Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1536785
GNCC Round 4 GNCC Round 4 Flying W Ranch Flying W Ranch By Jeff DeBell By Jeff DeBell Photos By Jamie Thorp-Burge Photos By Jamie Thorp-Burge 14 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com Round 4 of the NEPG na onal enduro series was the Wiseco Flying W Ranch enduro in Cherryville, MO. This was the second year at this venue which is deep in the southern Missouri Ozarks. The ranch is 5 miles from the nearest paved road, and an hour from the nearest straight paved road. The en re region is an outdoor recrea on paradise, li ered with great off-road riding, adventure riding, miles of twisty asphalt, fishing, float and canoe trips, boa ng, equestrian, church and scout camps, hiking, rock climbing, all amidst a bumper crop of cks. Ranch owners Ryan Wuebbling and Ma Waldrop also host Missouri Hare Scrambles series races at the Flying W and were glad to get the nod for another na onal on the property. Big news for the weekend and for the NEPG se- ries was word that Stew Baylor will be taking the helm of the na onal enduro series. Alan Randt has brought the series up to interna onal standards and was ready to "re re" to his other two full me jobs as owner of Enduro Engineering and manager of the EE race team. Alan is going to stay on for another year, but Stew is excited to assume control of the series and has some good ideas to expand interest and par cipa on in the na onals. Look for some two-day events, some Pro-AA-A only Enduro GPs, some spectator friendly Euro-style grass tracks, maybe some straight line enduro cross shootouts, and who knows what else. Stew is willing to give some new things a try and see if they fly with the riders and spectators. If the series makes people smile and helps prepare our top riders for interna onal compe on, it is good for everyone. Other big news was to see Rachel Gu sh astride a new Rieju 300. A er reliability and other "issues" with her former brand, she was stoked to be supported by Rieju and Central Powersports Distribu on. Rieju sent her over an Alfredo Gomez Hard Enduro Repli- ca 300, which she assumed would be a stock model adorned with some fancy bling and graphics. What she got was a true hard enduro bike, suspended for mega-obstacles and tuned for explosive grunt off the bo om end. She had to rework the suspension and dras cally alter the carburetor je ng across the board with the help of the good folks at Spyke's and Hall's, and on race day was ecsta c about having it dialed in as a woods weapon. Rachel's been a regular on the podium thus far, but defending series champ Rachel Archer has been on the top step and a tough one to beat. A good ba le in the Women's Elite class was shaping up.