Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1545615
July 2026 39 Bags of Sand So I've been chasing cheap plas c trophies and plaques for well over forty years. Some would call it racing, but for me it's more like 'riding a li le faster than normal'. Now I like a trophy/plaque as much as the next guy, I'm just not willing to unlock that limiter on my right wrist to do so. S ll, over that length of me riding hundreds of events all over the US, I've had a rewarding 'career' with a fair amount of plas c on my basement walls. Stay off the ground, don't quit and anything is possible. Across all those experiences, I've met and made friends with hundreds of off-road crazies and believe off-roaders to be the salt of the earth. That said, there is one subset I cannot abide: the Sandbagger. This is the guy who will do anything to ensure they win their class before the race even starts. There are many versions of the Sand- bagger. The first is the 'life me' C rider who never promotes despite gapping everyone in their class every race. These guys will move from series to series, avoiding accumula ng enough promo on points to get to B, so they would have to race guys with similar speed. I've seen guys change names, re-join associa ons to get a new mem- bership number (and a zeroed Promo on Point total), anything to deceive the series scorekeeper and keep piling up those C Vet 1 st Place trophies. The next type is the former AA rider who instead of riding AA or even A Vet or A Senior signs up for the Trail Rider or Sportsman class. Those class- es were designed for beginners or novice-class riders returning to the sport a er a long lay-off, not a top- er rider who wants to avoid the op cs of ge ng spanked as their speed decreases with age. Unlike the Life me C rider they don't even show up to grab their trophy for fear of the well-deserved verbal abuse they would get. The last and most insidious type of Sandbagger is the 'Career Reset' guy. This is a former Pro or top A racer who leaves the sport for a decade or so (marriage, kids, career) and comes back. But instead of going back into the class they le and maybe (oh the indignity) not winning their class in their first race back, they self-demote back to the C class and start all over again. Even when they lap the whole C Senior class and overall the en re C class they will not change classes at the next race. We had this happen a few years ago in our Pilgrim Sands Short Course series. I ap- proached the culprit a er the race, subtly advis- ing him that his lap mes would have won the A Senior class and maybe that's where he should line up. The response was legendary, "well if I switch now I won't win a series jacket". Wow. a former Pro motocrosser valued a C Senior jacket in a six-race local series that much. In summary, just don't be one of these guys. It's ok if you don't win a trophy every me out, it makes the ones you do win that much more rewarding. Trail Tales Trail Tales By Chris Burton By Chris Burton