Trying something new
Darcy Grimes | Published on 5/8/2022
You are never too old to try something new. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.
Last year a fellow Sorella was telling me all about this type of mountain bike race called an Enduro. I had never tried one before but they sounded interesting. This type of race typically has 4-5 timed stages that are usually downhill. Between each stage you have a “transfer section” that is not timed and you have the option to pedal or push your bike (depending on what you prefer!). Your time score in an enduro is not based on your overall time or transfer times but instead ONLY your downhill timed stages. So in reality you could take 4 hours or 2 hours to complete and all that would matter is how fast you went on the timed stages.
After hearing all about this type of race I thought hm… maybe I should try one. So I started planning and researching which race would be a good first race for me. I came across one in Cherokee, NC called Fire Mountain Inferno. I had previously competed in the cross country race that is held on Sunday of the same weekend as the enduro. So, I chose that one and thought why not?
I’m so glad I did! It was the perfect first enduro for me! This race had 4 stages and you could complete them in any order as long as you completed them in the 5 hour limit. Everyone at this race was so nice and willing to answer all my questions. I ended up finding a friend and we rode together which helped me feel more comfortable trying something new. It was hot. It was hard. It was fun and I had a blast!
In the end I came in 4th out of 10 for the women sport category. I was pumped to just have tried something new, let alone to finish just shy of the podium! It was a perfect day and I will totally be doing another enduro in the future!