Thinking of Riding Enduros – A Beginners Guide
1. What is Enduro?
An enduro is similar to a car rally on motorcycles but is mostly over very rough terrain. Enduro riding takes several forms with the original format being Time Card events. However, nowadays the majority of events are either Hare and Hounds or Cross Country. Other types include Extreme and Sprint and All Terrain Rallies. This article primarily focuses on Time Card and H&H Events.
2. Classes
There are classes for all abilities of riders. If you are new to sport and have not done much off-road riding, you would normally enter the beginners, novice, or sportsman class. As you get used to the sport, you can progress to Clubman, Expert and finally Championship. There are also various classes for veteran riders who are over 40 and over 50. Some events include a Ladies Class and a Youth Class. For 2024, a youth rider can now enter certain timecard events from the age of 14. For youth riders there are restrictions on machine capacity, plus the event must be on private ground and the route must not include public roads or byways. If you already ride Motocross, check out the event entry requirements to see what class you should ride in. For example, some local centre events require MX Expert Riders to ride in the Championship Class and top MX Juniors to ride Expert. This guidance does not apply to British Championship Gradings.
3. Time Card enduros
A time card enduro is generally an off road event held over rough terrain. A lap of the course can vary considerably in length. However, most events are under a 20 mile lap. The number of laps completed will be based on the riding ability of the class you have entered. If it is an event with a lap of 15 to 20 miles or less, there may only be one Time Control in the start finish area. However, some events have a number of time-controls each lap.
3.1 Riding Number and Time Schedule
From the event programme or list of riders you can find out your riding number and start time. The programmed time you have between time controls are the ‘check times’. These may be emailed to you via Sport80 the day before the event, posted on a Club Facebook page or available on a notice board at the event sign-on.