2007 NMA Sparkplug Enduro

Race Report by Travis Redfield
April 1st, Belfair WA

Woods of Belfair


A rider negotiating one of several water holes


Some of the "fresh" Belfair trail

2007 marked the 50th Anniversary of the Bremerton Cruiser’s Sparkplug Enduro. This years event fell on April 1st, which immediately made me suspicious that the Cruiser's would have a few tricks to throw at us. It was my first year racing the Sparkplug and I was not sure what to except but had heard horror stories about previous years so anticipated a different enduro than what I have experienced in the past year. I also assumed with having guest riders Chris Blais and Steve La Roza, the Cruisers would make this year extra special.

As a pleasant surprise, conditions at Belfair were the best I've ever rode and I think most everyone was in agreement with that statement. The sky was mostly overcast with a few sprinkles you barely felt and every once in a while a sight of patchy blue. Belfair rests on a large area of pan rock, which provides a hard bottom, but proves slippery in some areas with beds of smooth round rock (which are actually worse when dry). However, for some reason even the normally slick marble at Belfair seemed good on this day and you could rail it.

Going into the race, or I should say "to the race", I had some mixed feelings. I had planned to have the entire day Saturday to work on my bike. I had a work call originally scheduled at 3AM Saturday morning that was supposed to be completed by 5AM. I got on the call at 3AM and wait until it's announced that the work I am responsible for is being pushed out an hour (meaning other teams are having issues and holding up the schedule). This pattern continues until about 10 am. As a result I am stuck working until past 1PM. Why this long explanation about my horrible work schedule? Because in the end, I was up until 3AM Sunday morning finishing my bike and had to wake at 4AM to make the drive. So with only an hour of sleep (and probably only 4 hours of sleep Friday night) you can now understand why I had mixed feelings about going.

Fortunately my girlfriend Sara drove, so I attempted to sleep during the drive. However, I remained restless and kept thinking "no way, I am so tired there is no way I am doing 90 miles at Belfair". With everything I've heard about the Sparkplug, I've never heard of it to be easy. So I had some worries, but at the same time, a sense of excitement began to grow. This being the first enduro of the year and I was anxious to prove my 3rd Overall finish from the last enduro of 2006, the Black Bear, which was also held at Belfair.

I was assigned minute 11 with 3 riders assigned to each minute, so not the best minute when you are hoping for a top 7 overall finish and I felt a bit jealous knowing many of my fellow competitors had drawn better minutes. I would be using a brand new ICO racing computer, which I finally opened the box and programmed about 2am Sunday morning after an hour reading the entire instruction manual, then re-reading again because my brain was not functioning propperly (unfortunately my work schedule has been such that free time has been scarce and my computer remained in an un-opened box for 2 weeks prior to the event). Luckily, the computer was easier than I expected to program. Whether or not I would remember any of the operation instructions during the race was another question. One thing I remembered was the instructions emphasized practicing the start and how many people foul up the first few times. Reading the starting instructions I didn't understand why, but sure enough at the start of the race I neglected to push the countdown button when the row in front of me left. Fortunately, I remembered the steps to put the computer in standby and then to go into immediate race start when my minute came up, so I was OK.

The first couple checks were typical timekeeping checks. It was nice to validate that everything was working with my computer and I was able to keep time with it. The 3rd check was at the end of a test section. It wasn't a hard average to keep up, but one of the guys on my minute would not let me by and I ended up being a minute late. This person had told me near the start he was just "trail riding" the event and had no time keeping equipment, but he still insisted on pulling in front of me when we would take off. I would have to deal with this later. Fortunately the other rider on my minute was Jeff Carlson, a known AA rider who I got to know better over the course of the event.

The next test section was a taste of what lay ahead for the long course. The Cruisers had cut in a tremendous amount of brand new single track trail, all extremely tight and twisty with a turn every 10-15 feet. If I remember right it was a 15mph speed avg, but the new trail rarely afforded you speeds above 1st gear stuff and worked you hard. I again was being held up by the "trail rider" on my minute, even after much engine reving and a few yells of "hey can I get by". This continued for most the section until eventually he fell and I was able to pass. As a result, I didn't fair as well in this section as I think I could have. Even though the new trail required a lot of effort, riding it was still fun as fresh single track always is.

