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DateSaturday June 29, 2024toSaturday June 29, 2024
past event -
TypeEnduro Race
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ActivitiesMountain Bike
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LocationSouth Hills, Montana United States
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Route
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Email
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RegistrationOpen Paid
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Organizer
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Series
The Montana Enduro Series is 10 years old in 2024, but the Helenduro predates it - the first Helenduro was held in 2009. As one of the oldest enduro races in North America, the Helenduro has grown a lot over the years, but we’ve worked our butts off to maintain its grassroots vibe.
We recommend a three-day experience. Arrive Friday, pre-ride the course, and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Queen City. Race Saturday and celebrate with us in the afternoon. Explore the rest of the trail network on Sunday.
Thanks for registering for the 2024 Helenduro Here is the email you’ve been waiting for: the course announcement! The race timeline is also provided below, so this email contains full race details. That makes it long, but please read thoroughly as you are responsible for this information.
Race Timeline:
Thursday, June 27th
MES volunteers will mark the course
Friday, June 28th
All day: course open for practice
4:00 - 8:00 packet pickup at Blackfoot River Brewing (66 S Park Ave)
7:00: Volunteer orientation at Blackfoot River Brewing
Saturday, June 29th
7:30: racer check-in opens at the Park Avenue Building parking lot (301 S Park Ave)
8:30: packet pickup closes; unclaimed entries released
8:30: MANDATORY racer meeting
9:00 race start
3:00 course closed
TBD: prizes and awards will happen as soon as all results are in. RETURN YOUR TIMING CHIP AS SOON AS YOU FINISH. Make sure you stay around for the awards, since we will have loads of prizes and giveaways from Pit Viper, Flylow Gear, Transition, Deity, Wild Rye Apparel, Julbo, and Kühl.
We have permission to use the Park Avenue Building parking lot. Please do not venture onto the building patio or stairs.
If you check in Friday and something comes up to keep you from racing, you must return to the timing chip to us as soon as possible! Otherwise, we have no way of accounting for you on race day.
Helenduro 2024 Route:
TRANSFER TO STAGE 1:
Exit the Park Avenue Building lot onto South Park Ave. Turn right and climb Reeders Village Drive to the Reeder’s Trail trailhead. Be cautious crossing the road here- you are on a live road below a blind turn. Climb Reeder’s Trail to Dump Out Trail and continue left (south) on Dump Out to the start of Stage 1.
STAGE 1:
Stage 1 is the southern end of Dump Out Trail. From the high point, you whip around a left-hand switchback and traverse a rolling, rocky sidehill that offers great views of Grizzly Gulch and Dump Gulch. You won’t notice that because you’ll be focused on the trail to avoid pedal strikes. After a very tight right hander, and a less tight right hander, you’ll dive to the gulch bottom where you’ll cross the timing line right after a bermed left-hand turn.
TRANSFER TO STAGE 2:
Descend McKelvey Trail to Grizzly Gulch. We recommend caution on this descent – it’s called Dump Gulch for a reason, and you’ll notice lots of broken glass and pottery littering the trail surface. Riding fast here tends to cut tires. At the trailhead, turn right and climb Grizzly Gulch to the Wakina Sky Road. Continue pedaling up the road to the singletrack on the right. Follow this until it ends, then continue climbing to the end of the road. Continue climbing to the south on Wakina Sky Trail, into and through the meadow, to the new(ish) singletrack Barking Dog Trail. Climb a little farther to the high point of the trail.
STAGE 2:
Descend the Barking Dog Trail. The stage ends where the new singletrack intersects with the old doubletrack.
TRANSFER TO STAGE 3:
Descend into the meadow, staying to the left. Follow the trail to the Orofino Drive crossing. Cross carefully, picking up the Waterline Trail on the other side. There is flowing water here, but it’s not potable. Continue north on Waterline to the junction with T.R. Trail. Climb T.R. Trail to Pinchot Trail and continue climbing Pinchot Trail until it meets Rent Money.
STAGE 3:
Descend Rent Money, turning right at the intersection with Roger Fuchs Trail, and descend Roger Fuchs to Dry Gulch. Watch out for a tree right on the inside of the first right turn, and for a very tight chicane shortly after.
TRANSFER TO STAGE 4:
Descend Dry Gulch while keeping an eye out for traffic. Descend the Upper Davis Jump Line to the old shooting range parking lot. There will be an aid station in the parking lot. Cross Davis Gulch here and climb the Archery Range Trail. Atop the switchbacks you’ll reach the junction with Entertainment Trail. Here is the real climb: winch your way up Entertainment Trail to the bridge at the intersection with Aftershock Trail. Turn right and continue climbing up Entertainment Trail. When you reach the left-hand switchback, you’ve done the hard part. From here, continue a rolling climb to the north until you encounter the 2006 Trail doubletrack. Continue climbing to the north until you reach the summit.
STAGE 4:
Stage 4 starts by heading down the doubletrack to the east, then makes a flat turn to the left and continues following the doubletrack to a saddle between the two summits. Turn left onto the 2006 trail and descend seven switchbacks to a wide-open straightaway that brings you to a multi-trail junction with Easy Rider and Pail Rider. Head northwest to Ridge Rider, a steep and rocky section that falls straight down onto the Archery Range Trail. Make a hard right here, over the bedrock ridge, and descend to the Eagle Scout Trail. Eagle Scout starts with a straightline doubletrack that narrows down into twisty singletrack with multiple sharp turns. Follow Eagle Scout Trail to its intersection with the DeFord Trail.
