Starting in the SATCO logging attachments yard in central Tokoroa at 5pm on Friday will be the event ’ s arena-style Prologue , with riders tackling a man-made course to determine qualification and their starting positions in the Kinleith Forest the following day . “ The riders can expect two days of hard riding on Saturday and Sunday that will push them to their limits ,” said Clarke . There is a grade for riders of all abilities , riders nominating themselves as either Iron class , Bronze , Silver or Gold . “ In the Iron class , riders can expect the most rider-friendly terrain , with plenty of bulldozed tracks and some gravel roads to by-pass them around the more technical aspects ,” said Clarke .
“ The Bronze class riders will enjoy riding the tracks too , as we create a reasonably challenging , but not impossible , course that will include a few log crossings and a handful of steep down-hills . “ The Silver class riders get a lot more up-hills than the Bronze class and each day they will face a couple of really tricky sections too , just to keep them honest . “ The Silver class course includes a section called the “ Silver Test ” and this is there so the riders can ask themselves at the end of it , ‘ am I in the right class or should I actually have entered Bronze ?’ “ The Gold class is pretty much as hard as we can get it , with a lot of technical ups and downs ,” said Clarke . “ Last year I thought we had reached the limit for Gold , so this year it will probably be about the same , but no harder . At the end of the day , it will not quite be as hard as Silver at the Romaniacs .” Finally , when the bike engines are switched off , or the riders cry “ enough ”, late on Sunday afternoon ( October 22 ), the “ last man standing ” will have earned every accolade that could be heaped . Last year it was Thames rider Chris Birch who was that last man standing . Birch won the
Taranaki teenager Sam Parker ( Husqvarna ), is among the leading contenders to win the Husqvarna Hard Adventure Enduro near Tokoroa over Labour Weekend
KIWI RIDER 15