you approach , then turn between them at the last insta n t. By being tilted on an angle yo u r motorcycle fits through with a little room to spare. The width of you r handlebars is important . Jack Penton's normal enduro bars , for instance, are 33 inches wide , but he uses bars as narrow as 28 in ches for enduros in New Jersey where going is th e tightest. In places with both , deep sand and, woods. like Michigan , you should hav e bars 31 or 32 in ches wide so you have control in the sand and yet your bike will fit between the trees . Also contributing to th e rhythm that gives you speed in the woods is the select ion of gears you 're in and the smooth use of brakes and shi fting . Here's wh ere a bike with low -end power and quick handling really shines because you won 't always hav e to shift gears to keep up speed , and it will turn easily between the trees on the twistiest trail. Rocks Especially if they're wet and are on a slope, rocky sections, too, require momentum to be ridden successfully. You 'll find the best way is to keep your bike moving steadily and just bang and bounce along trying to avoid the big ones. Take it easy on the throttle if they're covered with mud. Use low gear if there are a lot of boulders so you can pick your way more easily. Watch out for paths that may hang you up between two big rocks . The way will be smoother where the erosion is least, so if the edges of a rock gully are clear of. big obstructions that may be the easiest route. Hills Hills not covered with rocks or other obstructions, but fairly long and steep, mean only one th ing to an enduro rider - gas it as soon as possible, and don't let the engine stall or your forward motion cease, even if you have to leg it over the crest. If you have a run at it at the bottom , use it . Go in as fast as you can , preferably in one of the higher gears so you have several lower ones to drop down to if you need them . Novices might be in second or third as they start up the grade, especially if they're riding a small -bore bike, and may have to shift. down to first before they reach the top if the hill is quite steep. More experienced riders and those on more powerful motorcycles will ride faster and in a higher gear right off and may make it to the top without shifting at all. If traction seems to be a problem, and bikes ahead of you are spinning their rear wheels and stalling before reaching the top , use your enduro sense and look for a better route. Just don't miss a check. Sometimes you can ride right past all the stalled bikes if you take the edge of the main worn out slope where there are still grass and roots to give you a good traction and keep you from digging into the soft soil. Or look for a way to traverse the hill on an angle or in a series of zigzags , the grade won 't be as steep. Going uphill over rocks where you , have. to run.at tbem to lIIue.it with.an. enduro bike takes lots of throttle control as you ease up, then accelerate over the biggest boulders. If you stall or fall off balance before you reach the top there's usually nothing to do but get off and walk beside you r machine the rest of the way , since alternate routes from that point will probably be hard to find . For steep downgrades on rock , use low gear and let gravity do most of the work . Grip the bars . firmly , concentrate on the path you 're going to take, and control your speed more with light use of brakes and clutch, or compression release if you r bike has one, than with the throttle . Keep your feet on the pegs as much as possible , using th em for balance only when you really need them . If the downgrade is sandy, or even worse the deep , loose silt found in th e West, on steep drops you may not be able to control you r ,speed by normal methods. Watch what th e riders ahead are doing. If they're falling, flipping or ending up off the trail . there's a good chance you'll be better off with your engine dead . You don't think you can ride it down? Then get off and bulldog it to the bottom. Either way, stay off the front brake and let the locked back wheel provide the drag that slows you and keeps you from getting crosswise to th e slope. Use the clutch or compression release to let th e rear wheel rotate if you need to . By not using the front brake. and by keeping your weight to the rear , if you 're riding the bike. the froni wheel won 't plow, and it'll be easier to keep straight. Tight going in the trees Woods riding. on the tight, seemingly endless and often virgin trails usually part of enduros in the eastern half of the U .S ., is where the expert riders really move , while the no vices struggle to keep from houring out. To maintain 24 mph through the trees it's necessary to ride all -out all the time. In national endures, particularly, there may never have been a trail in the woods at all until the arrows were tacked up and the first riders picked their way through t he best way they could find . Eventually, a favored trail develops that's pretty easy to follow, but still rough to ride at anything close to the average for that section of the run . Some of th e trees may be closer together than th e width o f you r handlebars . or see m so . Bumps develop as roots and roc ks are exposed by hundreds of knobby tires . Low • branches . l1it . you. .in the. face . .and Other obstacles There are a lot of other hazards you'll encounter occasionally in enduro , riding that yo u shou ld be prepared for. Low branches or halffallen trees across the trail are not too difficult to ride under if they are high enough, but watch out for logs or rocks that might bounce your front wheel up at just the wrong time. If the clearance is too low, ride around if you can , or walk or drag you r bike under. Watch out for cross-ditches on the trail. Small ones you can get over by gassing it suddenly to lighten your front wheel so it hits the top of the other side. Your rear wheel will drop down and hit harder, b ut if your weigh t is back and you' re standing u p you'll still be under control. Bigger gullys must be approached slowly. Drop down in and then gas it up to get up the opposite bank. What about railroad tra cks and wood en bridges? If you have no choice but to ride between th e rails, keep up a speed of 35-40 mph and wat ch out for cross ings and switches., This speed . J(ee¢,YDur bike..cight.on:.w·p·:n!.the ties.' and smooths the ride. Log or plank bridges should be ridden slowly and carefully, especially if it's been raining. Try to stay vertical , like you . would on ice . so you r wheels don't slide out and slam you and your bike down hard before you' ve had a chance to react. Making up time The job of fast riding on a fire road or two -track is a welcome relief after the slow, . hard going that predominates in many enduros. It's a chance to cool off and to rest and .rid e fast at the same time . And to try to pick up some of the minutes you've lost and get back on schedule. The danger is when you go too fast for the cond itions and are not prepared for a vehicle going the opposite direction . Sixty is too fast on a twisting two - track or dirt road when there's a chance you' ll meet someone head -on or come to an intersection with another road around a blind corner. And even if you don't meet anyone you can still overcook a turn and waste a lot of time straightening out yourself and your motorcycle. Besides, look how futile speeding in an enduro really is, either on a back road or on pavement. as shown in this example from the New England Trail Rider Association: "Su ppose you are eight minutes late when you come out of a tough section onto a four -mile stretch of good road. At the 24 -mph average it would take 10 minutes to cover the four mi les. But it's a good road so you can get around 50 and find your average at the end is 48 mph, do~ble the schedule. You 've covered the four miles in five minutes, regaining five of • the eight minutes you were behind when you came out of the rough. "If you 'd taken a chance and gone 60 instead . you would have covered the four miles in four minutes, cutting just one more minute off your lateness. Suppose you 'd really let it all hang out ' a nd gone 70 . By taking this big a chance. and even breaking the law flagrantly if you were on a public road, you reach the end of the fourmile section in 3.5 m inu tes , a saving of only 30 more seconds than at 60 a nd I J.2 minutes over what you did at 48. All the extra danger isn't worth it." What you really want to do is keep a nice . comfortably fast pace, sta ying on your own side as you swing around the bends. ant ic ipating the worst and enjoying th e freedom of a fast ride without th e risk of disaster. • , (To be contin ue d)

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