Brushy Ridge becomes Muddy Ridge

August 27, 2006

Brushy EnduroCross

Presented by: Brushy Ridge M/C

Astoria, IL

By Ryan Moss

Photo by Speedy Pete

For any riders that have ridden at the Brushy Ridge OHV riding area they know that rain is not a good thing for the area.  The land has some of the most fun terrain in Illinois that includes large up / down hills, a creek to play in, a nice MX track, some great trail, and for the most part it’s dirty with clay mixed in.  This type of terrain sounds like the perfect place to put on an enduro as it will challenge even the best rider but can also be very fun for the beginning riders too.  The club wanted to accomplish just that, make sure the beginning rider had fun and left with a smile on their face but to try to challenge even the most experienced riders.  The club had it all figured out until the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning rains came.

Luckily for the club this was one of the District 17 closed course enduros and the course could be altered much more easily then a traditional enduro.  For those that don’t know about the closed course enduro format that District 17 has been trying over the past couple of years here is the breakdown.  At least a 10 mile loop is required to host a closed course event.  No time keeping is involved as the start check and the end check are known controls, all that is needed is a watch to make sure you start each loop on time.  No lights or license are needed as the loop is all off-road, even a large gas tank is not needed as the loop is only 10 miles long.  The typical trail is full blown enduro trail, single track tight and twisty stuff, not 4 wheeler trail that one would guess with this style of layout (some wide trails are used to connect stuff of course but not the whole course.)  Most of the races have the C / SS classes running 3 laps, the B class running 4 laps and the A / AA classes running 5 laps depending on how technical the trail is and of course mother nature.  The time format consists of the first loop having enough time allowed that everyone can finish the lap on time, typically an hour is allowed.  After the first lap the lap time allowed to complete a lap grows shorter and shorter to make sure that each class cannot finish the lap in the given amount of time and are late to the finish check.  In between loops there is typically some time to get gas and a drink before heading out on the next loop, but riders can be late to the start check just like a standard enduro.  Points are awarded the same as a standard enduro, 1 point for every minute late and the winner is still the rider with the lowest score.  While some old time enduro riders have frowned upon this format and won’t try it, I’ve known more then one that has tried it and enjoyed it. With this format you get a true 40-50 miles of trail riding, which is about the same as a typically District 17 enduro once you minus out the road sections and cornfields.  In District 17 we have tried to keep a couple of these enduro formats on the schedule as it could be the future of enduros if land loses keep happening the way they have been for some Midwest clubs.

Getting back to the Brushy Ridge event the club went to work on rerouting the course and spent almost all Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning making sure the course was ride able for everyone.  The club originally had a 10.5 mile loop arrowed and they were worried that it would have to be shortened to five or six miles, but to their surprise only one mile was lost during all the rerouting. 

The rain stopped around 8:00am so the club sent out a couple beginning riders from the club to see if they could ride a loop, which they rode within a reasonable time frame, so it was announced that it was time for the riders meeting.  It was announced that only 3 loops would be run to minimize the damage to the trails and to make sure most people would still go home with a smile on their face.  There were no arguments from the crowd as most riders had fear in the back of their minds of what the course was going to look like.  The club moved back keytime an half hour and announced that they would allow one and half hours for the first loop to be completed.  This would give amble time to complete the lap and allow the club to make more changes if needed. 

As we headed out on the first loop it was apparent that they club did an excellent job of rerouting and making the trail ride able.  While it was slippery in some spots other spots had great loamy dirt and perfect traction.  There were

only a couple hills that posed a challenge, but only if you didn’t take a second to look before charging up, and even those spots had many alternate lines if needed.  There were no “do or die” spots and by the third lap almost all the

trail was starting to dry out.  The third lap was by far the most fun and at the end most riders would have gone out for a fourth with no argument.

The real disappointment of the day was the rider turnout.  I think I know why the turnout was low too.  As stated at the beginning of the story this location is not rain friendly.  But the club did an outstanding job and put together a very well ran event and great trail for what they were up against.  I would hope that next year the club will be able to put this event on again and that riders will come support them no matter what Mother Nature hands out.

For the second weekend in a row it was Jeff Fredette taking the overall win on his Team Green Kawasaki, Moose, Pirelli, CRD, Spectro, Scott, M2R, Tri-flow, Tire Balls, IMS, Wiseco, Grand Kankakee Trail Riders, sponsored KX450F.  Yes, Jeff rode the 450F at this race and had one of the biggest smiles I’ve seen in a long time.  Jeff stated that he only had to use 1^st gear all day except for in the creek where he thought he sifted to second.  When asked if he was going to continue to ride the 450F Jeff hesitated and said he thought he better go back to the 250F.  With the mud out there he thought the bike was perfect, but in the dry he’s not sure he could hang on to all that power for a full enduro without hitting a tree or two.

If there was a 110% award for enduro clubs then Brushy Ridge M/C would have won it for putting on this event.  Many people don’t know about it but Dave Edsall needs a big thank you for making sure this event happened.  There was some paperwork that didn’t get done in time and the event almost didn’t happen.  Thanks to Dave for stepping up and getting it taken care of in time, along with helping arrow the course.  The whole club really deserves a huge thank you for overcoming what Mother Nature handed them and making a great event happen. 

The club wanted to thank everyone for coming and to say thanks to Moose Racing, Pro Grip, IMS, FMF, Adams Performance, and Midwesteduros.com for their support of the event.

Muddy? You decide.  200A Winner Speedy Pete Laubmeier Bike

(Date is wrong, enduro riders can’t figure out technology)

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