So, I swallowed a tough pill yesterday and had to pull out of the Romaniacs Rallye. Basically, the level of the Pro class has elevated above my skill level and unless I’m at the top of my game, I’m not able to even get through the pro sections. This with a perfect bike, the new 2010 Husaberg 390. I really think the level of riding that the top guys in the Extreme Enduro world (read: heavy trials influence) has elevated so much that these races need to challenge those riders. And in order to do that the courses have to be so difficult that only a very few are able to clean sections without outside assistance, or help from other riders.
Well, I’m older, slower and just trying to make it through this race and after the third pro section yesterday, where it took over 30 minutes and the help of two locals to get my bike all of ten feet higher up a trail (if you can call a rock cliff that!) I was physically exhausted, not to mention I’m not in the best overall physical condition right now and I had to, yes it hurts to say it, quit.
Add to that a nice flip into a ditch, smashing my GPS, getting a few bruises, I’m starting to sound like a fully wound up excuse-a-tron….
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OK, so luckily some of the pit support people, especially Sandy and her South African crew, nursed me back to health and I finished out the day riding the expert lines actually hooking up with Team America, Chris Denison and Alexander Smith. Besides, I had to go, Malclom Smith said I was a sissy if I didn’t ride it out and you can’t argue with that.
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So I finished the day out and realized that I was pretty much destroyed. This prompted me to take the role of Jouranlist for the day and hook up with some of the live bloggers for the Red Bull Romaniacs. These crazy guys, Cartsten (www.enduroblog.de) and Martin (the press guy from Erzberg Rodeo) pack cameras, laptops and some crazy communication devices in their backpacks, ride to all the coolest spots and upload little newsy bits from the track during the event. (This can be found under the live tracking section on the home page at http://www.redbullromaiacs.com/)  I got a great look at a lot of the sights in Central Romania, caught a couple of killer sections of trail and recovered a bit from the previous day of torture.
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So I’m going to keep on being a journalist, riding my Husaberg 390 for further testing and trying to ride as much trail as my body will allow. But if there is one thing I’m learning about this event and this country; if you want to ride Hard Enduro trails and get more than you can imagine, the Romaniacs if for you. I wish I could get more of it (but then again I’m not out on the course riding it all day long!)
Keep checking the results for Team America in the Expert Team category and I’ll try to keep you updated on the stuff going on. I might even be a “Live Blogger” by tomorrow.
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JIMMY