We completed the first loop and were back at the staging area for an official "gas stop". The 1st loop ended up being the hardest for me. I still felt tired from lack of sleep, starving, and frustrated by being held up. Luckily there was time at gas to slam a slim-fast shake (tip, these things are awesome for racing, good portion of protein, fiber, and carbs and do not upset your stomach or make you feel bloated), drink water, and catch a quick break.

The 2^nd loop was a lot easier for me. However, the speed avgs for this entire race were pretty high, so keeping on time was a challenge and you didn't get too much of a break. By this time I decided I could no longer let the guys on my minute lead, nothing personal, but I needed to be in front to do my own time keeping (I like to ride fast and then stop and wait if time allows about 1-2 tenths before a possible), so I made sure anytime we took off I was in front and nothing to prevent me from keeping my own time. This helped the loop fair better for me.

Towards the end of the 2nd loop the Cruisers answered my expectations by running us through what was the equivalent of a small pond, not sure how deep but I noted the water up about 3/4 on the rear tire of the guy in front of me. About 1/2 way through my bike was wanting to drown out and I had to pin the motor the remaining length of the water.

Unfortunately I had a major foul at the end of the 2nd loop. The loop ended with an available gas, unlike an official gas stop an available gas can have a check at it or anywhere near it. About 3 miles before the available gas there was a check, on the other side of the check I stopped to study my roll chart and determine how far we were from available gas. Checks have to be at least 3 miles apart, but you also need to factor in any resets. I noted a reset in between the check I was at and available gas and by my calculation there was less than 3 miles to available gas even with the reset. Thus, I assumed they would have a check immediately after available gas and I would be safe. So I went for it. I rode ahead of schedule all the way to available gas, looking forward to having free time at gas. Unfortunately my math was wrong or I was reading from the wrong line on my roll chart and there was a check at gas, which I burned by 4 minutes. Very, very bad (17 points bad). Up until this point I was top 3 in Open A and 10th or better overall. I was upset because it was a stupid mistake and I should have played it safe and remained on time. However, I didn't let it get to me because I was having a blast all day and wanted to continue having fun.

So after about 4 hours and over 60 miles of mostly tight, twisty Belfair single track, we set out for what was the equivalent of a 2-hr harescramble. Pretty much the entire 3rd loop was an 18mph avg. and consisted of 2 hard, tight test sections and then a final easier test section. The first test started off with fast flowing trail, but it wasn't long before they threw us in more tight 1st gear fresh trail. My hands were on fire from clutching and working the bike trying to keep an 18 avg. Then they threw us in an endless clear cut section that was a bit faster but still tight. I had went all day without a get-off and just passed Carol Williams when the trail went back into the woods and where my one and only get-off for the day occurred. To my bad luck, it was on a blind corner and just as I was picking up my bike, Carol ran into the back of it knocking the bike on me. We were both somewhat tangled and struggled to get our bikes upright and we lost at least 30-45 seconds (we both laughed about it afterwards though). This was just short of the end of the second test section.

Going into the 3rd test section my lack of sleep seemed to be getting to me because I could not think and couldn't make sense of my computer. There was some road sections that allowed for us to rest and get back on time (very few people kept on time to this point, mainly Paul Neff and that's about it) and I let Jeff lead us back into the trails. The trails were fairly fast but Jeff was going a bit too slow. By this time my brain was a little more available and I realized Jeff was putting us late. We were in some double-track so I rode up next to him and asked "aren't we late", and he replied "yes" so at that point I took off and rode my ass off trying to get back on time. We were about 2 minutes behind and only few miles from the end. I was tired but rode as hard as I could. Jeff was staying with me and we come flying into the last check both having to lock up to keep from hitting course workers. Unfortunately our efforts were not enough and we were about 6 seconds from being on our minute so dropped a point. I was a bit disappointed with that as we could have easily zeroed it, but what the hell, that last rush of the day was awesome and Jeff and I both high-fived and were happy!!!

