Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1540850
October 2025 11 The Branches So, about that carefully laid plan we talked about in the previous sec on… that's before the race. But in the moment, all bets are off. Decisions must be made in frac ons of a second. Instead of se ng a careful- ly measured pace as you climb your predetermined route, you must leap recklessly from branch to branch, heedless of consequence, like a lemur being pursued by a swarm of bees. As you're being chased by that swarm of compe tors on your tail, you must watch for as many hazards as possible – a car that didn't see you in a roundabout, a mudhole that wasn't there last lap, ge ng lost a er missing a turn, or a damaged bike a er a crash. Rather than bore you by rehashing the en re ISDE, which has already been done elsewhere in everything from podcasts to paper, by everyone from the u erly clueless to the experts to yours truly in other publica- ons, I think it would be far more entertaining to talk about some of the various hazards we both encoun- tered and (some mes) avoided at this year's ISDE: Pre-race injury list: Brandy was badly injured at Coker, but managed to be healthy by the event. Others were not so lucky. Italian Francesca Noccera rode the en re event with a torn ACL-PCL-MCL combo (and most of the season as well). Tayla Jones was sidelined al- together a er a crash at Snowshoe, and the French women's team had to take not just their backup rid- er, but their backup to their backup. Being careful (or lucky) ma ers. This is one reason I bailed on riding the unnecessary Pro Day race at TKO a er winning the women's championship. I wanted to race in the worst way, but taking undue risks the weekend before ISDE is not the move. Bike Choice: Due to the importer switch involving Sherco USA, I lost my ride with them back in Feb- ruary. I reached out to Rieju, knowing it might be a bit of a long shot, but they came through for me. If not for them, I might not have even been able to race this season, much less go to the ISDE. I'd never even ridden the bike, and it took several stressful months to get everything figured out, both in terms of bike setup and logis cs. Dumpsters: For reasons too long-winded to get into here, thirty minutes before an interview with the FIM, I had to go dumpster diving for a gently used re for my chase rider's bike. My own life ceased to surprise me long ago, but some mes… for example while standing on the edge of the dumpster, I am