by Ryder LeBlond

What’s your name? 

Ryder LeBlond

How old are you?

19

Where are you from?

New Florence, PA

When did you get into the sport of hard enduro and when did you ride a dirt bike for the first time?

Started riding when I was about 3-4 years old and hard enduro for about 2 years.

What bike do you ride?

My own bike. Husqvarna TE 300i

What team do you ride in (if any)

Delullo Racing Team Husqvarna 

How many hard enduro races have you entered (roughly, doesn’t have to be 100% accurate)?

15 

If possible, what would you characterize yourself as? Beginner, weekend warrior, ambitious amateur, semi-pro or pro? 

Pro

What race are you going to talk about and what year did you do it?

SEER Covid Crusher 2.0 Hard Enduro 2021.

What was the race format like – how many days, hours or races did you have to do to finish/win the race?  

You had 3 hours to do as many laps/ checks as you can.

What excited you the most about this race? Was it the terrain, the grip, the camaraderie, the organisation, the weather, your own performance or something entirely different?

Everything about the race was good! Weather was perfect, nice and muddy, cold and rainy! The track was pretty gnarly. A lot of creek beds land super slick clay.

What kind of tires/mousse/tubliss/tube did you use and why? More importantly – would you recommend your setup or did you learn that something else would have been better?

I tried the Michelin Xtrem tire with soft mousse. It worked pretty good.

Was there anything bike setup-wise that you discovered to work great and that you’d like to share?

Got my bike dialed in before the race and honestly not going to change a thing for the next race. My TE 300i was working great the whole race!

How tough did you find the track physically and mentally?

Physically the track wasn’t too bad. There weren’t many places where you had to push. Mentally was the same as any other race. With the right mind set it doesn’t matter how tough the track is. Just gotta go out and win.

Was the track easy to follow (markings or GPS) and was the difficulty level of the track what you expected, easier or harder?

The track was marked by arrows with 3 checks before each hard section. When I walked the track I thought it would be extremely difficult but it ended up being a little easier than I thought. That being said, it was probably one of the gnarlier races I’ve done.

Where did you stay during the race, was it a good choice and would you do it again? (camping, hotel, private etc.)

We stayed at a Hampton Inn 30 minutes from the track. There wasn’t
much around the area.

What result did you get and are you happy with it?

I got the win! Pretty happy overall but would’ve liked to win by a little more.

Did you feel like you got a good value for your money at this race?

Yeah totally! Think it was $70 to race and 3 hrs of racing so better than going to a moto race haha!

What would be your best piece of advice, to a person who is considering entering this race for the first time?

Just keep going and don’t crash 17 times on the first lap!

What (if anything) would you like to see changed in the event to improve it?

Wish they didn’t schedule some of their events on the same weekend as other hard enduro series.

Finally, would you do this race again and recommend it to other riders?

Of course I would! SEER puts on great races and they’re getting a lot bigger!

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