the unexpected motivation . A very cool addition to the fun , thanks Dan !
The MA crew took their turn at the wheel on Sunday as competition turned to the woods for the region ’ s typical three-race format crosscountry . Akin to the prior day ’ s MX , this portion would also pay points for both regions . As with last year ’ s event , the trail crew took the time to create separate courses to cater to the strengths of the various eras of motorcycles used in AHRMA competition . This time around , the vintage and post-vintage races would be held on a shorter course while the disc brake race ( pre- Modern and up to 1999 ) would add a more difficult loop to the earlier courses . Each race kicked off with a packed house on the slightly uphill starting area . In step with Saturday ’ s crowd , the number of entries was spectacular with nearly fifty riders on the line for races one and three and almost eighty for the postvintage race two .
Races one and two headed quickly into the woods with a left turn and worked through established single track as the course ascended to the power line clearing that runs along the base on the mountain on the north end of the Ashcraft property . The power line serves as the casual delineation point between the short course and the enhanced version slated for race three . Similar to Saturday ’ s grass track , the course is roughly followed in reverse over previously used trail from other seasons or adjacent trails through similar areas . As such , the “ sink holes ”, a popular spectator destination , occurs early in the lap this year . With a large crowd already in place ( and a familiar pit-board ), the riders take a unique path through the various depressions in the woods on the west end of the course . A touch of moisture in the area , relatively steep ingress and egress , and a healthy dose of exposed roots provides an early challenge to the rider . A couple slippery off-camber descents follow before the riders once again find themselves along the power line . Traveling parallel to this feature , the course darts in and out of several narrow sections of trail with a blast down the dirt power line access road between . Ultimately the path heads above the power line for the last time in a flowing uphill section that loops back and forth toward the high point of the “ short ” course before skirting the perimeter of the grass track area where riders are let loose on the back half of the MX track before transitioning into a fun trail with several small jumps that pushes the riders to a driveway crossing and sprint up a final open field stretch . A small winding section of trail is all that remains before the scoring tent . Overall , a very enjoyable course with enough challenge to entertain , but tame enough for the majority of riders on limited travel older bikes .
VOL . 7 ISSUE 8- AUGUST 2022 // PAGE 125