You've got a long and interesting riding history. You've ridden in NETRA and you were also an active rider out west. Tell us about the big differences in the various series that you've ridden. What do you like best or worst from the rider's perspective?
My riding career started with the NETRA Junior Enduro Series in the late 1970’s. Back then the only adult competitive series was Enduros, and there were 20 – 30 per year on the NETRA schedule. Rider turnout was so large (300 – 500) that some events were A Rider only. The Junior Enduro series was a way to get kids started and often ran the Saturday before a regular enduro. After college I bought a KDX and rode a few NETRA enduros and hare scrambles before relocating to Northern California. There I got a little more serious and actively campaigned AMA District 36 enduros for almost 15 years. My career then took me to Dallas for five years where I rode the Blackjack Enduro Series, the Texas State Championship Enduro Circuit, and the Texas Off-Road Organization (TORO) hare scrambles series. Upon returning to Massachusetts in 2008, I ride (carefully) selected NETRA enduros, turkey runs, and hare scrambles but have primarily focused on the Vintage series since it’s inception in 2016.
I’ve enjoyed every series I’ve ridden, all had unique strengths and weaknesses. The events in California and Texas were much more widely dispersed than NETRA, some of the events were eight-hour drives each way. Riding in the Sierra mountains offered incredible views and remote areas far from civilization (never any cell coverage). The Texas series’ were great fun with a very low-key vibe – not many hillclimbs but plenty of heat and slick hardpack soil. Most enduros were 80 – 100 miles in length but didn’t have the mile-by-mile intensity we have in NETRA. No place else has rocks like New England.
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