A story without words: WHES 2023 Round 1 - Toodyay Terror.

B.J. Novak challenged the concept of children's literature when he created the Book With No Pictures. It was described by Mark Levine of the New York Times as "Conceptually radical . . . making the refreshing and contrarian case that words alone have sensory and imaginative vibrancy to spare."

To that end, Neil Price brings me to writing a story with no words!

His conceptually radical and contrarian approach to hard enduro - taking the limited palette of an X Trainer to reimagine ways to dominate the unforgiving landscape that is the Toodyay Terror. - leaves me struggling to find words worthy of capturing the moment.

When he passed us for the first time on that massive rock step up where the crowd loves to make some noise (you know the one I'm talking about, that one that almost defines the Terror) he was about 30 seconds ahead of the pack.

One wonders if Neil Price simply parts obstacles in much the same way as Moses parted the Red Sea?

When he passed us the second time around, less than 30 minutes later, he had miraculously drawn that lead out to 10 minutes. We were all trying to do the math and the best we could conclude was that barring incident or serious injury, the King of Traction had TT'23 in the bag.

About 3 hours later we said to his youngest, Charlotte, as we made our way through the pits "Do you want to come and see dad finish - he's winning you know?" She just looked up, grinned, shook her head and went back to making mud cakes by the fire.

Out of the box. Both Neil and the X Trainer.

A shrug of the shoulders - that pretty much sums up our level of comprehension on how Neil Price finds the traction that others can't and the lines that others won't or don't take.

But that is just a part of the story - this story with no words. Because I am equally at a loss to describe what we all were witness to further back in the pack.

Price, Rogers and Rudling: Words escape me!

Sam Rogers has got to be one of the greatest showmen the scene has seen. I don't think anyone is going to challenge me on that. Flying in just shy of the witching hour the night before, prepping the Motomax Rieju the morning of, and winding it on full band for 3.5 hours to place second, grinning like a naughty child the entire time.

On guts and grit?

WRD Rider Darren Rudling! Seven weeks post op for a ruptured ACL/MCL and fractured tibia (among other things) Darren was not just back on the bike, but he was back on the bike and in the hunt for points. The greater part of the paddock watched with clenched teeth, squinting eyes and sweaty palms as he powered through the Terror that is Toodyay. He held Sam out of second place for more than two thirds of the race. He said "The adrenaline had worn off by the second lap and towards the end I was nearly vomiting in my helmet from the pain"

But rather than concede, and fade toward the back markers, he pushed on! More than that, he called young WRD Junior Academy Rider Jakob Petrig into his draft. This enabled Jakob to track his lines for more than a lap helping him to an astounding fifth place in his first ever Gold Class event.

This picture captures the almost exact moment that, knowing victory had escaped him this time, Rudling took the opportunity to imbue young Jakob Petrig with some valuable race craft.

In the Silver Class category, Halen Wickert surprised himself somewhat to find the top step of the podium. It would appear the off-season ride time is paying dividends! I saw him eat up a fresh line over some logs that had given more than a handful of riders some serious headaches prior to his arrival. He was the first to take the line and he just nailed it like it was some kindergarten obstacle course.

Silver Class winner Halen Wickert: He did it his way....and it worked!

On top of the shit-show and mudslinging out on the track, the podium antics of the Silver Class were, as anticipated, the exemplar of everything WHES. Peter Mountain and Ruairi Hegarty were there beside Wickert making the awards presentation a virtual clown-fest.

Halen Wickert, Ruairi Hegarty and Peter Mountain taking their victory in Round 1 not at all seriously.

Sadly, Bronze Class copped the filthy end of the stick for the day.

After days or possibly weeks of dry and dusty conditions on Thomas Farm, the heavens opened as the green flag dropped. Harris Baxter-Green came away with the win, but there was carnage everywhere out on the track as the short and sharp rain turned the granite to ice and the dust to slop.

Bronze found it as much of a challenge to stay upright on two feet as it was to stay upright on two wheels.

More than fifty riders made the Toodyay Terror a memory that which only serious counselling will cure. And with that much going on in the first race of the season, I am all but a little anxious to see where WHES will go in Round 2.