Second Start Enduro

No more 10 man waves? I don't know. Why mess with the best? Read below to find out what people thought.

Race Results

Race Commentary

Ed Castine

Having never done this race I can't speak for the course changes - but I
imagine it must have been better without the 3 mile fireroad and all the
chewed-up ATV trails. Still it was a lot of fun and the longest race
I've done to date. I had a slight endo that bent a brake lever, and
apparantly floated an air bubble up to my rear caliper. Having one bent
lever and another that pulled right to the bars, I nervously rode the
2nd lap and babied the downhills. Ended the day drag racing against one
of the Senior II guys up the pavement, finishing a second apart.

Michelle Wilson

Reminants of Ivan put a damper on the race course but luckily it was a sunny
day. I knew the trails were going to be very wet and cold so whatever they
could do to eliminated going thru large bodies of water was fine with me.
However, that long uphill fire road at the begining of each lap sucked the
life out of me. Finally, getting into the singletrack I helped lead the pack
of sport women thru the first lap. Then that darn fireroad again. Abby and I
worked together towing each other up the road. Once I got to the singletrack
I figured I had a good chance of getting 2nd place. Nope, not a chance. Severe
legs cramps keeled me over screeming in pain. When will I ever learn to drink
enough fluid??? All the women go by me as I'm nursing my legs. Just finishing
the race became my only goal. Now for the really bad news...I will never do
this race again. Not because they changed the start place and the course (I
actually thought the park at the dam was pretty) , nor because it is always
too muddy, nor because I will fear cramping, nor because it was nolonger an
enduro start, but because of those damm ATVs. There's nothing worse then
almost getting run over or pushed off the trail or making me stop to let them
all by as they purposefully spray mud in my face. It happens every year and
I'm just sick of it. I realized that they have access to the trails too but
can't they give us a break for just one day?

Dawn Kaczor

I love this race! The course was fun, lots of berms, short climbs and mud
pits. the 26 mile race was shortened to 20 due to the rain. i was last off
the line at the sport mass start and last into the singletrack. I saw
everyone fly by me but knew i needed to pace myself for the 20 miles. my
strategy was to ride as fast as possible and ride everything. The first lap
went well, i felt strong. the second lap i was feeling a little fatigue and
started spinning through the course. i rode most of the second lap alone
with an occasional biker passing me by. i was actually thinking that i must
be the slowest mountain biker on the planet when around the next bend and up
the concrete hill i saw a mirage. two rage jerseys belonging to abbie and
michelle. what was up with this i thought? this couldnt be happening. at the
top of the hill, michelle was suffering from cramps. i stopped and offered
her the rest of my gu. she didnt take it. i got back on the bike and
continued the race with the same strategy - make it thru using finesse and
being steady. i kept thinking that the girls were going to catch and pass me
like they usually do. then i entered the muddy rock garden section, i lost
control and fell into a mud pit. my shorts and both my gloves were covered
in mud. lets just say there was a bit of chaffing for the rest of the ride
like i had sandpaper lined shorts. then i was passed by a guy and managed to
hang on his wheel until i went too fast into a sandy corner and wiped out. i
got up and cranked it to the finish line taking 3rd place.

Dan Hurwitz

This was a fun but tough course. It started out kind of chilly, but
warmed up as we rode. The mud wasn't as bad as I feared, although it
was deep in spots. Good thing they rerouted, however, because a 4 foot
deep river crossing may not have been much fun. The worst of it was that
the mud exposed the marginal condition of my chain, which proceeded to
suck big time.

Chris Smith

Not the same old Second Start. I first did the Second Start back in '94.
It always started at the speedway sending off 10 riders at a time. The
different format was fun. No big log jams at the start of the single track.
You could be in a start group with beginners, sports and experts, in one
of my early Second Start races I was lined up with John Funk and Slade
Warner. The course was about thirty miles one big figure eight loop, with
lots of nice single track, two river crossings... Ohh but that was then.

The race this years was under 20 miles, two laps. We started off on fire
road, then there was some more fire road. When we finally got on to the
single track we had to battle with motor cycles and ATV's. They had to
alter the course due to all the rain the day before so maybe it would have
been better if they had been able to use the original course but I still
yearn for the old days.

Andrew Jacobs

I should have done better, my chain dropped 4 times during the race.
Then have way through i could not get out of my big chain ring. The mud
had done a nice number on my front derailure. The course was very
technical due to the 4+ inches of rain they got the night before, it was
also really cold.

