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| May 10, 2012 Shelton Mason County Journal |  |
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Journal Photos by Kevin Spradlin
Art Yenter, coordinatore of the Beginner's Enduro 32.5-mile trail ride on
Saturday, meets riders at the finish line.
W,'00l zome to the jungle
Beginner's Enduro lets young,
old have a go on tough trails
By KEVIN SPRADLIN
Eric Floyd has been riding a dirt bike for
more than 30 years.
On Saturday, however, the 39-year-old Se-
attle chef decided to do something for the first
time.
Floyd, from Bothell, joined more than
120 riders for the Puget Sound Enduro Rid-
ers Beginner's Enduro, a 32.5-mile trail ride
that began and ended at the Sanderson Feild
Events Center and Fairgrounds.
After a noon start time, Floyd was among
a group of four riders who returned at 2:30
p.m. and handed in his scorecard to coordina-
tor Art Yenter.
"That was freakin' awesome," Floyd ex-
claimed to no one in particular. "Not bad for
an old man."
Saturdays event suited him just fine. In-
stead of speed being the sole factor in deter-
mining success or failure, riders were given
goals, based on relatively low speeds, and
were told to hit five different checkpoints
within a certain timeframe.
The Beginner's Enduro course,
composed of trails primarily on
land owned by Green Diamond
Resource Company, featured mud,
The more time a rider was off the goal rocks and hills.
mark, the more points the rider acculate&
Aperfectenduroisascoreofzero. .... : :: : i :: L ::: ::: : i: :
"It's not a race," said event volunteer Tine 6::
Matherly, who, along with his wife Kathi,
monitored the State Route 102 crossing locat- ::::
ed a few miles north of the fairgrounds. :: :dub:: i/eat 0r
"We tell them to go 15 miles per hour for
eight miles, then 14 miles per hour for five
miles. These guys are on the clock for the
whole time."
More than a race, Matherly said, an en-
duro event is "a thinking man's game."
The 32.5-mile ride was quite enough for
Floyd. On Sunday, more experienced riders
had to choose between a 50-mile route and an
80-mile course.
"I can't imagine doing another 50 miles,"
said Floyd, draped in sweat and spattered
with dirt.
Opportunities like the one Floyd expe-
rienced on Saturday are fewer these days.
Matherly said it's because his is a ,dying
sport."
"It takes so many people to put it on,"
he said. "It's a good family sport out in the
woods."
For Alex Hopsecger, family is at the root
of how he became involved in riding. The
14-year-old Montesano resident is following
in his father's footsteps.
"My Dad," Hopsecger explained how he got
interested in riding trails. "He was riding be-
fore I was zero. I started on tracks" but con-
verted to trails.
The weekend courses were mostly on pri-
vate property owned by Green Diamond Re-
source Company. It was an opportunity dedi-
cated riders didn't want to miss.
Despite the event being designated for be-
ginners, though, Floyd cautioned these trails
weren't for the faint of heart.
"You don't want to be a beginner," he said,
"These trails are intermediate."
While the event was not a race, there were
winners in five divisions on Saturday based
primarily on how closely riders exercised their
time management skills. In the Open divi-
sion, Josh Cardenas took first place. In the 40-
plus, Bill Knapp; 30-plus, Colby Dixon; 200cc,
Adam Perry; and 15-and-under, Noah Neill.
Crime :::: ::
Continued from page A-1
Washington Association of ii::e::he :::::
Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, :::atffs adr::e Chiefs teties
Shelton is designated as :::ighc::::::::e
having the fourth highest reie::f i e
crime rate among all Wash- :n: : :i ii eer :a :
ingtonmunicipalities. :::::: :::::::::::::::::::: :::: :::: :::::: ::!:::::: : : ::::
But in all but one statis-
tical category, crime actu- i kiiiii iiiiiii: iapi:
ally dropped in Shelton in
2011 from 2010.
"We're about as low on
the bottom of the recession
in Shelton as I think we
can be," Cronce said. "That
doesn't seem to be the driv-
er" of a higher crime rate.
Cronce attributed the
drop in crime to criminals
moving out of the area --
and taking their relatives
and friends with them.
When a criminal relo-
cates, "you're not taking
one person out of the pic-
ture," Cronce said.
By most accounts, the
report had good news for
Shelton residents.
The number of reported
aggravated assaults were
up 15.6 percent -- to 52 in
2011, up from 45 in 2010.
However, arson was down
80 percent (to one from five),
robbery was down 57.9 per-
cent (to eight from 19) and
crimes against property
were down 18.1 percent (to
77.9 from 95.2 incidents per
1,000 residents).
Overall, crime was down
17.8 percent in Shelton.
There were 842 crimes re-
ported in 2011 compared to
933 one year earlier.
Across Mason County,
crime was down 3.1 percent
in 2011 from 2010.
Robberies were down
nearly 67 percent (to 13
from 39) and incidents of
arson were cut in half, to
five from 10.
Cronce said that despite
'the positive trend, now is
not the time to save money
in the city's stretched bud-
get by looking at the police
department.
"I do resPect our police
force," Cronce said. "I think
their presence is very im-
portant. Now is not the
time to let any more police .
men go."
Start "Living Weft'"
0••
. a six-week program to help those who suffer with chronic or debilitating
conditions such as heart or lung problems, arthritis, or chronic pain - toward
a better quality of life!
Learn to manage your medications, exercise and eat well, deal with pain,
stress, and depression, and improve communication with others.
Living Well is on six Wednesday afternoons, June 6 to July 18 from 4:00 to 6:30
p.m. at the Skokomish Health Clinic in Shelton. It is free and open to anyone with a
chronic medical condition, their family, friends, and caregivers. Space is limited, so
pre-register now by calling MGH Chronic Care Services at (360) 426-9596, ext. 3512.
Mason General Hospital
&Famtly of Clinics
Mason General Hospital 901 Mountain View Drive, PO Box 1668, Shelton, WA 98584
Shetton (360) 426-1611, from Allyn (360) 275-8614. www.MasonGeneral.com
TTY/TDD: (360) 427-9593. Equal Opportunity Provider. Translation Services Provided. Se habla
espafiol • Approved by the Joint Commission. Healthcare's Most Wired Hospital, 2011
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Shelton Dental Center is a
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providing all general dentistry services plus
specialty services including:
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