INTERVIEW I MO T OCROSSER-TURNED-ENDURO RA CER BROC HEPLER
P104
some dual sports, then I did some
of the Aces Enduros in Ohio and in
2013 or '14 I did the two-day ISDE
qualifier in Ohio. So, I was doing
those just because they were kind
of linked with some of the dual-
sport rides that I did and stuff."
Though it's been 16 years,
the 35-year-old, who works as
a substitute teacher, still suffers
effects of his concussion.
"If there's days where I've done
a lot of head movement or working
upside-down or something, then that
can flare it up a little bit, so I try not to
do too much. I have to watch some
sit-ups and that kind of stuff."
Last year, Hepler raced a few of
the AMA National Enduro rounds in
his area and did quite well, taking
a second and two firsts in the Pro
2 class, which got the attention of
Enduro Engineering's Alan Randt.
"Alan asked me if I wanted to race
the series for his team," says Hepler.
"I'm like, retired now. I'm getting old.
I couldn't even give them an answer
for a little while. I still wanted to keep
it fun. I didn't want the pressure to
win, but I still put the pressure on
myself. I eventually said yes and
now it's kind of my full-time job, but
I'm not going to put the pressure on
myself like I did back when I was
racing professionally. We're out there
to win, but some days might not feel
quite as good as others. I might not
take the risk that I was."
A handful of ex-motocross racers
have made a successful jump to off-
road, however, the enduro series has
a unique format, compared to cross-
country racing, and it's probably a
more difficult jump, with transfer trail
linking six "all-out sprint" tests.
"I think it's neat," says Hepler. "I
guess it's kind of like you have six
tries to get it right. Maybe the first
one you could be down 30 seconds
or a minute, but at least you have five
Hepler (right, pictured with
his teammate Chase Bright)
recently signed a deal with
Alan Randt to compete in the
2022 Kenda AMA National
Enduro Series for Randt's XC
Gear/Enduro Engineering/
Husqvarna Team.
"ONCE I
DECIDED TO
QUIT, STILL
I WOULD
HAVE
FRIENDS
LIKE, 'LET'S
GO RIDING.'"
