The first Fluidride Cup Enduro DH is now history, and racers are still smiling thinking about the epic singletrack they played on throughout the weekend. Fluidride Enduro DH races are part DH and part Super D – think Super D without the climbing, and Downhill without super technical cruxes. Dog River served up a perfect course for this type of racing, with a 12 plus minute single track run with less than 30 seconds of climbing. While technical skills were necessary, strong legs and lungs proved an equal part of the winning formula in all categories.

Friday’s practice was super fun, with riders rallying tons of long runs together under mostly sunny skies. Saturday’s race was interesting in all categories, especially in the Pro Men’s Category which saw Aaron Bradford (On Site/Ultrasound/Specialized) take a good lead over race favorites Nathan Riddle and Mathew Slaven by more than 12 seconds. Aaron was the only rider to break the ultra fast 12 minute mark on day one. In the Loeka Women’s Pro Downhill, Dawn Fidler (Speedy Beavers) took an early lead over the rest of the Pro Women’s field by breaking the 14 minute barrier with a very fast 13:50.

Sunday’s Race was very exciting, especially for the Pro Men. Nathan Riddle (SRAM/Rockstar/Fluidride) put on a show for the other riders setting a new course record of 11:46 to take the overall win. Aaron Bradford was a close second after a less than perfect day two, having made a few mistakes on his run. Matthew Slaven (Kona/Easton/Dakine) was third with super fast and consistent runs over both days of racing. Jarred Hobbs and teammate Jesse Jackson (both River City/Fox/Oakley/Viso/Specialized) rounded out the top five in the 13 rider Pro field. Dawn Fidler once again set the fastest time in the Loeka Women’s DH, taking the day and the overall over teammate Cassandra Stamm.

Men’s Category 1 30-39 racer Eirik Shulz summed up the way many riders felt about the weekend in an email saying “Well that was about the best weekend of racing I can remember!” Enduro DH racing is fast, fun and challenging. We’ll hope to see you all at race #2 in September on Mt Hood for more good times. Full results Here: Fluidride Enduro 1

Check out the Maxxis Post Race Video Wrap Up…

Want to ride the track? Take a pre race ride along with Fludride’s Simon Lawton

Fluidride Cup Enduro DH Round 1, 2010 – Dog River, OR from Fluidride on Vimeo.

A quick update. Registration starts on site Friday from 1-6pm and on Saturday from 8am-12:30. We still have spots open, so come on out, and we’ll get you registered. Check out the weather here.  Here’s some footage of Dog River. This was shot 4.27.10.The dirt is epic right now! Simon Lawton rides the trail aboard his Evil Sovereign Hard Tail…5.2 miles…2200 vertical feet…

Fluidride Cup Enduro DH Round 1, 2010 – Dog River, OR from Fluidride on Vimeo.

I made the trek to Dog River yesterday and shoveled the last of the snow from the top of the trail with Petr from Hurricane Racing. The trail is in perfect shape…no snow…no mud…just dry east side pine needles with epic dirt. I managed to squeeze in two runs after working before the sun set, and had an amazing  time. The run is about 15 minutes long with about 50 feet of cumulative climbing, and 2200′ of descending over 5.2 miles. There is tons of amazing river side camping nearby to the trail, so grab your tent if you don’t have a room! We’ll practicing Saturday morning, and racing Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. We are using the same trail for both race runs, with the winner being the rider with the fastest cumulative time over both days. I got headcam footage of the track, and will post that up tonight. Going to be a great weekend! Thanks to all our sponsors: Evil Bikes, Cliff Bar, Big Tree Bikes, Fat Tire Farms, Maxxis Tires, Arrow Racing, Brashers Auto Auction, Loeka, Pinkbike, and Better Life Fitness for helping make this years’ racing a reality.

TRAFFIC HEADS UP for Seattle drivers: There is construction on I-5 in Tacoma which is closing some lanes from Friday at 7pm – Saturday at 11am. Be sure to head out a bit early to make up for possible delays. I made it there in 4 hours yesterday.

See you this weekend!

-Simon

We’ve updated a bunch of info about the Fluidride Cup Enduro DH and Fluidride Cup Technical DH series, including the recent addition of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park in the schedule. Check it out here!

Hello Riders! We’ve added some more information to the “Series Info” page on the site. We are really looking forward to kicking off the Fluidride Cup Enduro DH Series the first weekend of May near Hood River Oregon, and getting the Fluidride Cup Technical DH Series started with a brand new venue at Whistler Bike Park the last weekend in May! More info here.