TRANSFER TO BASE AREA:
Descend DeFord Trail, merging onto Davis Gulch. Head north for a few blocks, then turn left on Pine Street. Singletrack at the end of Pine Street will take you to the Acropolis Crest Trail. From there you can descend to Cruse Avenue and head into the Park Avenue Building lot.
Hydration: Self-sufficiency is a core tenet of mountain bike racing, so please do not rely entirely upon on-course water. That said, we anticipate high temperatures and will prioritize getting water out on course. We will have water available in two locations:
• Dump Gulch trailhead (water cooler)
• Old Shooting Range parking lot (full aid station)
There is usually surface water running along the southernmost end of the Waterline Trail, right after Stage 2. This water is not potable.
Navigation: If junction markings are damaged during the race day, you are still responsible for navigating the course, so it pays to familiarize yourself. To help with that, the route is published on Trailforks. There are a few ways to find the routes in the Trailforks app. All Trailforks navigation functions are limited in the app now, so you can preview the course and surrounding trail network without any restrictions. The easiest way to find the route in the app is to open the Events tab when you arrive in Helena. It automatically loads nearby events, and the routes will be available there. Alternately, if you’re reading this on your phone, you can click this link:
Montana Enduro Series: 2024 Helenduro Mountain Biking Route | Trailforks
The link will open in the app and update the South Hills riding area. If you’re reading this on a computer, you can click Add to Wishlist at the top left of the page, and the route will be added to your account. Then inside the app, open Your Wishlist on the table of contents.
Timing System
We use the SPORTident Air contactless timing system. This gives the best and most accurate results in our sport. You are responsible for following our procedures for checking in and heading out to the course. The timing chips must be switched on to collect time stamps. Crucially, they must be returned to the timing tent for scanning for you to have results. If you lose your timing chip it will cost you $100 to collect backup timing results. Keep the chip on the right-hand wrist outside of your clothing to ensure good time stamps.
Rules
Our rules are simple and intended to make sure everyone has a high-quality experience. We will cover rules and course-specific concerns during the racer meetings. The basic rules are:
• Enduro format – timed stages are mostly downhill, and transfers are mostly climbs. Transfer stages are untimed, but don’t linger because we have a course closure time.
• Helmets must be worn at all times when on the bike. This includes uphills/transfers. Anyone riding without a helmet will be disqualified immediately. Full-face helmets are recommended but not required.
• The trail is the course. Whether or not a corner is taped, shortcutting the trail tread is a rule violation.
• You must be able to hear an overtaking rider. No earbuds or external speakers are allowed.
• Our complete rulebook is available on our website.
Volunteers will help us assess if we need to penalize any racers that aren’t following our series rules. Keep it fun and throw out high fives all day!
Swag
We have some great swag lined up for you this year, along with prizes and giveaways from Pit Viper, Flylow, Transition, Deity, Wild Rye Apparel, Julbo, and Kühl. We will also have T-shirts, pom beanies, socks, and water bottles available for purchase.
Volunteers
If any of your traveling companions would like to volunteer out on course, we’d be happy for the help. Also, if you can’t race for some reason on Saturday, we’ll happily refund your registration fee in exchange for your volunteer service. True story: running an enduro race takes a lot of volunteers. Find us at the MES tent in the morning or email shannon at montanabicycleguild.org.
Results
We recommend you subscribe to our event on Trailforks: https://www.trailforks.com/event/10759/ . The links to the race results and our Pinkbike race recap will also be posted on the event page after the race.
We’ll see you this weekend!
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Route
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Montana Enduro Series: 2024 Helenduro
close3DTrail Conditions- Unknown
- Snow Groomed
- Snow Packed
- Snow Covered
- Snow Cover Partial
- Freeze/thaw Cycle
- Icy
- Prevalent Mud
- Wet
- Variable
- Ideal
- Dry
- Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.- > 96%
- > 90%
- > 80%
- > 70%
- > 50%
- < 50%
- bi-directional trail
- no data
Trail Last RiddenTrailforks scans ridelogs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.- < 2 days
- < 1 week
- < 2 weeks
- < 1 month
- < 6 months
- > 6 months
Trail Ridden DirectionThe intended direction a trail should be ridden.- Downhill Only
- Downhill Primary
- Both Directions
- Uphill Primary
- Uphill Only
- One Direction
Contribute DetailsColors indicate trail is missing specified detail.- Description
- Photos
- Description & Photos
- Videos
Trail Popularity ?Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.- most popular
- popular
- less popular
- not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV FilterMax Vehicle WidthinchesUS Cell CoverageLegend
Radar Timex Activity RecordingsTrailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.- mountain biking recent
- mountain biking (>6 month)
- hiking (1 year)
- moto (1 year)
Activity RecordingsTrailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.- Downhill Ski
- Backcountry Ski
- Nordic Ski
- Snowmobile
Winter TrailsWarning A routing network for winter maps does not exist. Selecting trails using the winter trails layer has been disabled.x Missing TrailsMost PopularLeast PopularTrails are colored based on popularity. The more popular a trail is, the more red. Less popular trails trend towards green.Jump Magnitude HeatmapHeatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.Trails DeemphasizedTrails are shown in grey.Only show trails with NO bikes.Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.
SaveTrail transparency15.0 milesDistance2,834 ftClimb-2,834 ftDescent1 mileHigh Point