Carter Krasny had a helping hand to stay in the hunt for the U21 Canadian National Enduro Championship.
The Whistler rider completed a two-race tour of Eastern Canada with events in Camp Fortune, Que. on July 1 and at Blue Mountain, Ont. on July 8.
In the first race, though, Krasny had some trouble acclimatizing to eastern riding, catching one of the rocks and busting his bike.
"I just got offline on Stage 2, had a drop and just did not land in a good spot and I just destroyed my wheel," he said. "I was lucky enough that Ted Morton, the organizer, let me use his bike to finish so I still ended up coming fifth, so I got some good points for the series."
Competing in the men's 16-to-20 division, Krasny finished fifth and helped his cause in the standings, where he is now second, trailing Jacob Tooke by 468 points.
He'd be even closer without the environmentally caused mechanical.
"It was all rock there. There was almost no flow, it was rocks, rocks, rocks all over the place," he said. "On our (team) of seven people, there were seven flats."
Krasny added that he rode more conservatively on Morton's bike for fear of another breakdown, but still bested other riders in all three of those stages.
"I had to take it easy on Ted's bike, obviously, because I didn't want to break another bike," Krasny said. "His was a smaller frame and smaller wheels, so it was definitely different, but you've just got to take the smart lines instead of the fast lines when you make a change like that."
Krasny said next time he races there, he'll bring a load of spare tires in case of a flat.
But this time, he had to scramble with some more major repairs to get ready for the following week's contest.
"The hardest part was after I broke my rim, having the Blue Mountain race the week after and struggling to find a new rim. Especially with it being Canada Day, every bike shop was closed. No one could get me a 29er rim," he said. "We have the best bike shops in the world here because Coastal Culture built up one in two hours and Chris Johnston ended up flying it out with him when he came to the race."
With his own steed back to its original condition, Krasny rebounded with a second-place showing at Blue Mountain, finishing behind Milton McConville. Impressively, both finished with the two best overall times, as Krasny was four seconds ahead of pro men's winner James Frost.
"I knew if I placed well in that, then I would have a good chance at the overall (title). I was super excited to see my time after, and it was also my first race where I would have won pro," he said. "It was a shocker to me and my friend, Milton.
"Chris Johnston came up to me and said 'You guys are killing it.' It was really neat seeing guys I look up to, and when you end up meeting them, it's pretty awesome."
Krasny is back in Whistler, but will return to Quebec at month's end for the season's final race in Bromont, Que. on July 29. He won last year and knows what's on the line if he's able to repeat this year.
"If I do that again this year, I'll be the Canadian National Enduro Champ," he said. "One of my biggest strengths is remembering tracks. If I race a track once and we go back to it, I still know every root and rock and corner. When you ride it, it all comes back to you.
"I'm sure much of the course ... will be the same as last year."
