B
ack for its second year, the Husqvarna
Hard X is, as the name suggests, a hard
cross-country that is designed to give
riders a taste of what the three day Husqvarna
Hard Adventure Enduro has in store – but in
a more accessible and compact format.
The start was a little different than the
standard Le Mans-style start we usually
have at a cross country event. So, with riders
standing in front of their bikes holding onto
the handlebars... with a dead engine... it
was definitely going to be entertaining for
both riders... and spectators. We formed
up in three lines – with Gold-class riders
at the front, followed by the Silver riders
and Bronze bringing up the rear.
At the go of the car horn (there was talk
at briefing that it was going to be a ‘slam of
the port-a-loo door’ false-start like at the
Six-Hour back in the early 2000s...) we were
off. I fumbled my way around onto the bike
102 KIWI RIDER
and headed off. Due to my very average
start, the first half of lap one was basically
a follow-the-leader trail until it opened up
enough for some passing opportunities.
The four hour race included some of the best
trails in NZ, with a great mixture of single trail,
fire breaks... and a few hard bits thrown in for
fun, but nothing that even the less experienced
riders couldn’t find their way around. Some of
the obstacles had sneaky bypass lines – you just
needed to keep an eye out and look ahead to
find the easier lines. This is something that I’m
always searching for on the trails most of the
time. While they may not be the fastest of lines
to start with, however, when the tracks start
to get gnarly this saves a lot of wasted energy
that could be used towards getting through to
the end, ultimately making for a faster time.
The second lap had a small change to the track
to lengthen it and keep things interesting. There
was another change to things for the third lap