365 Guest Column With Nick Fahringer
We are happy to welcome Nick Fahringer as a regular contributor to our expanding coverage of off-road and adventure life. Nick has been a friend of RideX365 dating back to his days with the Air Group Husqvarna team on the National Enduro tour and we’ve always admired his maverick approach to racing and ability to often work in some side fun while traveling the country and carrying the torch for van life. Over the years we’ve been able to work together on a sweet snow bike shoot in Montana and link up for some impromptu mountain biking near his home outside of Dayton, Ohio.
The last couple seasons, Nick has taken on more responsibility with his family’s business, Cycle Electric Inc., and has shifted his two-wheel focus towards hard enduro, which is quickly becoming one of the more popular segments of off-road in the U.S. and globally.
Sticks & Stones
The fourth edition of the Stix & Stones hard enduro in Kellogg, Idaho attracted me to sign up as I have backed off the national enduro pursuit in favor of the growing hard enduro scene, where my passion still churns deep. Racing ski mountain terrain is always a treat, and the unlimited potential for hard enduro makes this event a no brained coupled with the scenery, weather, and all around good vibes.
The 2000 miles journey called for a week off work to make the trek and get some mountain acclimation under my belt. I set off in the Sprinter van loaded with fun and Ava, our chill but fun boxer mutt. A day and a half later I was arriving to Sturgis, South Dakota in time to loosen up on a mountain bike ride and nab a camp site for some grilling and snoozing. I caught up with friends in Billings, Montana Monday afternoon for my introduction to the BMMC and climbed some hills! I was then led into and through some gnarly mountain trails between Billings and Bozeman.
I hated to leave for the race, but I can’t stray from race day plans. I arrived to Kellogg a day early to check out the mountain via the lifts and mountain bikes to find opening day was the next day. So, I sat in the rain with Ava in the parking lot preparing bikes and gear. We picked up my fiance’ Ashley from the airport Friday and took a family venture into the forest for some hiking and riding before setting up at the race.
First thing Saturday morning I joined the 500 entrants in the parade up the mountain to where we would stage for starting. Once the amateur race ran its course, we were funneled into a start chute for a qualifying hot lap on a fast and rugged XC loop of around 15 miles long. I didn’t get staged until the fourth row of ten, and I was dreading the uphill start. It was seemingly one mile long scaling 2000’ with rocks being thrown off the rear tires, while I was on the smallest machine. To my surprise, the Sherco 300F held strong up the mountain and I managed to finish sixth bike around the track and qualified around 5th. I was having a blast.
Everyone was amped on the terrain and the energy of our fellow competitors. Tension increased slightly for the start of sunday, and the parade up the mountain felt a little more solemn. I fueled myself and had my final exchanges with friends and Ashley before rolling to the line. Anticipating the main event’s drag race start bar-to-bar I pulled the insert from my spark arrester and I was pulling the competition up the hill!
Racing was fierce as right from the rip Max Gerston pushed me wide at the top of the mountain while I gave him a wheel back. Once pointed down, eventual winner Keith Curtis passed me in the scrub brush off the trail like he had bonus lives in his tool pack. The trail started out fast yet suddenly branched into fresh side hill terrain then pointed back up into the first bottle neck. I made a few passes here. Thing get fuzzy until a while later I break out into a large open side hill traversing loose shale rock. I could see the lead pack of four in front of me so I leaned back and monster trucked up to the where I wedged up beside Colton Haker. As we each worked on freeing the bikes and got moving, oxygen deficiency must have played a roll because I lost my push for a few moments. Before I knew it another shale hill. This one required some switchback climbs. I again caught Haaker and paced my approach into the one line that looked good. One he was clear I made easy work of tracing up and out of there.
The most talked about obstacle was the creek / waterfall section that most looked at in advance. I prefer to come in blind and let my enduro senses take over than to hike the forest for a day. I scaled the creek’s slick round boulders with logs and old mining debris lodged into the waterway. We climbed for what seemed to be a mile. I had to recompose myself every 30-60 seconds as I went. Grayson Gonzalez was approaching me faster than my breath was collecting. He passed me once out of the creek, continuing on up the climb through a series of rocks and logs. I was maxing my heart rate over 180 bpm every time I would muscle and blip over a series of chunky climb. It was relentless.
Now in 6th, nearing the end, I cleared the spectator enduro cross track and proceeded to the final large shale hill before the finish. Here I spent 20 minutes trying to bomb up before resorting to switchback side hilling my way up, losing another position to Dustin before making my way to the finish. Seventh overall of 14 finishers and 500 some entries. Killer event and overall happy with my performance to have been battling with the front pack in such foreign terrain. I will be stoked to come back next year and be better prepared for this new world of riding.
Tough Like RORR
The Reading Off Road Riders TLR event has fallen on the July 4th weekend every year since its inception five or six years ago. The result is a hot and steamy struggle while all of your less extreme friends are probably intoxicated in a pool or lake somewhere. I have embraced this and now prefer the hardship of extreme enduro over social events.
For the 2019 edition, I am fresh off the stellar trip to Kellogg Idaho’s Stix and Stones hard enduro where I broke in my new Sherco 300F. While most choose the 300 two-stroke for hard enduro, I pay no attention to convention and flip a coin. Thanks to the holiday I was able to sneak away from work a few extra days to get van loaded tight and roll out to eastern Pennsylvania, merely 2500 miles east of the Kellogg event. Ashley and I arrived late Friday night to the coal pit parking lot. I shimmed up the van along an access road where I’ve learned is the only shaded area a person can park. Advantage score +1.
