This past Sunday I was out in Ganaraska forest again… but not for a regular ride: this time it was a club event: the Mini Pine 2010!
Getting out of bed before 6 and on the road by 6:30 had me rolling in to Sandraska Park at around 8:15am:
I thought I was a bit early… but the lot was already over half full, and filling up fast!
I had never seen so many bikes in one place before!
And trailers kept rolling in with more: from golden oldies to bikes that looked like they were fresh out of the crate:
In addition to the OFTR trailer there were some vendors present as well: KTM, Yamaha, Husaberg and Gas Gas… some with bikes for sale…
… as well as some private owners with sale signs on their bikes, big and small:
I saw some people I knew…
…and met others while chatting in line… which didn’t start to shorten until close to 10am:
Finally everyone mobbed together for the kickoff meeting: to learn how the enduro guys would launch, how the trails were flagged, safety stuff etc…
…then everyone headed back to their bikes to suit up.
There were 44 groups of enduro riders (up to 4 in a group), all launched one minute apart from each other (so that’s at least 150+ bikes right there) before the trail riders could head out. Soon the low numbered bikes started to line up for the 10:15 start:
The trickle of bikes lining up soon turned to a flood…
…with the most popular brand being KTM by a wide margin. I’d guess the second most popular brand I saw was Yamaha… but maybe that’s just what I wanted to see (because I ride one 🙂 )
Finally the launches started… taking 45 minutes to get all the enduro guys out into the field.
Most of the trail riders just watched, though a few were queued up at the start area to get a jump on things. Lots of kids on smaller bikes with their parents!
Half way through was a gas stop. Anyone who couldn’t make the whole loop in one tank put their jerry cans on a large trailer… and while the riders were making their way through the first section the trailer was towed to the gas stop for them. I should have been able to ride the whole day on one tank but:
a) the gas station I normally use didn’t open until 10 on Sundays… so I was still riding on the same tank that brought me from Toronto
b) I had also sprung a leak: one of my 2 fuel lines was dripping gas fairly quickly. Every time I pulled over I fiddled with it to make it stop… but as soon as I started the bike up again the vibration would cause the leak to come back.
But, since I’m street-legal… I just rode to the gas station while the others used their jerry cans 🙂
Then we were off again:
I think I only fell off once in the first loop… but 3 more times in the second stage (I was getting tired)… but finally bikes started to cross the finish line:
…the same time as the local fire department fired up their grills and started to offer burgers and hot dogs!
Not long after I parked some strangers popped out of the forest as well: a group of horse riders must have been dodging bikes all day.. and ended up coming out at the finish line. After thinking about it for a sec they crossed under the same canopy where the enduro riders checked in… to great applause from the huge lineup at the BBQ 🙂
Finally, here’s some YouTube footage of the event from my camera and helmetcam:
I had a great time… though I was tired and sore by the time I rolled back into Toronto around 5pm. I can’t wait until next year! Since the enduro portion is nothing too serious… maybe I’ll give it a go!