Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/137347
John Sadowsi has been consistent this year, finishing second at the Tri State and King Phillip Enduros. Phillip Enduro just may be the rockiest Enduro on the schedule. Whereas the Tri State is extremely rocky, the rocks at the King Phillip seem to be a just a little bigger and more frequent. Anyway, I didn't mean to get into a self debate about what is more difficult, the point is that both events are tough; ie, no easing into the start of the year with a wildly popular Rhody Enduro. I pity anyone that hadn't worked out their suspension issues before these two events. The Club changed things up a bit this year by running NEI rules instead of the traditional AMA rules in order to cut down on speeding along the road sections. Now, if they would just post the resets and speed changes the day before it would make life easier for the riders and all those newb's that make this their first event. And if this was your first enduro, take comfort in that for most part, they get easier from here, unless you are ignorant enough to start your enduro career at the Mudslinger. The timekeeping aspect here was very straight forward, meaning there were no curve balls, sliders or change ups, just strikes right down the middle. After adding the resets to my computer three times, I was ready to go. Personally, this event owns me. Year after year I suffer some crazy malfunction, get beat up, or become otherwise preyed upon by this event. This year it was going to be different. And it was - right up until mile 4 when I got a rear flat tire. Then it was situation normal. The first section of the day is a faster stretch of single track with 2 tracts of grass track prior to the check out. Despite being perhaps the fastest section of the day, the rocks in the section seemed a bit sharper as 4 riders came wobbling out of the woods with flats and looking for LDA Racing with his Vee Rubber tubes. After swapping tubes and getting back onto the course, there was a quick reset and a road march to the next check. Section 2 is where the fun begins. Within a half mile of the check in, you got a real taste of what the rest of the day was going to be like: rocks, everywhere you looked, rocks. 22 Trail Rider Lot of them, like they multiply from year to year. Some other regions will put logs in the trail, or run you through tight trees to create a challenge. Not New England. The natural terrain has got it covered. Many of the trails were straight shots where you could grab gears if you trusted your suspension. The consequences however, can be unforgiving as there are no soft spots to set it down. For about 35 minutes, the course tracked through miles of rock-studded single and double track, traversed a few minor hills and lowland that constitute state forest. The day continued on in similar fashion with the riders negotiating the rock-strewn terrain. After crossing under route 495, via "the tubes"towards the end of the day, the C Riders were mercifully speared the A/B only section which dragged on for what seemed like an entire race in itself. At this point in the day, the field was already weary from the heat and terrain. And without a reset prior to the A/B section, there was no rest of the weary. Despite the heat and fatigue, the A/B section really was a great time! There were a few large portions of bedrock protruding from the surface that made me think twice about going over them. In all, most of the riders were pretty much spent after this section. Fortunately, the speed average was 18, causing some riders to watch their clocks coming into the check out. The last section of the day was a repeat of the first section, minus the second half of the grass track. The start was also a known control which allowed the riders a little leeway with the check in. When it was over Jim Sencal once again took the overall by carding a 20. John Sadowski again took the second overall spot with a 26 and Kevin Fitzgerald rounded out the final podium spot with a 31 from the A Light class. Brendan Riordan and Bob Sadowski rounded out the 4th and 5th spots, respectively with score of 32. Chris Henrich took B hi point with a 40 and Thad Hinz took the C Hi Point Honors with a 59. www.TrailRider.com