Motomari´s First Enduro Experience: That Was Tough!

During the past season, in addition to a solo motorcycle trip in Romania, I engaged in several events that were entirely new and far outside my comfort zone. One autumn day, for example, I found myself at the starting line of my very first enduro race! I don’t know what I was thinking?!

At some point last season, I came across an event on Facebook – an enduro competition promoted as having a very gentle track and being very friendly to beginners. Well, if it’s that gentle, why not give it a try? The whole summer went by with me riding Mürru (Mürru is the name of my Yamaha WR250F) only in competitions; I never had the chance to simply ride it for training and practice. Since Tuljo also had sidecar races in the Tartu region on the same weekend, that’s how it went – I signed up. Two birds with one stone in one weekend! Great! I have to gain experience somehow and learn to ride.

Was it really for beginners?

When we arrived at the competition venue on that Friday evening, we were all alone! Motocross events are usually a big gathering the night before the race, but we got to enjoy an empty field 😀 We hoped that since it was for beginners, someone would show up by the morning.

And they did! There were familiar faces and names, people who definitely didn’t come to experience their first race. And when I went to inspect the track in daylight, I was astonished! It was the playground of the Mäksa collective off-road motorsport club – brutal ascents, descents, rails, and mud holes. As a beginner, I looked at some of the uphill sections with a face that said, “There’s no way to ride up from this wall!” I don’t know how, I can’t, and do I even want to? Such a thing should be tried during training, not on the battlefield with others. I was terrified!

However, my son, who had just pushed himself up a hill with his electric balance bike using his legs and the motor, changed my mind. The three-year-old scolded me for not being able to go up a hill. “See, I did it!” Even if it was just the incline leading to the parking lot, it was still a challenge for a little person. His scolding made me think – I couldn’t give up in front of my three kids! What kind of example would I be then? At least I have to try, and even if I can’t complete a single lap, I tried!

It was awesome that, in addition to a mother like me, two other mothers had come to compete. Together we discussed a particularly tough descent and begged the organizer to let us skip it. The track profile was rather slow, with constant ups and downs inside a large bowl. This one descent was narrow, extremely steep, muddy, rocky, and full of roots, which luckily we were allowed to skip.

I just pushed myself with raw power

When I went to the start line, I was really nervous – I had never started in a crowd like this in my life! Eventually, we all got moving, and somehow, probably with some raw power, I pushed through that first lap! And even from that wall, I managed to climb up on the first attempt! A completely new experience of how some ascents can be so steep that it’s difficult to hold onto the handlebars.

Even a few laps were completed, and logic started to form in choosing the trajectory and behavior, my breathing calmed a bit. However, dealing with so many people on such a small track was incredibly challenging. So, I often waited for a long time before that brutal uphill, ensuring that the track was clear from both the front and the riders coming from behind. But I still got my hit! One brave soul seemed to lose control on the uphill, and when I reached the mountaintop with a light jump, that biker crashed into me with quite a loud bang, and I flew into the bushes. It was pretty painful!

“Huh, just breathe!”

After that, I took a break and breathed calmly, hoping that maybe the chaos would soon subside. Another fellow competitor, who had come there to test his skills on a Yamaha Tenere, just climbed out of the bushes and complained that it was getting crowded with all these pushy riders.

After a while, I gathered myself and resumed the ride. I hadn’t even completed half a lap when another rider collided with me. Following my trajectory and skimming past a mud hole along the sandy shore, I suddenly found myself sideways in the sand with a big Tenere (there was another Tenere in the race) and its rider on top of me. Wow! How did you get here? The handlebar end was stuck in the sand, and my fingers were trapped between the clutch lever. The Tenere rider then tried to pull the bike off me, but it fell back several times before I could free my fingers! Next on the shopping list: handguards!

My heart was pounding from the struggle. I managed to pull myself out of the sand and took a breath by the side of the track. I was so damn offended by my fellow competitors! Is this crazy tugging and ramming a part of enduro? Or is the track too narrow for this crowd? I refuse to believe that in such a combined race, people are so audacious and careless, not thinking a few meters ahead about their ride or trajectory. Falls happen, but all this pushing, shoving, mud-slinging, and rubbing were too much for me. I finished that lap and was convinced that I would not return to the track.

I gained so much from this experience

I calmed down a bit again and observed the game – in the second half of the race, the chaos and my offense started to dissipate. After all, I had come to the “boys’ playground”, and probably there’s no place for hurt feelings in this world. Fortunately, it seemed that a large number of riders had disappeared from the track, and I continued riding to gain more experience. This time, there was much more space, the mood improved significantly, and I even managed to get my first finish flag! The joy of self-overcoming was immense!

As for the result, none of us women probably know, because there was no electronic timing, and it felt doubtful that the laps were meticulously counted. However, I gained tons of experience! And on training moments (even though I never actually managed to train :D), I surely wouldn’t have pushed myself this way – I overcame a lot of fears with this ride.

Would I want to do it again? Not entirely sure. Maybe, because now I have the experience and know what to expect. Certainly, I need to elevate my riding skills from a beginner to the next level, but as they say, one race equals 10 workouts. For some future rides, I will definitely choose a race venue where the track is longer and there is more space for riders. Until the next similar experiences, my heart is still more inclined towards moto-orienteering and road book rallies. But still, cheers to motorsport and motorcycles! 😊