24 Hours in the Enchanted Forest

With temperatures soaring close to 120 F in Phoenix, we decided to head east to New Mexico for Zia Rides 24 Hours in the Enchanted Forest near Gallup, New Mexico.  This was the first relay race for most of the crew.  We had 2 teams participating in the Enchantedland juniors race - Devo Saints and Devo Devils.  The 2 teams were comprised of both Dynamix racers as well as racers from other teams and organized by Paul Broaderip from the Nationwide race team.  The Devils had 4 juniors - Liam (Dynamix Devo), Cole, Tag, and Barrett (Dynamix Devo) - along with 2 adults (Rob and Mark).  The Saints also had 4 juniors - Demi, Zach, Avery (Dynamix Devo), and Emma (Dynamix Devo) and 2 adults (Jen and Stephanie).  The Enchantedland course was 5 miles with 340 ft of climbing.  The teams had 14 hours to race as many laps as they could.  There were 10 teams in all competing in this category.

Pre-race strategy meeting

The two Devo teams were pretty evenly matched, with nearly everyone averaging lap times under 30 minutes.  The entire race went like clockwork.  No one missed a transition, everyone was supportive of each other, and we all had a blast!

Getting ready to start the race

Everyone gave it their all and finished with some impressive stats:
*Total laps completed:  60 laps (300 miles)
            Devils - 31 laps,    Saints - 29 laps
*Total elevation climbed:  20,400 ft  
            Devils - 10,540 ft,   Saints - 9,860
*Total time racing:  14 hours

Liam & Demi leading out for lap 1

Emma digging deep

Avery and her mom, Stephanie,
transitioning between laps

Tag coming in and Barrett heading
out for his lap

Emma and Avery in the transition zone

Barrett running in to tag the next rider

The Devo Devils brought home the win with the Saints close behind in 2nd place.  It was an impressive display of athleticism, strength, determination, and, most importantly, teamwork and sportsmanship.  Congratulations to all the racers!  A BIG thank you to Scott Wortendyke and Deanna Young for the great pics!!  And another BIG thank you to Zia Rides for putting on an amazing event.  We hope to be back next year!!

Podiums for the Enchantedland category:
Devo Devils - 1st
Devo Saints - 2nd
Positive Energy Kids - 3rd

Some much earned post race treats -
ice cream and root beer.

Flagstaff Frenzy - MBAA #5 - Series Finale

It was an exciting weekend up in the pines of Flagstaff, AZ for the 5th and final MBAA series race - Flagstaff Frenzy.  With temperatures soaring above 115F in the valley, the timing couldn't have been better for a weekend getaway.  There was record attendance for the race as well, with over 450 racers including over 60 juniors.  The junior course was a 6 mile loop with a little more than 400 ft of climbing.  At an altitude of 7000+ ft, it was a true challenge!  We had a smaller crew for this race - Liam racing for boys 9-11 and Emma for girls 9-11.  Chase, who was out racing for Trek this season, will be joining our team in the boys 9-11 category for next year!  All 3 racers were excited to get the race underway.

Junior boys & girls 9-11 ready to start

The start was fast!  Emma quickly took the lead for the girls, and Liam was battling for first with 2 other riders.  After a short downhill into the single track, the course quickly pitched up into 2 rocky climbs.  Both Liam and Emma were able to get some distance on the field at this point.

Liam was able to hold onto the lead for the win, coming in 2+ minutes ahead of 2nd!

Boys 9-11 podium

Emma was flying, also coming in for the win almost 3 minutes over her nearest competition!

Girls 9-11 podium
(3rd place not present for awards)

Chase crashed in the final corner, but quickly recovered to finish the race in a solid 14th place.

This concluded the MBAA 2016 race series.  Series champions were announced at the end of the day.  Liam was able to collect the winners' jersey after a hard fought season!  Emma was able to repeat as series champion, winning 5 out of 5 races this season!  Even though he was unable to attend this race, Barrett still had accumulated enough points to finish 4th in the series after his first year of racing.  Congratulations to the entire Dynamix Devo team for an amazing season!

MBAA Series Champion 2016 Boys 9-11:
Liam 

MBAA Series Champion 2016 Girls:
Emma
(2nd & 3rd place not in attendance)