Sport And Biking Talk: 2017 TDS Enduro

The TDS Enduro is a blueprint for future fun events. Photo by Jeremiah Newman

The race

The TDS Enduro is a family run affair. Hosted by the Sanchez family of Grass Valley, CA, they’ve built one the most enticing Enduro events in the nation. Hosted in their 240 acre private property with about a 700 foot hill, the best racers in the country compete in this invite-only event. And with Marco Osborne and Jerome Clementz often at the top of the leaderboard, the riding is certainly world Class.

This year, about 70 men and 15 women participated in the event that comprised of 14 stages run in two days. Stages are fairly short with under a thousand feet of descent and an occasional climb sprinkled in. Racers sometimes climb to the top but Polaris ATV shuttles are available for the climb up on most of the stages.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbR8W6j4mbM

The descents are world-class. Imagine a trail network with about 20 singletrack descents that are constructed by some of the best descenders around. Jumps, berms, wall rides and rock gardens are all thrown in the mix to cater to the advanced descender with no regard for hikers, uphill traffic or other public park concerns. Everything is optimized for aggressive riding.

Rules – Don’t get hurt. Be cool. Party.

6 years and counting

Very quietly, this race has reached its 6th year. The first year barely counts as it was a race among a dozen or so friends, but it did happen. And slowly but surely, the race has stepped up in all aspects while staying true to its core. There’s a Redbull truck now and a dozen Polaris vehicles shuttling riders all day. So the scale of the operation has ramped up a bit.

The instigators Ron Sanchez and Mark Weir plot the next chapter.

The Sanchez Family

The Sanchez family is anchored around Ron, a larger than life character who loves to play and party at 57 years young. His wife Debbie and the two kids Casey and Carly are ever-present in the event as they’re integral in the planning and execution of the race. Why do they do it? Well they love life and they love people and the TDS Enduro brings riders and the community together.

Ron mentioned that he bought the 240 acre property over a decade ago when Casey got involved in High School mountain bike racing. They created a playground where they could pursue their passion together and they could invite and hang out with friends. Now, they have a haven for biking, rc and all things moto.

Shuttles are made possible with a fleet of vehicles from Polaris.

It takes a village

There’s dozens and dozens of miles of finely crafted trails and they’re in fine shape by TDS race time. Friends and locals are allowed to ride this trail utopia but only if they work on trails.

And the race is a massive logistics operation. There’s so many pieces to ensuring that this 14 stage race runs smoothly and volunteers seem to know their part in this production.

These are some of the funnest shuttle rides around.

An example is the shuttle system to get the racers up the climbs on some of the stages. A dozen Polaris vehicles require a competent driver in each one. Traffic managers and trail marshals are stationed all along the narrow fire road to ensure no collisions occur during peak traffic. That alone is a mind-boggling volunteer operation.

The garden – Photo by Jeremiah Newman

Poison Oak

Unfortunately, the Sanchez land is prime real estate for poison oak. And with so many trails going in and out of creek beds where there is a good water source and good sunlight, poison oak is ever-present specially this year where the area experienced record rainfall.

Racers and spectators are all at risk so the key is to cover up and wash up. Knowing exactly what the plant looks like and avoiding it at all costs is key. Washing up and doing everything right and you’ll still get it, a little.

Some of the greatest wal rides in the world - Photo by Abner Kingman

Some of the greatest wall rides in the world – Photo by Abner Kingman

Lifestyle baby!

What if you had a buddy with a huge tract of land. You’d build some trails right? Do some shuttle runs, ride some moto, ATV’s. Then you can invite a ton of friends and run a race. Yeah! Then you can build an RC track and a pump track and maybe some jumps. Folks can camp out with their RV’s and fancy tents and party. Then we can shoot some fireworks. Yeah!

In a nutshell, that’s what TDS is. It’s a rocking good time among mountain biking friends, a non-virtual utopia for mountain bike fans.

Cutting corners is sometimes allowed. Photo by Jeremiah Newman

Invite only

TDS is invite only since the trail difficulty is very high and it can only accommodate so many riders. Rock gardens and gap jumps are all in the mix and the last thing the Sanchez family wants is injuries.

Thus only the best of the best are invited. Racing quality is maintained at a very high level and injuries are minimized even in inclement weather conditions. The invite list has grown from the personal network of the best West Coast enduro racers so there is definitely a West Coast slant to it. But slowly but surely, riders from around the country are making their way in

It’s always a choice between height or speed. Photo by Jeremiah Newman

The future

What does hold for the TDS Enduro? The TDS Enduro does not turn a profit and it takes thousands of hours to run. So it has no motivation to scale and expand. Also, the trails can only less than a hundred riders at any one time. The trails criss-cross each other to maximize the prime real estate. Climbing fire roads intersect the single track descents often so marshals have to be stationed at each crossing to racers have a clear path.

Who is this Dane guy? Photo by Jeremiah Newman

We predict that it will stay the course and continue its pursuit towards quality. Sponsors will want to be associated with it because it is the embodiment of the mountain bike enduro lifestyle.

It will continue to attract the finest racers in the country and the world so world-class racer will squeeze their way in the tight roster as long as their schedules allow it.