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There was steady rain all day on the day before the event, leaving the pits a bit messy and the competitors bracing for mud. There were definitely some muddy and tricky areas, but since the trails were a bit dry prior to the rain, most of the course was in excellent condition. Only a few parts of the trails needed some minor re-routing.

Some of the younger competitors prepare to leave a wet check at the
Mini-enduro that was held the day before the Holyoke Enduro.

This event was first held in 1969 and has run continuously ever since. The start and finish are near the small town of Holyoke, which is about an hour south of Duluth. The trails for this event are primarily in the Nemadji State Forest, but the course also utilizes some private land and Wisconsin county land. The part of the course in Wisconsin is believed to be the only trails in the state currently used in an AMA sanctioned enduro.

Holasek carded a 22 for the day, with the next closest competitors, both also AA, being Todd Matwig (24) and Stephen Berscheid (29). Brian Grote (32) was the top A rider and fourth overall followed by first District 16 rider, JD Friebel (33). John Brunsgaard (45), a Senior rider, was the overall B winner, edging out the much younger, Ryan Beaber (46) and Joshua Peterson(47). The C riders took a slightly different route with two less checks. 250 C rider filled the first two spots there, with Mike McAllister (36) holding off Brian Lawerence (37) for the win. Third overall was the controversially included Super Senior, Skip Olson.

The club that has put on this event since the early 90s, the Straight Arrows Enduro Riders, have an agreement to do grant-in-aid trail maintenance work in the Nemadji Forest. The trails are not only used for this event, but are available through out the designated riding season. Trail Boss, Ken Fastner, states the goal of his work is “to create a trail system in the Nemadji State Forest that is both fun and environmentally sound to be used as a recreational opportunity for both Off Highway Motorcycles and ATVs.” If the opinions of the competitors were any indication, it would appear that trails are very enjoyable to ride.

The town of Holyoke really opens its doors to the riders

This enduro has won the District 23 Enduro of the Year award the last two years, but not without a lot of hard work by a few key people. The trails that are used for this event are divided into five sections, each with one person responsible for maintaining the trail. Although they have other club members helping them, typically these Section Leaders log the most hours on the trails. Besides Fastner, these men and their families, John Otto, Roy Fleming, Greg Nelson, Matt Leebens, and Ron Palm are all instrumental in this event taking place.

Besides all his work on the trail itself, Fastner is also responsible for getting the grant-in-aid application and expense reports submitted to the DNR, meeting with DNR as the District 23 Trail Vice Chairman and also meets with the Minnesota Motorized Trail Coalition and DNR to discuss issues that relate to all motorized trail use in the state. And when he gets a chance, he actually will ride the trails as well.

After the event, the competitors expressed many positive comments about the course and the way the course run. Commented Brunsgaard to an unseen recorder, “I was pretty worried about all the rain we got Saturday but the course was in great shape and the event was run perfectly.” Despite the long drives in front of many of them, many riders stayed for the awards ceremony and saw Holasek walk off with the traveling trophy once again.

Double A:
1.Craig Holasek; 2.Todd Mathwig; 3.Stephen Berscheid; 4.Paul Reschke; 5.Phil Peterson;

200A:
1.JD Friebel; 2.Simon Hanson; 3.Brian C Grote; 4.Jason Gerken; 5.Bryan Dixon;

250A:
1.Dan Larson; 2.Parker Thilmony; 3.Dave Grunklee; 4.Ronald Lindeberg;

4 Stroke:
1.Elroy Christenson; 2.Jeff Schroder; 3.Rob Martinson; 4.Luke Jacobson; 5.Douglas Latvala;

Open A:
1.Brian D Grote;

Senior A:
1.Duane Eller; 2.Jay Waalen; 3.Patrick Feal; 4.Brett Grossman; 5.Kraig Anderson;

Super Sr:
1.Steve Reschke; 2.William Polum; 3.Kenneth Schuck;

Overall B:
1.John Brunsgaard; 2.Ryan Beaber; 3.Joshua Peterson; 4.Kevin Plzak; 5.Alex Martinson;

200B:
1.Ryan Beaber; 2.Joshua Peterson; 3.Alex Martinson; 4.Kyle Treiber; 5.Travis Luedke;

250B:
1.Kevin Plzak; 2.Dustin Hansen; 3.Dan Hegman; 4.Augustus Hoffman;

Open B:
1.Mike Davenport; 2.Andrew Johnson; 3.Jeffrey Gillen;

Vet B:
1.Todd Honstrom; 2.Tim Danelius; 3.Daniel Kickbusch; 4.Peter Jensen;

Senior B:
1.John Brunsgaard; 2.Wayne Bracken; 3.Robert Maxfield; 4.Richard Brereton; 5.Chris Fournie;

Womens B:
1.Marissa Carpenter;

Overall C:
1.Mike Mcallister; 2.Brian Lawrence; 3.Skip Olson; 4.Dustin Umlauf; 5.Lukas Olson;

200C:
1.Dustin Umlauf; 2.Lukas Olson; 3.Robert Lindeberg; 4.Carson Holmquist; 5.Joseph Martinson;

250C:
1.Mike Mcallister; 2.Brian Lawrence; 3.Jayme Olson; 4.Nick Metz; 5.Joe Perry;

Open C:
1.Gary Carpenter;

Youth:
1.Michael Hunter;

Vet C:
1.Greg Larson; 2.Travis Larson; 3.Ryan Refsdal; 4.Paul Carroll; 5.Gregg Peterson;

Senior C:
1.Steve Danelius; 2.Ray Cole; 3.Scott Mcelfresh; 4.Bill Britz; 5.Joe Miller;

Masters:
1.David Muhs; 2.Don Krueger;

Supr Sr B:
1.Skip Olson; 2.Fred Holm; 3.Max Bradley; 4.John Metz; 5.Jim Friebel;