I was doing well until my chain dropped the first time. Then i got passed
by a bunch of people, each time i got back into place my chain would drop
again and i would get passed and then had to fight my way through the
crowd.
Oh and Tim sorry about the puddle dude, I had no idea it was 3 feet deep
hehe.

Andy Sherman

The start to my day at Clough was probably like everyone elses:
excited and pleased we had such a clear, crisp day, off on an easy
warm-up up and over the dam, fast down the trail off the dam and then,
sudden stop: the trail was totally submerged. I guess a couple of
hearty souls tried to traverse the flooded area during warm-up, but
all I was thinking was, this will be a cold way to start a 28 mile
race. So, I was real pleased when they rerouted the course to avoid
this whole section. I was even more pleased when I got on the final
course - it was shorter (20 miles or so) but plenty technical and lots
of fun. For my money, this course was better overall than last
year's, and the race was a blast. Sure, there was a little mud here
and there, as could only be expected given the hurricane-induced rain
from the day before. But, nice long technical sections all over and
everything you could ask for from a cross-country race. Cheers to
Dennis and the race crew for adjusting quickly and improving what was
already a great event!

Abbie Briscoe

I had the crazy idea that it would be fun and still an easy ride to preride
the course the day before in the torrential rain storms we were getting from
the hurricane leftovers. LIke i said the idea was crazy. The course was
completely flooded with water that reached up to or above my bottom bracket
and hubs. The river crossing was insane. my boyfriend and I walked it without
the bikes the first time and it was over our hips and rushing so fast we cold
barely stand. It was scary considering if it did push one of us over, we were
going downstream and fast! I misread and thought the course was a 11 mile loop.
after 4 hours of riding and making it to the 12.5 marker, we bailed thinking it
was just one big continuous loop.

thankfully the course dried a ton for the race and that they cut a substantial
section out of it along with the river crossing. the start was fun. You got the
feeling of just how scary it must be in a peloton in a road race. One goofball
did slam on his brakes which made everyone else panick and put thiers on and
that was hairy for a second. I wasn't impressed with how much of the course
was on dirtbike trails. Those guys didn't really want to share thier trails
and I can't really say I blame them.

i had remembered this race last year being a ton of fun and i waited all year
long to race it again. But I think there were too many changes. Not being at
the speedway, changing the type of start, and a different course. it'll just
be an adjustment, that's all.

Hank Kells

One of my saddle rails broke during the first lap so I had to ride gingerly
after that. But the other rail held firm and I was able to finish. The
course was wet and muddy and I was glad that it was shortened, 20 miles was
enough! Only one woman passed me and I probably would have been able to
hold her off if I hadn't been distracted by the broken saddle.

Mathew Juros

Great weather - the course was actually pretty good. The off-road was
vintage second start - and the road portion went by quick. I started out in
the main pack and was able to hang during the whole road ride. Hit the off
road and kept up a pretty good pace (nice digger Barry). By the end of the
first lap a slow leak I'd been nursing needed attention - so I hit it with
Big Air and kept riding. It became a fast leak and by the middle of the
single track I'd used the last of my big air canister (got four re-fills out
of it - not bad for $5). Ended up running the last few miles to get out of
the woods with my rim intact and rode the last of the asphalt to get home.
Got a bonus workout from the running...and had enough fun riding that I
didn't feel too bad about flatting.

Tom Lemaire

Serious water, and chilly. The course started on fire road, which was nice and
fast and dry. After that, it was wet and muddy and slippery most of the way.
It turned what would have been a pretty straightforward course into an
interesting technical challange. The dirt bike riders and 4 wheelers added
spice. Not my best race.

Joseph Stein

Having taken too much rest since Great Glen, I was not in prime racing
condition heading into this event. The weather was perfect and the course
was well laid out, despite the last-minute route changes. I started out
steadily on the fire road and felt strong on the single track. Passed a few
only to give back any gains in the last few miles when I started to bonk.
Sometime after the first lap, my left foot slipped off the pedal after
re-mounting and ended up slicing my ankle to the muscle. Pretty nasty. I
rode through it, but needed 6 stitches at the ER in Manchester after the
race. All in all, a disappointing finish (and season) but a fun race.
Looking forward to some serious training for next season...