Trail Rider Magazine

November 2026 39 2026 EVT, My Take by Darrell Diamond I rode a 1979 Can-Am 175 Qualifier in the B2 class. The German club made this event the hardest EVT event ridden to date. The 250-mile course featured rocky & rooted hill climbs and descents, sec ons of whoops, and ru ed/rocky singletrack. By day 3, some sec ons were ru ed and axle-deep, and several special tests featured heavy doses of off-camber trail. The course proved challenging for the older bikes, as nearly 100 bikes were unable to start the motocross test. While I finished all the loops, special tests, and mo- tocross test, I lost me points due to a late impound check-in on day 2 while trying to repair my kickstart- er, which failed early on the first loop. I made a quick fix, but it didn't last long. Without a kickstarter, I had to ride pre y much mistake-free and avoid any situa on on the trail where I couldn't find a hill or a flat stretch to push-start the bike. I got lucky several mes; once I stalled at the bo om of a hill with an immediate climb, one of the check sta ons was at the top and came to push me far enough to restart, then back down the hill. By Day 3, the course deteriorated; I failed to crest several of the harder hill climbs on my first a empt and stalled the engine. I had to turn around, ride back down the hill while star ng the bike, and try again. The other issue I had was that my rear brake lever adjuster came off and moved my lever about 2 inches above my foot peg; un l I got this in my muscle memory, I overshot several turns in my special test and crashed on one of the downhills. Once I got a chance, I repaired it with zip es and moved it even with my foot peg. On Day 4, I needed a push start for the final moto; I got last pick on the gate. I got a decent start consider- ing my gate pick & had a brief ba le with one of the Poland riders I met last year before he tucked the front end. The event was rugged. I competed alongside Mike Sheetz and Lissa Aldakimov as part of the "Trail Rider Magazine Club Team." As above, Lissa rode the old reliable 1991 DR 350; we called it the diesel. She had no bike issues at all and rode clean and smart, finish- ing all loops and sec ons with no route points lost. My hat goes off to Mike trying to ride the course on a 1968 Maico. He ran well un l midway through day two, when bo om-end issues took him out at day's end. I would like to thank the following people and organi- za ons that made this possible: Suzy Moody our great EVT team manager, Joe Chodnicki "the bike builder" Trail Rider Magazine, AMA, Delaware Enduro Riders, Maryland Compe on Riders, Gunpowder Valley Mo- torcycle Club, Preston Pe y Products, WER, ASV, Arai helmets, Spectro oils, Ryno Power, Rabaconda, Race Tech, Acerbis, Mitas, Troy Lee Designs, Sidi, Zowa Gog- gles, "Vintage Day at the Ranch" and Edward Lorenz & Warren Clendenny. Darrell Diamond Darrell Diamond

• Cover