Homemade Endurocross Track
September 22, 2017
in
Stories
Over the past few weeks, I've had endurocross fever, and with some time off from work, I began construction of an endurocross track on our farm.
While I was constructing my own, the National Endurocross event (partially sponsored by Kenda Tires) happened to be stopping in nearby Denver. Over 8 days, the track construction began, and I was able to see awesome racing and gain inspiration from their build for my own.
The Parker Endurocross Track
Amidst a career change, I had nothing else on my mind except building a track. We have land that won't grow anything; it's the perfect place to put a track without requiring digging or major landscaping. All I really needed to do was relocate some natural obstacles from areas on the farm to the new course location.
A creek bottom rested near my designated track area, so I decided to cut a small crossing on the bottom to gain access for our anciety Ford front-end tractor. Once this was complete, I used our ATV to create a trail for the endurocross obstacles. After an hour, the path began to form. I built a jump for Joey using tilled dirt and the front-loader Ford; he loves getting air with his Maxxis motorcycle tires. I added a wood pile shortly after the jump, knowing Joey would enjoy the challenge.
As I was finishing, Joey and Jennifer arrived. Joey hopped on his bike for an hour-long test run ending in rave reviews. He gave me a few tips for track improvement, siting that he preferred to ride it counterclockwise. We're excited to practice our endurocross skills on a track of our own.
Endurocross Denver
On October 6, my family attended the Endurocross event in Denver. Mike Brown and Geoff Aaron were scheduled to be participating in this AMA national event, but Taddy Blazuiak ran away with the victory in the main event.
Taylor Robert caught my eye aboard his Monster Energy Kawasaki. He was the Endurocross Junior Champion in 2011; this is his first season in the tip EX class. He finished second in Denver and is second in points for the series. I thought he might be able to challenge Blazuiak in the main event, but Blazuiak was too fast for Robert to keep pace. He finished well ahead of the third place rider, Mike Brown and his KTM, though.
The EX show at the National Western Complex in Denver provides an opportunity to see some great racing. My riding buddy, Mike, suggested that some of the race obstacles appeared to be easier than what we encounter regularly in the offroad terrain of Colorado. We're considering forming a race team for an EX event in the coming years to put our prowess to the test.
After the event, I had crazy thoughts for improving our track. The pro track layout inspired me, but I realize that I will probably always want to change things. Looks like I've created a forever work-in-progress!