Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/241252
Michaux Enduro Jeff Melik piloted t his Sherco 300i to second overall at the Michaux Enduro Round 15: Michaux Enduro September 8th, 2013 Story by Zack Huberty Photos By Cindy Melik A fter a quick rip in the sand, we were right back in the rocks. This time, we were all attending the Michaux Enduro near Shippensburg which has recently transitioned to a closed course, start control format (2012 proved successful for SPER with this format). Early Sunday morning, my dad and I made our way out to the race for an exciting day of racing. SPER prepared four sections for us to race on which we repeated in the second loop. My row rolled up to the starting line and soon took off as I clicked through the six gears on my little 200 while Ben Smith (AA) put a big gap on me as we headed down a straightaway. The top AA riders aren't afraid to push the limits in the high speed trail. Ben was drifting around corners and obviously looked confident as he disappeared in the next few corners. Because of the high intensity and fast sections off the start, arm pump soon set in as the trail turned tighter and rockier. The coolest part of the first section was a piece of trail towards the end that incorporated big moon rocks. With the right speed, jumping from rock to rock was possible (and smoother). After shaking out the arm pump and race jitters, riders tinkered on their bike or talked with friends as we waited for the start of section two. This section is always a blast as it is very fast and flows well. Soon, the clock counted down and we took off again. I tried a little harder to stay with Ben, yet his RM 250 continued to pull on me. We approached a gnarly hill that consisted of loose softball sized rocks mixed with gravel and sand (interesting combination); it wasn't your average hill. As our line went through it, multiple riders had given up and were seen sitting next to their bikes. The third section of the day was the fastest with a speed average so that nobody could zero it. Along the jeep roads in the section, there were little dips with just enough of a lip to catch some air. I recall a part of the trail where you could jump a gravel road because of a lip before it. This time, I was determined to stick with Ben and continued to stay on his rear wheel. As we hit wide sweeping turns in the woods I started feeling something odd in my suspension. The bike started to feel dead and for a second I thought I had broken a fork spring, but I ignored it as I was concentrated on hopefully getting around Ben. As Ben and I came down a steep hill that turned onto a gravel road, I went to turn and the bike didn't turn. I was in pure panic as the bike continued to slowly lean over and I finally smashed into the gravel road. Something was wrong! After crashing again in the next 15 feet, I looked at the front end for a broken rotor or something and noticed a front flat. Slowly my adrenaline started December 2013/January 2014 23