Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1162341
September 2019 2718 The course starts out of the parking field Sunday morning at a reasonable 9 a.m. key me and divulges into a smooth ribbon of flow with only a gli ering of occasional flat rocks leading to a short blacktop ride to the bulk of the race. This year marked slightly more technical events then years prior, but far from the slaughter that any Reading Off-Road Riders event entails, with the most difficult sec ons of the course traversing lip-balmed roots. Did we men on flow already? This event has loads of trail that jot memories of the joyous Beehive Enduro (end of August), but with al tude varia ons. You could go as far as to call it the "Beehive Enduro" of the Rock Runs, grins imprinted upon cheeks as you thro le like a junkie from the seat. Who knows how many sec ons there were; it all kind of blended together when thrashing hock- ey puck-sized rocks in soil and stretching the thro le cable above the slide needle with an cipa on of the next piece of slice-n-dice. Short of the few rooty pieces, if you weren't cackling with glee from the pegs along the course, you probably should take up an- other hobby — like bathing cats. Well laid out, like Roman engineers rou ng their Aqueducts, the course varied the mix, never dwelling too heavily on one discipline or another, even throwing in a scenic yet short road ride breather. If you recall that street bike dude burning a line-up the "Slide" in that flick that circulated a few years back, the road ride culmi- nates here with spectators in tow and club members encouraging the flow of riders to a empt or ditch with a by-pass. Most oblige, watch and wait in line pa ently their turn to either clean it or become entertaining fodder for the most popular spectator point of the day. This is followed up by another high-speed burner final sec on into the crowning glory and theme of this event, echoing off in the distance. The chants of "No One drinks more Beer then Southern Tier" greet a endees as they roll into the finish, flanked by the Southern Tier Welcome Commi ee. Listen to the loud cheers and exuberant celebra ons of why we do this, with almost every entrant at the finish enjoying a well-earned cold one. You can almost hear the GNR "Welcome to the Jungle" blaring from someone's pop-top Blazer. There are many flavors of Enduros in the East Coast Enduro Associ- a on series. This event, "Barbwire," along with some of the other light-hearted fun-runners in the series break up the pounding some of the events pride themselves on (and we enjoy, most of the me…) They are an excellent entry for newer riders to the fold, as well as the grizzled looking for an enjoyable day devoid of bike bench-presses. If you're not into ques oning your sanity during an event or evok- ing self-doubt, and, if you enjoy long rips in the hills, the feeling of loam between your knobs, bu slaps from cute girls at check points and refreshing beverages with a couple hundred other dirt scooter aficionados, then this is your event!