Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1527076
24 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com Ranch had seen rain, and thick dust was on the plate unless you were the lead dog on an early row. Tests 1 and 2 ran through thick forest, so even a breeze had li le effect on the dust hanging on the trail. Later tests were in a more open part of the ranch, but even so, the dust was a huge factor all day long. Riders were faced with the choice of riding conserva vely, and thus slower, or going against the clock in the dust and risking blowing a corner, smacking a tree, or worse. I only heard of one broken bone that in Test 2 on a steep downhill into a creek bo om, but there were plenty of riders with strawberries, skinned arms, and sore knees at the end of the day. Josh Toth set the Pro1 pace through the first two tests with Johnny Girroir hot on his tale. Stew Bay- lor kept them in close check-in third through both tests. Grant Davis topped the Pro2 class with Will Sievenpiper and Jonathan Johnson trading second and third sports. Rachel Archer led the Women's Elite through Test 1 just ahead of Rachel Gu sh, with the posi ons swapped in Test 2 and Canadian Shelby Turner going 3-4 through the tests. If you see any GoPro or NEPG Race cam footage from these two tests, it is ghter than it looks. It is amaz- ing how the pros make good me through this stuff. It was nearly all single track, weaving through trees, plenty of "barely handlebar wide" stuff, and very few places to open it up. Top it off with typical southern Missouri rolling baseballs all over the trail and per- sistent hanging dust, and it was challenging, to say the least. The four-mile transfer on gravel roads to Tests 3, 4, and 5 was the easiest part of the day, and the pro- moters promised that these three tests were on a more open part of the ranch where the wind might help the dusty condi ons. "Might" is the keyword there, as over 400 bikes on 80 rows sure kept the silt s rred up. There were a few brief respites thanks to some runs through clear gravel-bo om creeks and I'm sure no one was complaining about a li le cool water at this point of the day. Stew Baylor found this part of the ranch to his liking, loosened the reins on the big 450 Kawi, and knocked out the fastest mes in these three tests. Johnny G grabbed 2nd in Test 3 with Josh Toth taking 2nd in