Before the event, heavy rains had left the Badlands trails saturated, and some were literally submerged under water. This made for a challenging run on Saturday, when we hooked up with a moderate trail ride that featured a wide variety of trucks, including a contingent of Ford Explorers from the Serious Explorations Club (a national club dedicated to Ford Explorers). The group had made the trek to Indiana from all over the country, and we soon found that these SUV owners are as aggressive on the trail as any other group. Their gung-ho attitude was evident throughout the day and resulted in a complex recovery effort when one of the Explorers went wheels-up in a deep, challenging mudhole. The mishap made for a good story as we sat under the large dining tent and enjoyed a hot meal at the end of the day.
Bottom Line
The Indiana Superlift 4xAdventure mixed good old-fashioned trail rides with cutting-edge competitions in the beautiful and challenging Badlands Off Road Park, and it was a total success. The event will return in 2002, and for more information on this or any of the events in the Superlift 4xAdventure Series, contact: Sports-In-The-Rough, (866) EVENT-INFO (383-6846), www.sportsintherough.com.