September 22, 2012 (Saturday) Today was devoted to walking special tests and then preparing for the opening ceremonies tonight at the Sachsenring circuit. I woke up last early this morning to the sound of heavy rain. When we left the hotel, it looked just like what I had always pictured Germany like. Everything was soaking wet, low-lying clouds, very green, and everything looked slippery. We piled in the mini van with Reid Brown, his wife and father, and Derek Steahly and Devan Bolin all from Oregon. The plan was to visit all the tests that will be used on Days 3 and 4. The pictures I posted of yesterday were of one of the tests, so we had two others to check out. When we arrived to the first test, the U.S. Trophy and Junior Trophy teams were arriving at the same time. We ended up walking the test with most all of them and it was really interesting to get their perspective on some of the sections. Kurt Caselli had already walked that test once, and it awesome to watch as he recited from memory what was coming up next. He had really done his homework and was trying to memorize every corner, obstacle, and alternate line that he could. This test was the gnarliest weve walked yet. It is in a deep forest section and it is basically a logging road that is all rutted up with tons of pine boughs and sticks criss-crossed all over it, with big channels full of water. Looks fun, doesnt it. Almost the entire thing is like this. There were a few spots where the sun came out. Josh had watched every video on YouTube he could find, and he immediately recognized this area from some of the German Enduro Championship videos. Kurt Caselli points out some of the good lines and his observations from previously walking the test. Kurt started talking to Benji and asking him about his riding and racing. 10-15 minutes later they were still chatting. Talk about making a 12 year olds day ..he just made his year. Thanks Kurt. Taylor Robert conducting an interview after walking the test. We then drove to the next test. This one is a big huge grass track set in a farmers field on the side of a hill. This one was all about off-camber turns. Lots of big fast sweepers coming into an off-camber, both left and right. Josh, Reid Brown, Derek Steahly, and Devan Bolin, all walking the test. This afternoon we were back in the pits and the team was doing a photo shoot. The Trophy Teams did their separate shoots, and then the entire U.S. Team did a photo shoot. Along with mechanics and support crew. We took the opportunity to snap a family pic. The riders then received some instruction from Gunny Claypoole about some of the rider intel from the pre-rider. The FIM no longer allows a pre-rider from each country. This year, Giovani Sala (sp?) was the only pre-rider allowed and then he shared the information with all the country jury delegates. Some of the tests are really long (14 minutes in one test) and the sample times he shared indicated he only had on average about 8-9 minutes early at each time check. It will be interesting to see what happens as the course breaks down. The rider count is almost 480 riders. Rachel Gutish passes the time in the pits with Jay Hall. It was then on to the opening ceremonies. Mike Brown was selected to carry the American Flag. The Red Bull stunt plane was buzzing overhead putting on quite the show at the beginning. Nick Hamills family was by the most patriotic. They stole the show and had photographers in their face all night. The German team is huge, considering that they are the host country. U.S. is probably the next biggest team. It was great to enter the stadium with the riders. I admit that the opening ceremonies in Mexico (the only other ISDE Ive experienced) was significantly larger, but this was cool nonetheless. One more day ..and then its finally here. The riders are all so antsy to just get out and ride. We have several tests to still walk tomorrow, and Ill post up some photos when I can. The bandwidth at the hotel is still a huge issue so its taking way longer than I would like. Now, if I could just buy a darn drink around here that is larger than 12 oz. and actually has some ice in it.
This is so cool, I almost feel like I'm there! Thanks for taking the time to keep us updated. GO Josh and Team USA!! Have to give a special shout out to our Colorado boys, Ron Schmelze and Scott Bright.
September 23, 2012 The primary focus of today was walking the remaining Special Tests. Days 1 and 2 are the same course and tests. Days 3 and 4 are new course and tests (but are the same for each of those two days). Day 5 is new course with its own Special Tests. Day 6 is the final moto at the Sachsenring race track. We needed to go check out more of one of the tests on Day 1 that has a Trials type section and what is becoming known as the infamous mud section. The start and finish is in a Trials park. At first glance, it looks kind of intimidating. But the course weaves in and out of the obstacles so there really isnt much of anything too technical. Josh was wishing he had his Gas Gas trials bike. It looked super fun. I will admit, it was definitely one of the coolest and craziest looking tests. But this only the short part of the first section. The rest of the test weaves in and out of the deep woods (the same pictures I posted earlier in the week). But the real part that has everyone talking is this mudhole. The entire Finnish team was there checking out. Juha Salminen was giving them pointers and discussing strategy. Earlier in the week, the ribbon on the right side was much closer. They have since widened it to try to provide alternative lines. Theyve also created an entire re-route. It circumvents the entire mud hole, but will of course come at the expense of longer time if you could otherwise get through the mud without issue. The U.S. team plans to have spotters there, to help riders on the best line selection. I was walking through one of the drier sections and easily sunk in over my boots. I took a few pictures for the folks at home to see the types of course markings they will be following. Each day is identified by a color. Colored arrows indicate turns. Three arrows mean a turn is coming up, then two arrows means youre getting closer, and a single arrow indicates the actual turn. A circle/dot of the same color means straight. A circle/dot with an X through it means wrong way. Riders have to focus on remembering what color dots/arrows they are following because after several days of riding, it is easy to get brain fade. The arrows are posted on regular traffic signs, and on the side of the road, and right in town. It requires a rider to really focus and pay attention. They will be riding right on the city streets with other cars and traffic