Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/807546
Flashback! Shakin' out the cobwebs... March/April 2017 5 Another long Maine winter is fi nally over. Funny how as we grow older, winters seem to linger a li le longer each year. We've had a pre y thick snowpack this season and we'd been looking forward to the fi rst shakedown run of the year with huge an cipa on. Our fi rst event, the Meteor Motorcycle Club's 80th Annual Sandy Lane Enduro is now in the books. A er si ng dormant for most of the winter, we were chomping at the bit to rip some fresh dirt. Thinking the Sandy Lane would be a great event to shake out the cobwebs — without bea ng us up too bad — we were ready for some fun. An off er from our friends at Bonjoe's Sport Cycles to test a new TM 144 all set up for woods racing sealed the deal and we hit the road. It's been decades since this guy had ridden in South Jersey. I had memories of it being very sandy with ght pines, but to be honest, I don't remember it being a challenging terrain. I guess me does dull the senses. We Maine riders are used to rocks, endless rocks, and brutal terrain. For some reason, I had it in my mind that the Sandy Lane would be an easy event compared to what we're accustomed to. Having ridden rocks and roots my en re life, 60 miles of sandy pine forests sounded like a cinch. We'd unload, suit up and fl y through the woods at the speed of light. Burning checks would be our biggest issue to contend with...or so I thought. Shortly a er the start, there was a rather long road sec on and then a few miles of dirt roads surrounding some cranberry bogs. Yeah, this was going to be a piece of cake. Once past the second check is where things got interes ng. Our mild trail ride soon transformed into something that I was not prepared for. Within a mile, the single track soon narrowed to full lock switchbacks and scrub pine trees spaced about the width of a Tonka Truck. The li le TM small bore got a workout but soon proved to be the perfect tool for the job. A bigger heavier bike would have certainly been a handful in this ght terrain. At the 20-mile point is where I really started to respect this unusual landscape. The soil was mostly sandy with a fair amount of chocolate cake-like loam. We were told about whoops and they were endless — some incredibly deep. The combina on of ght pines, endless switchbacks and whoops for days proved to be one tough workout for this guy. What I had imagined as a cakewalk sure proved to be one of the toughest events I've ridden in quite some me. A tough event with no rocks, minimal roots and zero mud? Yeah, the Meteor Motorcycle Club puts on an incredibly challenging event; in fact, it was brutal. A diff erent kind of brutal as it was quite a workout, sawing the bars, s rring the gear box and hammering the clutch. The Sandy Lane Enduro proved to be just what we needed, a tough event preparing us for the upcoming season. Big thanks to our friends at East Coast Enduro Associa on and kudos to the Meteor Motorcycle Club for hos ng a challenging event. I'll be honest; I was tremendously impressed and found the Sandy Lane to be a perfect ride for shaking out the cobwebs! -Kurt