So in the end my score was somewhat disappointing with the 4 minute burn, but I had an absolute blast and felt I rode well and minus my one mistake my time keeping was awesome (e.g., I scored the best in my class on emergency checks). If it were not for the 4-minute burn I would have placed 3rd or better in my class and at least 10th overall. With the 4-minute burn I still placed 5th in my class and top 25 overall. To be honest I am very happy with how I did and knowing that next time I can prevent such a mistake and do very well.

As an FYI, this was one of the tougher races I've done as far as exhaustion/endurance!!! I use to not find much appeal to the idea of enduros and thought they were reserved for old guys that can't ride fast. Truth is they are damn tough, or at least those held by the Bremerton Cruisers are not easy.

Finally, here is a link to a post Chris Blais's wife made on the D37 forum reporting his adventure, it's a fun read: Chris Blais's sparkplug report

Thank you to my sponsors Highear Motorsports, MSR, FMF, Scotts Goggles, Cycra, Motorex,
Kenda, Pivot Works, EVS and Pro Taper.

2007 NMA Eddieville Euro GP
Goldendale WA, March 18^Th

Race Report by Travis Redfield

Mt. Adams at Eddieville


A view of the Eddieville conditions


Aftermath of the mud section at Eddieville


Another view of the Eddieville course

Our previous NMA race was held at Reiter Trails in Gold Bar WA, which holds some of the most technical terrain Washington state has to offer. Far from that, both in physical distance and technical difficulty, is Eddieville Motorsports Park located in Goldendale WA. Eddieville provides a 20 to 40 foot wide groomed course covering about a 6-7 mile European GP course over rolling hills and a 1.5 mile motocross course, a complete opposite of the course at Reiter Trails. Also strikingly contrasting to Gold Bar, the weather conditions at Eddieville were premium with clear sunny skies and temperatures reaching near 70 degrees.

My girlfriend, Sara Chandler, and I arrived in Goldendale late Friday evening to camp the weekend for the Sunday race. We woke early Saturday morning to ride the team race. The team race would provide us a chance to preview the course and make adjustments to the bikes before our race on Sunday. Unfortunately the track had been over-watered with the expectations of high winds to dry it out, but the winds never arrived and the resulting course conditions were much like butter on glass. Never the less, any race is a good race in my book and as needed it provided feedback on adjustments necessary for the Sunday race as I found my bike was not turning as it should and required correction in race sag and a few clicker adjustments.

The race was a combined points event for the NMA and OMRA points series, so competitors from both Oregon and Washington were present making competition even more exciting in the individual classes. Sunday morning Scott Doubravsky from Over the Bars Gang gave the rider's meeting to a large crowd of anxious riders. Typical of Scott, he found some "interesting" course additions for the NMA/OMRA event to make it a true "off-road" race. The most notable addition was a wide gully with running water that extended about 250 yards, Scott directed the riders to it's location and we took the opportunity to inspect the section, this section deserves much more detail that I will get to later, but imagine a soft muddy gully in a farm field with a slight incline (and we would be going up hill). Scott also included an Endurocross style log section as well as some nice grass sections off the main course.

The race for the long course began at 1:30 PM and by this time the course had dried and dust ensued. The course began at the starting gates of the motocross course and taking a hairpin turn into the motocross section. I lined up to place me to the outside of the first corner. Scott did not use the motocross gates and instead instructed the riders to stand behind the rear fend of their bikes and hold the bike until the starter signaled them... honestly this is my least favorite way to start as I am at a disadvantage being short at 5'6". I took extra time we had waiting in our lines to practice my start, I got the bike a bit lower by digging a small trench spinning the rear tire which would help allow me to throw my leg over faster. When my line was signaled to start I ran to the front of my bike, threw my leg over while pulling in the clutch (bike already being engaged in 1st gear) and kicked the kick starter over, the bike fired first kick and I clutched it to get a nice strong pull off the line placing me about 4^Th or5^Th of 24 into the 1st corner.

