Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/318411
28 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com Frost bite Grand Prix, Odessa, WA 3/29/2014 The 2014 racing season is here and the first Northwest Motorcycle Associaon (NMA) point's race (Frost Bite GP) is in the books. Aer an especially wet tail end of winter and even weer spring, it was a pleasure for the wet coast riders of the Pacific Northwest to drive the +200 miles east and dry out in the high desert of eastern Wash- ington State. The week prior to race day a light dusng of rain helped with tracon but didn't keep the dust away. An impressive number of eager riders showed up for the event to support the Stumpjumpers MC and strive for that elusive podium finish. YouTube research shows that the course layout and En- duroX secon are virtually idencal to previous years. Subsequently, the riders that have done their pre-race re- search should have been weary of the notorious hidden drop that was within the first few miles from the live-en- gine start. Online footage shows a nasty pileup during the 2013 race where the lead riders were caught off guard and dealt a heart dropping launch that resulted in some serious injuries. The same fate happened to the first wave of long course riders this year. Several riders were on the losing end of this natural obstacle and unfortunately one suffered a broken collar bone. Following this mishap, the aernoon course workers flagged unsuspecng short course riders as they approached the drop on their maiden lap. The onus was on the riders to remember the where & what for all subsequent laps. The hacked up and whooped out desert course dished out heaping loads of arm pump to all the out-of- shape early season rid- ers. Brief respite was found in a short but enjoyable EnduroX secon near the end of the loop. Nothing too crazy or Taddy-like here, just a nice lile play area to change things up and let the feeling come back to your forearms and hands. AA rider Jon Seehorn took the win with AA riders Jusn McGovern and Eric Bailey rounding out 2nd and 3rd, re- specvely. Not everyone can finish on the podium, but everybody who entered walked away with a race T-shirt, not all races can boast that. The determined and tough handed riders were rewarded with the White Knuckle GP the following day, which was apparently well worth it. For the so handed pencil push- ers the long drive home with blistered hands gave plenty of me to reflect, regroup and get ready for what's next. A big Thank You to the Stumpjumpers for not only hosng the event but for also posng a huge lot of awesome race photos on their website. Sparkplug Enduro, Belfair, WA 4/6/2014 This year the notorious Sparkplug Enduro, which is held on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, ran the same day as the always epic Desert 100 (Odessa, WA). Despite the double booking of the day more than 80 dedicated riders came out to test their mekeeping skills within the single track woods of the Tahuya State Forest, while +800 others were sucking up dust in the desert. Historically speaking, the Sparkplug has been prey tough due to both the me of year and general physical condioning of the rider typi- cal of early season. Due to some cold inclement wet weather, fresh cut so trails, bark busngly ght single track and killer long test secons the Sparkplug name can muster fear and inmidaon from the most grizzly faced hardened racers and rarely brings visions of plush pictur- NMA RACING Open A rider Andrew Watson aacks the EnduroX secon (Frost Bite GP) Webb Powersports rider Jon Seehorn carves through the sands of the Frost Bite GP