CHILLICOTHE, OH

More than 150 guests were in attendance at the Appalachian Championship Enduro Series (ACES) awards banquet at the Ross County Fairgrounds Multipurpose Building in Chillicothe, Ohio, to honor the 2009 award winners and enjoy an evening filled with friendship, legendary stories, and great food. With the support of series sponsors Osburn Signs of Logan, Kenda, MSR, Enduro Engineering, Rocky Outdoor Gear, Beaver Creek Cycles, Ohio Motorcycle and Sport Cycles Racing, the winners walked away with a lot of swag along with some priceless memories.

Kevin Claytor (above, left) kicked off the awards presentations as KTM's 2008 champion Josh Gaitten handed the rotating trophy over to Husaberg's Robbie Jenks. Mike Van Cise was then honored as the top B rider for 2009; he is looking forward to joining the A class. Billy Farmer (above, right) was handed the Overall A trophy and welcomed to the AA class. Asked if he was going to start training, Billy smiled and simply said, "Monday." (Since Monday was a state holiday, there is some doubt...)

Claytor proceeded to introduce the winners of the B classes: (above, from left to right) Eric Kriberney (Open B), Mike Van Cise (Vet B), Dan Knecht (Senior B), Ethan Bierhup (250 B), Marvin Popp (Super Senior B) and Brad Graves (200 B). The winners were presented a custom HJC helmet, a Rocky jacket, an MSR Hydro Pak and a great-looking 3-D trophy. Second- through fifth-placed riders earned a set of Kenda tires, an MSR riding outfit, Enduro Engineering goodies and assorted apparel.

Next, Ohio's enduro champions from 1975 through the present were introduced and interviewed. This quickly became a roast of Terry Cunningham (above right), as all of the early champions had a story to tell. Jim Fogle (above left) recalled an epic battle through "Snake Hollow" with some "kid" named Terry on an MR 175. It's only appropriate that Fogle rode an automatic (Rokon), too!

When Cunningham took the microphone, he told of converging on the same line as Barry Rutherford (1973-74 champion, now deceased) at a bottleneck. Rutherford was a big guy with a booming voice, and he had a few choice words for Cunningham as they tried to get unstuck. Cunningham credited Rutherford for a little of his speed that day, since all he could do when he got going again was make sure that Rutherford never caught him!

Other champions shared their favorite memories. It should also be mentioned that Brad Sells has won the series more than any other rider (seven times) with a hard-to-beat combination of speed and intelligence. Recent winners noted the influence of earlier champions: Jeff Anderson recalled banging a new white helmet off of the trees so it would resemble Randy Kline's battle-scarred white Simpson. Josh Gaitten concluded the interviews by describing what it's like to battle Robbie Jenks, whom he grew up admiring.

A common theme for all of these riders was that is all about the journey, not the destination. Friends formed through racing or as part of a club are the best you will ever find.

The evening concluded as the A riders were presented their awards. Afterward, riders continued to mingle with the champions, and it seemed like no one wanted to leave. Events like this only happen once in a lifetime.