and racing organizations across the East Coast and Mid-West . The GNCC organization was very helpful and published the Alligator flyer on their web site . The result was that riders from across the Eastern U . S . journeyed to Central Florida to challenge the sand . mud and palmettos that Florida enduros are known for .
Lucas Martin and Jared Borgew drove down with four friends from Massachusetts . Lucas wrote “ Traveled from Swansea , MA to enjoy some of the Florida riding and decided to give the enduro a try while we ’ re here . Known about the Alligator Enduro for years , never made it to Florida to ride but glad we did make it . Great piece of property and awesome event . Thank you to all involved with putting it on .” Lucas finished 5th in B Vet and Jared took 2nd in C Vet .
Attendance at the event was helped by the fact that the Alligator was sandwiched between two rounds of the GNCC , the first in Palatka , FL which is only about 40 miles from the Alligator . While the majority of riders were from Florida , 23 other states and one territory were represented . Several riders commented that it was great to have a mid-week event to ride as
The # 31D of A VET-class rider Shawn Clark saw a 2nd place finish . they took the entire week off to vacation in Florida . None of the comments , of course , came from their wives who presumably would have preferred to vacation at a theme park in Orlando or a beach in Daytona to a cow pasture in Favoretta .
In preparation for the event , club members spent months manicuring the trails so as to provide the riders with a memorable experience . Under the watchful eye of trail boss Randy Griffin , the test sections came together to challenge all skill levels while having safety built in . Because the area had experienced a relatively dry January and February ( uncommon for the Alligator Enduro ), Randy knew the course would most likely be fast and dusty and took steps to limit speeds . As a result , the club had no serious injuries to respond to .
While the DDR is known for their well-marked courses , they elevated it a notch by having FTR enduro riders Tony Livingston and Scott Gawler Sr . and Jr ., all of whom chose to work for points , critique the markings by riding the course at speed and adjusting arrows to prevent blown turns .
Hoping to make the event attractive to not only enduro riders but also motocross and hare scrambles riders , the club chose not to use many of the tighter , more technical ( i . e . palmetto root ) trails
VOL . 6 ISSUE 4 - APRIL 2021 // PAGE 109