On The Pegs April 2019 - Volume 4 - Issue 4 | Page 87

On The Pegs
Vol. 4 Issue 4 - April 2019
87
A rider prepares to take the course during the inaugural Okie Sprint
Championship Sprint Enduro.
A rainy week leading up to the event
and Friday night storms made the
course slimy and difficult for racers
who tackled each of the test sections.
Course workers reported seeing water-
falls in the trail on the morning of the
race and decided to push back the start
of the event by 1 hour not only to allow
the course time to drain, but to allow
the overwhelming number of entrants
time to get signed in and ready to race.
By the time the race started tempera-
tures were in the upper 50s and the sun
was shining, helping considerably to
dry out the track and raise the spirits of
racers who were anxious to get started.
For many participants it was their first
Sprint Enduro and for even more it was
their first race of the year.
Throughout the weekend riders
would be tested on 2 courses, each
three miles in length. Test A had been
designed to be more technical and Test
B designed to be faster. Racers report-
ed that both tests grew more and more
technical as the weekend wore on with
deep ruts, wide mud holes and lots
of previously unseen rocks and roots
being dug up by racers trying to find
traction in the slippery conditions. By