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Hare And Hounds


wiltshire_boy
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Generally a 3 hour cross country race taking in all sorts of terrain with a lap that can be between 3 and 15 miles, depending where it is.

Bikes can be enduro, motocross, trail and if you're daft enough, a normal trials bike but not recommended, for either rider or bike. Once saw someone competing on a GasGas TXT...... why......??

Classes are for 4-stroke, 2-stroke up to 175cc and over 175cc, over 40, expert, clubman, novice, trail, essentially something for anyone. Principle is simple - Go tear-arsing off the start line grouped in your individual classes, race for the full 3 hours and whoever comes in first wins overall and whoever comes in first in class wins their class.

They are truly great fun and a great challenge, physically and technically and when you've finished you know you've done an event - especially by Tuesday.

Enduros are different in that you race against the clock as opposed to racing directly with other riders. You set off in groups of three or four, every minute. Course may consists of say 4 stages and you are given so long to complete each stage. If you are late reaching a stage it will cost you a tiime penalty. Somewhere around the course will also be a special test where you are timed over a short section. These are usually about 5 to 10 minutes long and are used to sort out a winner. Your time is denoted in seconds. If you have kept on time in the stages and not incurred time penalties you are 'clean' on time overall. If more than one rider is clean on time the winner is whoever had the fastest special test time. If you have incurred time penalties on the stages, this time is added to your special test time.

You are supposed to use enduro or trail bikes only for these events but in recent years motocross bikes have been allowed too.

That is a pretty high level description but it should give you an idea. I'm riding in the Wirrall Hare and Hounds on Sunday and can't wait. A 30 minute lap over some superb terrain is promised so should be excellent event.

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I've been to a couple of enduros where at trials bike would've been the perfect choice! No idea how some of those guys got 'round on 525EXCs and the like.

Hare and Hounds = long course motocross. Best description that I can think of!

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You may be interested to know that the original Hare & Hounds was born in the USA and the idea at that time, was for a Hare to take off ahead of the Hounds ( the rest of the riders) - The hare would leave a trail (usually in the desert) of dye which he dropped at various intervals - the first guy to catch the hare won the race - I should add that the hare was usually a fast guy and the hounds sometimes numbered in the hundreds. - The modern day event is like one guy already said a long Moto X

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Definitely won't be for you if you're thinking of doing one on a trials bike, but, borrow a 200 KTM to do one on and you find yourself hooked.

Saying they are a long motocross is oversimplifying it a bit. Tue, it is a race directly against other riders, but the course is nothing like a motocross track. Part of it may include a motocross track if there is one on the land used but it will make up about 5% of the overall course.

The rest of the track can involve forest tracks, tight woodland tracks, streams, bogs, open fields, rocks, etc etc. You have to read the land a lot more than a motocross track and pick lines - this is why trials riders adapt pretty well as they are used to reading sections and picking a line.

If it is Chiltern Hills club you are talking about I have heard they put on pretty good events. If you're not riding a trial go and have a look and you can see what it's all about

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Whether its suitable for a trials bike depends on the event!!!

I rode Enduros for a few years and often entered Hare and Hound events near Bristol that were organised by North Somerset MCC.

These were usually won by North Somerset club members who entered on trials bikes because the woodland courses was so tight, anyone on an enduro bike struggled!!!! They still run "time and observation" trials, which if you fancy somthing a bit different, is worth a try.

Martin

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Thanks again guys. My local club is West Wilts and they are more schoolboy based but have a couple of adult trials and some Hare and Hounds too so i was wondering if i was missing out somewhere along the line.

Think i'll wait until i've done a couple of novice events before i think about getting racey though :rolleyes:

Thanks for the club mentions though, i need to join a couple i reckon and they sound locallish.

Roy :(

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What age do you have to be to participate in a Hare and Hounds. A mate of mine has a trail bike and is allways bragging about his abilities, could he enter at the age of 15 and then we could all laugh at him?

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