Advice from enduro/hare and hounds riders

Sometimes you have to laugh at your buddy when he wads up and needs a trip to the ER...talking your Dad would ultimately, really really suck. I hope his recovery is quick and as painless as possible.

Enduro/offroad riding is the bomb to me, as it does not seem to be so aggressive as moto, and of course with less air. Makes my heart a lot more comfortable to know there are less pucker moments. That is off road here in Canada...I can't imagine the UK being much different, although I know the terrain certainly is.

I hope all works out for you and your father

fry

H&H racing here in SoCal is a 10.0 on the pucker scale...



Here's a short excerpt from Jesse Ziegler's "Off-Road Tough Tour" in this months Dirt Rider. I think it does a decent job summing up an H&H event...


Even with the best desert bike in the world, this is still scary as hell. Hare & Hound races go like this: You line up in the desert and practice your start by finding the least deadly line to the beginning of the course. In this particular case, the start was in the only spot in El Centro that had trees and 10-foot-tall bushes. No biggie, I'm sure the guys coming from the left and right will look both ways (yikes!). Then, you line up when it's time and go like hell for two to three hours when they drop a banner. It's a dead-engine start which is again a joy to master. Don't worry, though: It's always dusty so starts are super important, too.



The terrain is frightening with speeds up in the high double digits and grabbing the 100-mph mark on occasion. Your body is forced to stand watch as you rip across lake beds, sand washes and Wile E. Coyote's backyard with your head over the front fender. That's the first loop. Usually you'll get some sections of technical stuff on the second loop when your brain is fried.

The idea is to spot the things that are going to be in your front tire before they're in your front tire. The problem is they're coming at 60 mph 90 percent of the time. It's almost no fun at all until it's over, and then it's cool.

Easily the hardest part about racing a National Hare & Hound is maintaining. You have to concentrate so hard to avoid upcoming obstacles and anticipate turns that you get a little loopy. That's my theory as to why guys like Destry Abbott and the rest of the professional desert racers are so nice. They don't know how crazy they really are!

I am not a native english speaker but I will try to explain some tips about the enduro world and some of my experience week after week:
I`ve riding enduro for almost 5 years now. I have 34 and I don´t feel that I am heading into the end of the row in my enduro life yet... I hope the age will never stop me from doing this amazing sport.
Every week I plan new trips with my buddies or maybe go back to same routes and trails just to feel them and enjoy them againg, since some of the places, the roads and trail you get to ride in your enduro bike are awesome.
THe enduro is definitily the best part of my week, and when it is monday I can´t wait until saturday arrives in the calendar to wake up earlier than any work day and with no effort because I am going riding....
In enduro, you get the best of all 3 off-road disciplines (whell that is what I usually try to achieve). You get the adrenaline of a jump (the differencie is that the jump is unexpected and is a natural one), you get the speed of motocross (when you can), and you need the ability of trial in those tight up or down hills with routes, or sand or mud that makes it even more interesting.
Combine all of this with the oportunity of being out there in the wild breating nice and pure air, looking at beautiful scenarios and going through wonderful parts like rivers, canyons, mountains, etc etc.
I recommend you get some buddies that love enduro as whell and plan your trips with advance. You will start to love right away and believe my when I say that it is not going to be easy to live witrhout enduro once you try it.....
Gool luck..
Pd. Go to a motorcycle store and buy some enduro videos like erzberg, last man standing, hell´s gate, romaniacs, etc etc...
Greetings.
Sebastián`
Ps. I recommend you buy the new Husaberg FE450 year 2.009 or 2.010

Hare and hounds are great fun but I think just riding with your buddy on great trails is the safest and great fun.
Here some great H&H videos http://www.promoto.tv/2008-H&H-ROUND01.html

PS. You have to watch this years opener of the endurocross this year great racing in the USA.