I felt pretty good about my starting position, but the dust was initially very bad and I had a difficult time seeing the course the 1st lap and soon wished I had had a better starter. I had a few riders pass me during the beginning of the lap when the dust was at it's worst, but instead of pushing hard I decided to ride conservatively knowing that the dust would lessen as riders spread out and there would be plenty of time to make up ground and pass riders back. The course was also being ran backwards from the day before, so I didn't want to have any surprises the first lap. By the end of the first lap I had gained back position on 1-2 riders and the dust was already beginning to lessen greatly.

On my 2^Nd lap I started focusing on charging and maintaining speed through the corners. My suspension was handling the whoops and terrain great, but at the same time is a bit stiff for me and being the beginning of the year I am not use to it and was being beat up by it and finding it difficult to ride at my full abilities. About 1/2 way into the 2^Nd lap I started hearing the rear of the bike making noise and I knew something was wrong. I quickly pulled over to discover my rear axle nut had come loose, fortunately I wasn't far from the pits and continued on limping the bike to prevent damage or the axle coming out. Instead of riding all the way into the pits I pulled to side of the course at a location that I was able to run about 100 yards to the pit to my support Highgear Motorsports. Highgear provided me with an axle wrench and I ran back to my bike and corrected the problem. I knew this was a setback but did not let it get to me as it was still early in the race and I charged on.

Something finally clicked on my 3rd lap as I overcome the beating I was taking earlier. I began riding at my ability and taking corners fast and really sticking the bike all the way through. I knew I had lost quite a few positions dealing with my axle nut, but I was picking off riders at a consistent rate now and felt I was doing well. I really started enjoying myself and even found myself smiling under my helmet and a better sense of focus and determination.With each lap I felt I was improving, gaining more speed through the corners while remaining smooth and efficient.

At my 5^Th lap and about the hour and a half mark I pulled into the pits for gas. Highgear promptly filled my tank and offered me my extra set of goggles and gloves, I was good and did not need them so continued on. The short break pitting made me feel even stronger and I put down one of my best laps. I managed to get in 3 more laps before just barely missing the cutoff for another,I was still strong at this point and would have liked to made one last lap to give me a total of 9, but would have to settle with 8.

At the end of the race I was very happy. My first two laps were a bit of a struggle with the dust and not being in full riding condition, and then having the setback with the axle nut. However, I rode strong from there on out and was excited with my overall performance and having charged all the way to the end. I ended up placing 8^Th out of 24, which considering my mechanical setback I am pleased with my placing.

Oh, and as I promised, the gully Scott added proved quite entertaining. As I expected this gully became a complete mud bog. With each lap the muddy ruts worsened and you had to search for better lines. I never had trouble negotiating it but every time through I witnessed numerous stuck riders, some bikes were buried to their seats. I was impressed with how well my bike worked in this section as honestly there were times I was scared of becoming stuck in the deep mud by my bike always powered through.

I learned from this race that I need to install the proper springs for my weight as my bike is currently over sprung, I believe this will improve overall handling and prevent me from feeling as beat up during the race. Further,although I've been working out regularly, I need to ride more consistently on the off weekends to keep better conditioned (this has been difficult in the past months with weather and other commitments but going forward I should have more opportunities).

In the end it was a great weekend. Being able to team with my girlfriend on Saturday was a lot of fun and having a good race in beautiful conditions Sunday was very nice.

I would like to thank the support I received from the pit help at Highear Motorsports and the rest of my sponsors (MSR, FMF, Scotts Goggles, Cycra, Motorex, Kenda, Pivot Works, and Pro Taper). I also want to thank Scott and the Over the Bars Gang for the great course.

2007 Frostbite, Reiter Trails, February 4^th

Race Report by Travis Redfield

tight Reiter single-track



a racer coming through an interesting rock section

The Frostbite would be the first race in the NMA Off-road series, held at Reiter Trails in Gold Bar Washington and hosted by the Stumpjumpers Motorcycle Club. The Stumpjumpers had their work cut out for them as during the weeks leading up to the event massive windfall occurred throughout the forest after one of the worst storms in 10 years. Simply driving into the staging area made you feel a bit uncomfortable seeing the number and size of trees needed cut out to allow vehicles through.

