NEPG Tennessee National Enduro
April 17, 2011

I was looking forward to Rad Dad since I had amped up my training since TX, and my Dad and I had done quite a bit of testing on gearing and suspension down at KTMWorld (thanks Barry!) and at home on the off week. I am feeling very comfortable on the KTM300XC and my conditioning has gotten better with more cardio.

Also, it had rained a lot Friday at West Point and I love to ride in the mud. Lots of folks hate it, and it can cause some problems for anybody, but I have always liked it.

Test 1 started slippery from Row 28, and I slid down a couple times but got a feel for the conditions pretty quick and came out with the fastest time in my class. Test 2 was a little longer and I got to key off Cole for quite a while until he slipped away, then Andrew caught me and I got to follow him for a while. Both those guys were honkin’ it pretty good so it was good to be riding in that mix all day. Test 3 was a good test – fairly fast and non-eventful.

Test 4 had more rooty snotty stuff and we all came out the muddiest of the day so far. Test 5 was pretty wet too and I picked up a few more pounds of wet gear and mud on the bike. But we got most of that cleaned off and ready for Test 6. I felt great in there. I was not tired and still focused on going fast without mistakes, and pretty much ran a mistake-free section.

As always Rad Dad is killer fun and NATRA always lays out a good course that makes it easy for the crews to get around to us after each test. That’s a big plus to take care of little issues and look after the bike. So all together a good day with a win in Open A and 14th overall. Felt good to be back on my game, and as a always a great time with my fellow racers.

The enduro crowd is like friends and family for me. See ya in Arkansas!

Speck