Saturday hosts two motos for each qualifying group. The Pros and ‘A’ riders kicked off a moto at 10am with the heat already building. We had to compete throughout two four mile laps with some technical elements. I had a prototype Kenda tire on back and what seemed to be an ill set shock sag as things were feeling off. I adapted and moved from last on row #3 (30th position) to finish fourth outright. This was a good start to the qualification and main event starting order seeding as the top 10 start on row one amongst all main event rows which start in waves on none-adjusted time.
Rain rolled in between motos. After rolling up to the starting line at the 30 second call I noticed the rains filled a massive low spot in the first corner. At the start of moto two, I went outside behind the pack and got a solid wet sand blasting to begin my charge. The bikes ride was improved due to a minor shock sag adjustment. I was now digging the gummy Kenda tires and the SoPro sprung Sherco fourstroke. I charged through the pack and tried to dice it up with Wade Young a bit for fun. I rode a clean two laps despite the mud and wet rocks on the new loop to again finish fourth from the third row. This qualified me for row on in Sunday’s main.
Ashley and I grilled some steaks and I maintained the bike. We rolled into town to visit with Clay Stuckey, now ex Sherco importer, who has moved onto developing an American made dirt bike. We hashed out some ideas while poaching his hotel shower and ordering in some Italian food before returning to the van life in the pits. Sunday morning came and went in a blur while I prepared my bike, gear and body for the race.
I again rolled up to the starting line with an impressive sense for when the race is starting, missing all shuffling and hustling of the masses (yeah late again). I made sure to spin up a big rut in the coal sand from my poor gate spot to assure a solid slingshot start. With the live engine start, I had that 300F humming for the clutch dump and corner rail. I was in third entering the woods and quickly made a move for second. I followed the leader for a solid minute, all the way up a hill and off the track. Once we caught a bird’s eye of the pack rolling down the ravine below, I dove down to dice my way back into the front. This did allow Wade Young an easy early lead. Once I caught Quin Wentzel I knew I was closer, but I couldn’t settle into pace. I blipped past him on a cobble climb and into the first “element”. The Stairway to Heaven has always been a solid challenge of large planted rocks up the top side of a ridge. This year the rocks seemed to skim underneath me. The next few miles consisted of flowy singletrack that escalated in treachery. At the end of this section I was merely 30 seconds behind Wade. With the intention to step it up I started to make mistakes and saw an increasing deficit throughout the race. As the challenges built, I readjusted my course to survival.
There was a sign atop the rim of a bowl we were to drop into the read something like “pit to hell, go on down, or quit now. Make a right for the truck.” Things got interesting. Once I dropped in there was only one way to go, onward through a ravine littered with chunky boulders with steep walls on either side. I snaked and crawled through this section cautiously to not damage the bike. Nearing the end of the hell pit was a single yet substantial vertical climb out. I had someone, I believe Quin coming up behind me. I faced the large climb and dropped the hammer. I had lost all my speed cresting the top and my rear tire sank into the thick loam. I rolled back and the bike tumbled and flipped back three times. I scrambled to take the base of the hill before the next rider closed in on me. I made another attempt and just barely made the top. For the next two hours I rode alone to only pass the occasional lapped rider.
Several new challenges added into the race this year included some wild side hill bench cuts, some of which were over hidden lakes. There was a wild rock slab creek that had a climb out which saw a bike slide off into a lake. There was a near vertical decent that rode between a sheer rock wall and some other barrier of “do not go here” that had me pushing dirt with a locked front wheel and one heel on the way down. There were dozens of short but steep climbs that had me grinding my teeth at the very top for traction. Then there are the rock gardens. Big rocks, bigger rocks, side hill descending, side hill climbing.
I made a lengthy pit stop mid-way to nourish myself as the effects of the heat and the grueling 17 miles and nearly two hours of racing had begun to wear on me. I felt rejuvenated and soon found the Stairway section had been alternated for a more difficult new section I had never seen, as I avoid track inspection like a speed trap. This section was like what you’d see on TV from Erzberg’s Karl’s Diner. While we had already seen this type of riding on lap one, this was a massive climb that required some switchbacks to work up and over the ridge. I had to poke my way carefully through the slick boulders (it was raining off and on now) to a point before building momentum with some pivot turns and on up. Conquering this was a relief as the rest was just reliving what I had done on lap one, yet on the energy I had left, in the rain.
Tough Like RORR has been a real butt-kicker before. This year was by far more difficult yet the most enjoyable I’ve done in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. My bike set up and physical ability stood up to the challenge and I was able to score a solid second place. I was a bit off the extreme enduro hot shot Wade Young, but I rode stronger here than I have at any hard enduro and really felt like I earned this one. I took a healthy check and began the journey home. The adrenaline got me straight through to home base, eight and a half hours away.
Nick’s Sponsors: Sherco USA, Moose Racing, Kenda Tire, Bell Helmets, SoPro Suspension, G2, Gaerne Boot, 100%, CTi, Nuetech Tubes, XC Gear, Renthal, Bulletproof designs, BRP, Seat Concepts, USWE, COR graphics, Brake Tech / Ferodo, Motion Pro, SXS, Kates Real Food, Task Racing, FahQ, LS Footbeds, Dirt Tricks
