Blue sky and Sunshine. Nothin' but blue sky and sunshine..... and the roar of 300 motorcycles; it was a perfect day at the Sandlapper Enduro held for the 35th year at the Hollow Creek Fire Dept. and consisting of 300 riders, 2 of which were female. This is the South's answer to "What do you do with those tall, tall pines?"
The 32-member Columbia Enduro ran this race to benefit the Ronald McDonald foundation and the Hollow Creek Fire Dept. The race consisted of 60 trail miles spread out over 30 generous landowners, including Glenn Poole, who contributes in many ways to make this race possible.
Unusual in Wagener to see campers and trailers hauling dirt bikes instead of horses, but it was fun to see the increased activity and high levels of energy in our stores and restaurants.
The 300 entrants came from almost every state on the continental US, we spoke with two who were from Canada, and a handful of entrants were locals. Most riders were en route to Daytona for the Alligator Enduro on Thursday (March 4) and using the Sandlapper as a warm-up.
This was the beginning of the race, 60 trail miles, all off-road in pine forests with the average speed being 24 mph.
The Columbia Enduro and Hollow Creek Fire Dept. want to shout out a big thank you to the Columbia chapter of the Christian Motorcyclists Association for all their help with the race, specifically by doing all the road crossings and keeping the riders safe.
We have a short video of the race's start, which you can see on The Race Shop's YouTube channel or their home page TheRaceShop.com.
Wagener appreciates the many volunteers who give generously to support our local Fire Departments, EMTs, Schools, Churches and community events. We have a great town and a lot of great people!