| 2009 Season |
| Prophetstown, Illinois April 5, 2009 Photographs copyrighted by John Gasso |
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| Byron, Illinois May 31, 2009 Photo Credit : Andrew Hogarty |
| Zwingle, Iowa October 18, 2009 Photo Credit: Steve Millsap |
| International Six Days Enduro ("ISDE") Qualifier Park Hills, Missouri April 18, 2009 Photo Credit: Camden Photography |
| White City, Illinois September 20, 2009 Photo Credit: Jeff Henderson |
| White City was a mudder in September. I didn't help myself by bringing a motorcycle with a rear tire with well rounded knobs. This was one of the tougher races of the year. These shots were taken near the Illinois 138 bridge over Cahokia Creek, which we used to cross under the highway to get back and forth from the woods on either side of the road. |
| Prophetstown is a great place to start the racing season. Plenty of sandy soil that sheds water quickly. |
| Here's where I finally grew a pair and started doing the doubles. |
| One of the highlights of Zwingle is its EnduroCross course. Here's a set of logs which can either be ridden as I did, or you can ride across the raised planks and avoid the logs. |
| Bit of a problem on the second lap...took me 3 tries to climb this hill. |
| This guy helped me, despite my steady stream of colorful metaphors directed at the bike (and myself). After dragging my almost-new KTM 300XC down the hill, it was officially broken in. |
| The first time up this hill, I tried the lesser used path in an effort to pass the guy in the foreground. Turns out this wasn't the fastest way up the hill, which is why I followed his line the next time around. Obviously, he executed the climb a little better than me. |
| Here's the start of a very long race. |
| Early in the race was a tough obstacle called "The Wall." I did ok here, but had some problems on the next lap. Linda Fuerst snapped a photo at the top, making me look pretty relaxed. Believe me, I wasn't. |
| The Walters Ranch is a beautiful property in Southwest Missouri. We are lucky to ride here, and even more fortunate that guys like Jon "Spud" Simons are willing to dedicate their time and efforts into organizing a first class endurance race on this land. |
| My Kawasaki KX250 remains one of the best bikes I've ever raced. With the suspension tuned for off-road riding, some flywheel weight and a larger fuel tank, this bike is as good as any in the woods. The only significant mechanical issue I had with the bike was a worn clutch basket. |
| The waterfall section of the Leadbelt Enduro is the most treacherous area of the course, and the most photographed. Although not as waterlogged as 2006, the 2009 enduro was still pretty wet. This year's event was a 2-day qualifier for the International Six Days Enduro. One day was more than enough for me. |
| Matt Sellers gives it a try (click on photos for full-sized view) |
| The Miller's were on hand to catch us in action. Tim and Melanie have been documenting the Missouri off-road scene for several years now, and their work is excellent. Best of all, you can view the photos immediately on computer monitors inside the Miller's enclosed trailer. Here are a few shots mostly of the "VW" section. I can only imagine it was named for the rocks, some of which were about the size of a Volkswagen. |
| Glasford, Illinois July 26th and August 9th, 2009 Photo Credit: Stan Redell |
