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 Starvation
Ridge Track
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Starvation Ridge was built during the summer of 1999. Located 12 miles
west of the Eddieville site, it receives 24 inches of rain compared
to Eddievilles 16 inches. With the 24 ponds on the 800 acres contributing
water as well as obstacles, the Ridge is a unique off-road GP.The
course is 10 to 15 miles in length, depending on how it is configured.
 With deep, loamy, grassy fields similar to the Euro GP, the Ridge
also has naturally whoopy ground, the ponds as jumps/obstacles and
is less of a motocross and more of an off-road GP. Reconfigured in
fall 2002 after 3 days of cat work and several days with a backhoe,
the Ridge became much tighter with switchbacks carved through the
rock patches and Allred Alley finally was dry enough to add to the
course on the third try. Where the first Ridge race was flat and fast,
the current version is much more technical while eliminating the big
rock patches of the past. Many of the straight off-road sections were
replaced with winding, crooked trails that enabled 125's to run with
the bigger bikes in the winding trails.
Allred Alley, with it's short,steep hills, lofting benches and winding,
loamy trail, added a new dimension to the course while bypassing one
of the rockiest sections of the course.
The
mudhole at the p its from spring 2002 will become a memory as a culvert,
ditches, and two feet of fill material were added to prevent bogs
from happening there again, The course was rerouted around many of
the ponds to reduce speed, increase corners, and prevent or reduce
bogs. Jumps wore down over the years were built back up without creating
skyshooters.
After some initial apprehension by the riders over the massive changes
made, comments were unanimous over the improvement made. Everyone
we talked to after the November 16 & 17 races felt they were the
best Ridge ever, if not the best GP course ever, rivaling the Euro
course.
A 4 hour team race was added in spring 2003, followed that fall by the first 24 hour GP at the end of October. A lighted pit area was built along with new obstacles incorporated into the course.There is nothing quite like strolling through the well-lighted pit area at 3 in the morning, seeing the teams working on bikes, changing or prepping riders, or just soaking up the experience. 
The old farmhouse was used for the first time as a checkpoint with 3 doorways greeting the riders as they went through the house. After almost 24 hours of racing, the three pro teams were within a minute of each other with 1 lap to go, making for a nail biter of a finish to an inaugural event. Motorsports News has a story on file of the inaugural 24 hour race at www.motorsportsnews.com/index.php?head=rdarticle@id=27
In 2004 ,The Dusk to Dark night race was added in mid June as a warm-up for the 24 hour race. The 24 hour featured the transponder system recording lap times and a radically changed race course stretching the mileage out to 15 miles and creating a 3 loop course rather than a single loop course. New obstacles were found and added to make the racing memorable and unique.In the 2004 24 hr., the 2003 pro champs were beaten by the 2003 runner-up Honda team. Lost time due to big crashes and subsequent repairs, coupled with a hard charging, consistent Honda team, were too much for the 2003 champs to overcome.
 For 2005, ATV's were given their own team race as well as a separate race during the GP/cross-country events. The first stop of the OMRA cross-country series started at the Ridge in April. Knowledge of the course seemed to offset the endurance of the cross-country racers as the Grand Prix riders dominated most classes, even though they were running longer than they were used to.
A Thumpertalk playday was held in June at the Ridge as a test for the first scheduled playday to be held at the Ridge September 25, following the 6 hour team/Ironman race to be held the previous day.
The 24 hour race will become the 25 hour in 2005 due to the event falling on daylight saving weekend. Running from 10am Saturday to 10am Sunday, the 25 hour of Starvation Ridge will be the first 25 hour ever! More sponsors have stepped up to make this one of the coolest events in the Northwest!
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