October 17, 2010 Monster Buck NEOC HS

Hello all,

Its been awhile and boy have we been busy. I am reporting on the N.E.O.C. hare scramble in Cedarville, NJ. Cedarville isnt but 25 minutes away and my 12 year old son who has been doing well racing the E.C.E.A. hare scrambles want to race the NEOC on the off weekend. We took a ride over there on Saturday and after witnessing the organization of the promoters and staff not to mention the really good track they had layed out. I could not resist but to race the main the next day. It has been a while since racing a hare scramble, but we just went it to it looking to have fun and looking for a change of pace from Enduro competition. We lined up at a little before 1 p.m. and we were flagged to start at 1p.m. sharp on the dot, are these guys organized or what. When lining up I noticed only 5 guys counting me so I knew had I not gotten a great start, at worst I would be 5th. The 4 stroke just doesnt seem to want to fire quick enough, and we didnt have time to work on it or sort it out. So I wasnt too surprised when I entered the woods in 5th and went to work. I was in the lead by the end of lap 1 somewht pretty easily and was having fun on the course that seemed to have some really good black dirt mixed in with some tree roots and tight woods. I lead for 3 more laps and was caught by old friend Ryan Rodgers who is doing well in NEOC and Endurocross competition these days. I actually pulled over a bit and let him by because up until this point I was kind of confused on what a good pace was, since I havent ridden a hs in a while. I then followed Ryan for a lap into the pits, and was informed by my pits that there were 3 laps left. Leaving the pits I knew that this was 2 laps too many:). So I just rtyed to keep pace but began to tire and was caught by young up and comer Jesse Groem with 2 laps to go. When I started to fatigue and cramp, I was dissappointed but hung inthere and fininshed 3 rd overall about a minute back fro the two leaders. After the race I was extremely excited of how much fun the race was. I was definately giving some thought to doing more Hare Scrambles next year for a new change to the same old Enduro races. I was pumped and remotivated to train a little harder and differently for a hs format for next year, plus use it to my advantage for the upcoming ECEA Enduros and the ECEA final hs round. By the way my son bumped up a class (big wheel 85) and after a midpack start finished first. Watching Ryder ride and the enjoyment I get out of having fun and the moments we share racing together by far out weigh anything I have done to this point. Until next time keep it twisted, Rich

Foggy Mt. ECEA Enduro 7/18/10- 1st overall

The Foggy Mt. Breakdown Enduro takes place in Blain, Pa., about a half hour out of Carlisle, in Amish country. The terrain is very rocky to say the least, with plenty of roots and just about perfect soil. Temps were in the high 80s to low 90s.

The club set up a great enduro, 75 miles with 6 special test sections throughout ranging from 3-6 miles in legnth. I was really pumped to ride my bike come Sunday morning. I always enjoy this race and even though this year was on the easier side, it was still a great day of riding. I just kept focused on riding and let everything else just fall into place. My KTM 400 worked awesome once again and my Factory Connection Suspension was truly working well, giving me confidence over the rocky conditions. I was fortunate enough again to ride well and score another Overall Win. I now have a bit of momentum going, but will continue to work my program and just take it one race at a time. I am really looking forward to the next round in Cross Forks, Pa, this coming weekend.

Southern Tier / ECEA Enduro 7-11-10 1st overall

I always look forward to the Southern Tier Enduro in Fasset, Pa. The club does an awesome job with the layout of the course and this year was no different. They layed out over 65 miles with 6 special tests ranging from 3-8 miles long. The terrain is hilly with root and clay base, mixed in with some loam here and there, with some slate rock. If it rains, it is definately a true enduro test. The conditions this year were nearly perfect with some 2 inches of much needed rain on Friday evening leading up to the race. The temps were in the 80s most of the day.
After a disappointing morning loop I was poised and ready to find my pace in the afternoon after the half way Gas Available. Which I did dropping a 3 in the famous mogel section as I call it, wich is my favorite. Its loamy black soil trail, litterd with roots and there is not a flat peice of ground to be found. The next two tests I zeroed being the only one to zero the last test of the day. I felt really strong and was happy with the way I rode in the afternoon. I would attribute most of it to my Canyon Motorsports supported KTM 400 XCW. I love that bike, cause it is so much fun to ride. This race is a good 300 miles from home, but is definately worth the trip.
I am pumped on my win and cant wait until the next round in Pa at the Foggy Mt. Enduro.

Top 5 overall.1 Rich Lafferty
2 Andrew DeLong
3 Jeff Melik
4 Jeff Pasqua
5 Chase Compton

Reading Off Road Riders Enduro 5-30-10 1st overall

Race is usually very rocky and technical, and this year was no different in that department. However, they ran into some land issues the week prior to the event and ended up running a 30 plus mile loop twice. The loop consisted of 3 test sections with some fairly rocky tight technical terrain. The first one right out of the start area being the most technical due to being on the tight side plus with a 20mph speed average. It was only some 3 plus miles. The first time through I felt I rode ok and dropped 2 minutes. Then the next two tests were between 5-7 miles in length. Both started out with a speed average of 20 mph and we got late of course but then they dropped the speed average to 18 mph and I was able to make up some time and zero both of them both times through. I was able to knock a point off the first test after the gas and drop a 1 which left me with a score of 3 on the day. This was a bit surprising to me because we usually have alot bigger scores for this event. Even more surprising was that next closest score was a 7 carded by good friend Jeff Pasqua. This is definately a great start to the summer events and I was definately pumped afterward. The homework I did in preparing came in handy for sure, because my suspension set up worked great, thanks to all the folks at Factory Connection. Riding fast in Pennsylvania rocks is no easy task, bike set up is crucial and besides great suspension being needed, traction is also an issue, but not for me this day, because my Kendas were hooking up. Thanks to the rest of my sponsors support it made the race seem easy and my pit crew Ryder, Merle, and Shorty were also a big help. Looking forward to the next enduro round in a few weeks.