China Hat ISDE

Lobos www.lobosmc.com put on their annual China Hat ISDE last weekend out of Camp 2510 in central Oregon (familiar to many who were there for the Cafe Husky gathering last fall). Conditions were almost perfect although turnout was a bit below the 350 rider limit (between the economy and gas prices it is tough for people to get to the races)

Unfortunately I only got to ride for 40 minutes. After arriving at the first checkpoint at the China Hat ISDE yesterday with 5 minutes to spare for rest, I charged off with a bit too much enthusiasm (or not enough brains) on the first special test and blew a left hander about 1/2 mile in.. missed the big tree, missed the little tree, hit the small log and was catapulted into the 2 foot diameter rock. Someone helped me pull the bike out of the shrubs and I rode it back to the checkpoint where the crew took care of me and hauled me back to camp an hour later (great volunteers, yay)


Just got back from the doctor; verdict is 2 cracked bones in wrist, splint 4-5 days until swelling subsides and then cast on it.


TXC 511 was working great and it survived with little damage. Looks like a flat front tire and tweaked triple clamps. Nothing appears bent.


It was great fun while it lasted; perfect conditions (except for the longer stretches of snow) and great weather. Lobos did a great job running the event ... almost up to ETRA standards :-)
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Wondered how that race went off with the low snow still there. Sorry to hear about your mishap.

Thanks Kelly. We did manage to spend most of the time in the trees with only a few miles of snow patches. I was about 50 degrees and had rained on Saturday so the ground was perfect.
I kept thinking...this bike makes riding easy, even in the snow .... so much better than my old CRF450X. Suspension was great even on looooong whoops sections and there were many opportunities to test that :-) Man I love this bike.

Me too and so does everyone who has tried it.