Any race held at Reiter Trails is guaranteed to prove difficult at best, and the 2007 Frostbite was no exception. Typical Reiter trails are strewn with head size boulders, layers upon layers of roots, ruts, more roots, more rocks, and all coated in what seems like a grease film that is uncharacteristic of any other area I have rode. To attest to the difficulty of Reiter, most long course riders were requiring over an hour to complete the 12 mile course loop. Most races at Reiter bring a small turn out, but this being the first race of the year it brought one of the largest turnouts at Reiter that I had ever seen. Not even the torture of the previous race at Reiter in November, the White Knuckle, was enough to keep people from contesting the first race of the season. There were over 20 riders in the Open A class alone, and likely near 100 total long course riders.

I had spent all of the day before prepping my bike for the race... fresh set of tires, grip heaters for the cold weather, new FMF Gnarly pipe to take the abuse of the rocks and roots, new grips, silicone spray everywhere for the mud, and all the usual work. I felt very confident with the condition and performance of my bike, the previous weekend riding in somewhat similar conditions at Tahuya WA it worked flawlessly. I knew this was going to prove a very physical race, but I also felt extremely confident about my physical condition as I had been putting extra effort into workouts the month prior.

The Open A class would be the 2^nd starting wave directly behind AA. I was one of the early riders to the line and had found a preferable starting position. As the lines had grown to full size and the AA class about to begin a known racer next to me pointed out my front tire was flat! I looked in disbelief but their was no doubting it, the bead was not even seated on one side. I did not know what to do, the AA wave was seconds from starting and my class would be less than a minute behind. I thought to just start the race on the flat but then opted to turn to the pits and determine if the tire would take air. I went to Highgear Motorsports pit area and asked for a pump, unfortunately the air can they had was empty and we struggled to find an air pump. After at least 5 minutes of searching one was found and my tire appeared to hold air. I headed back to the start with all the long course riders having already left and only a portion of the short course riders remaining. At this point I felt I could catch my wave and still have a good race so I charged on.

Initially the trails were wide with plenty of passing opportunity and I made quick work of countless riders ahead of me. But then the trails converged to the typical narrow and gnarly single-track Reiter is famous for and I faced numerous bottlenecks. At the same time it became unpleasantly apparent that my front tire had already leaked down and I was riding on a flat. Never the less, I was charging through the bottlenecks with little work and making good time.

By the first check I felt I was near the front of the B riders and closely approaching the tail of the A waves. My front tire was proving extremely difficult on the roots and rocks as it provided little stability at speed and also was beating my arms badly. It finally caused a get-off and as I left the bike I struck the gas cap spinning it enough to come completely off and I lost what seemed like a gallon of fuel as I rushed back to the bike and make it upright. I took off again being a bit more careful and aware of my front tire, I still felt good and continued to ride the best I could.

I took fuel after the first lap to replace what I had lost and asked how far I was behind the A waves and was told that they had only just passed through. My pit support aired my tire and it again held for a short period, probably 5-10 minutes, which was enough to make me feel confident in the front end again and charge even harder. I started catching riders that I recognized from the A waves and was feeling relieved. I continued to make ground and pass riders, but the course was deteriorating and I was taking an even worse beating with more rocks and roots exposed. The mud had also increased making the rocks and roots more slick, which seemed amplified by my flat front and I began to struggle keeping the front end planted.

I arrived at the end of my 2^nd lap with only 10-15 minutes left before the course closed. I was informed that the leader of the Open A class would only have 3 laps total, and with my 2 laps complete I would have sufficient number of laps to receive points. With that I decided it best not to struggle any further with my tire and chance more damage to my wheel and myself as my arms were extremely sore and I doubted my chance of gaining significant ground on my wave.

I ended up finishing 13^th out of +20 riders. I had expected a top 5 finish and I am of course not pleased having such a terrible time the first race of the season, but I am proud that I made the best attempt I could under the circumstances and at least received points instead of DNF'ing the race. And the fact remains that just surviving a race at Reiter is an accomplishment in itself.

I would like to thank the support I received from the pit help at Highear Motorsports and the rest of my sponsors (MSR, FMF, Scotts Goggles, Cycra, Motorex, Kenda, Pivot Works, Pro Taper). I also want to thank the Stumpjumpers MC for the tremendous amount of work they performed to provide a great race.


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