for a lot of the transfer sections. Then, around here at least, an arrow will all of a sudden send them right down what appears to be someones dirt driveway and then out across their corn field and into the woods. We then drove to the other three tests for Day 5 (via the magic of GPS ..I seriously dont know how anyone could navigate around here without one). One of the tests is in a big huge farmers field again, but this one has huge fast sweeping corners. It doesnt have a lot of off-camber, but is set on a hill. It looks like a ton of fun. This was just outside the test. Another test on Day 5 is set in a rock quarry (gravel pit). You drive right past the truck scales, into the gravel pit, and then it just weaves all over the place. The dirt is total clay. Its drying out nicely, but if it rains, it has the potential to be super snotty. The final test walked is from Day 5. You really want to make it to Day 5 as the tests look super fun. Josh and I both agreed that this appeared to be one of our favorites. Its a full-blown MX track, that then dumps right into a woods section that feels a lot like the Idaho City grass track (but tighter), and then out into a field for a grass track, and finishes at the MX track. The jumps are kind of weird. They all have pretty abrupt faces, but theyre not very big. A rider will really have to scrub hard if they want to carry much speed into the jumps. The dirt is also a clay mix and will likely rut up really bad. Then a hard left from the MX track into the woods. The trees are tight so theyve marked most of them right in the middle of the trail with these red/white markings. It looks like a sea of candy-canes and with all the criss-crossing ribbon it almost makes you go cross-eyed. Now go ride it at race-pace and dont crash or hit a tree. After the wood section is a grass track. Then back into the track. There was lots of nervous energy in the hotel tonight. Everyone was packing their Check Bags and trying to consume as much food as possible at dinner, despite nervous stomaches. We were paid a visit tonight by a friend Robert who lives here in Germany. Robert read the blog about Joshs ISDE experience on advrider.com (Robert goes by Southest US Thumper on advrider) and wanted to do something to help out. He asked what were some of the commodities we could use but couldnt find here in Germany. He and his friend (John?...sorry) showed up with three cases of Gatorade, 4-5 boxes of Instant Oatmeal, and some other goodies. The generosity and friendship of the moto community never ceases to amaze me. Thank you Robert! He and his friend are camping out and watching the ISDE all week long. Its time for sleep (if anybody can get some)!!! Riders minutes were posted tonight. Josh leaves tomorrow morning at 9:54. If youre following any particular U.S. rider, you may be able see their times listed below. Live results are available here, and should start tomorrow morning as soon as the first riders head out. http://www.fim-isde-live.info/ Oh .and for the record, a Renault mini-van tops out at 191 k/h (119 mph). The Autobahn is cool.
Josh, Remember, you're doing this for fun. Think of Ned in the Dakar: His goal was to finish and have fun. Have a blast, and don't worry about positions. Just finish.
Very very good first day Josh! Strong and consistant. Well done to you all. I hope Dad has time for a report. Anybody know what the 'handicap' time means on the extreme right of the results? Is it time lost on the trail?
<IFRAME height=315 src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6Y1bsne8I24" frameBorder=0 width=420 allowfullscreen></IFRAME> That young man can RIDE!!! GO Josh!!! Go Team USA!!!!
Some mod please sticky this thread! It really deserves it. Thank you for sharing your experience Josh/Josh´s Dad
September 24, 2012 The first day of racing finally arrived. Josh was a bundle of nerves this morning and choked down as much breakfast as he could. He wasnt alone. After a week of everyone prepping and anticipating, it was time to ride. The weather conditions are absolutely perfect. Lets hope it stays that way. The entire area seems to just be buzzing with activity. I think the kids were let out of school. There were middle school and high school aged kids everywhere at the special tests just loving it. Josh getting is bike out of impound. We were able to get away and see him at two of the Special Tests today. Little brother and sister ..huge Josh supporters. A typical scene today. Germany kids all over the place, watching the action at the incredible special test venues. Reid Brown from Oregon in the grass track. Hes the top U.S. rider in the C3 class after Day 1. Hes become a great friend to Josh and is like a big brother of the nice variety. Thanks Reid. Zack Klamforth, U.S. club rider in the MX section. Scott Bright from Colorado in the MX section. Josh on the MX track. Josh in the grass track. We then made it over to the mud section on Test 2. This is the Trials Test and a woods section really long test. Riders as they left the test on to a transfer section. The scenery here is stunning. Motorcycles are everywhere! This is a typical row of bikes parked at the special test. No Harleys ..but lots of really really cool bikes everywhere! The Germans get it too, they all wear full gear all the time, everywhere they go. The mud section everyone was concerned about. Turned out to be a good spectator spot, but everyone got through on problem (if it rains, it will be another story). Nick Hamill from California. Reid Brown from Oregon. Chris Storrie from Texas (he and his Dad are both riding how cool is that). Scott Bright from Colorado. Josh Billy Burns from Vermont. We then made it back to the paddock before the Trophy riders started to come in. Heres Destry Abbott. Thad Duvall (had some great scores today for the Junior team). Reid Brown doing a tire change. Josh made it in. It looked to me like his number plate was crooked. Turns out there was a story behind it. The short story is he had a little run in (low speed) with a car, but hes fine and bike is fine other than the zip ties and duct tape that now hold up his rear mud flap/fender. It validated one of my biggest concerns, and that is the traffic and pedestrians. Its pretty chaotic in some of the transitions around the tests. Over 43 riders received speeding tickets today. The police are out in force. He went to work on his tire change and did great. All his practice paid off. He moved up about 20 minutes and has an earlier start time tomorrow. His test scores were average, but he was consistent and we discussed that is what it takes to finish 6 days. Hes sitting about right in the middle of all C1 riders (out of 72), and in the upper half of all club riders (inclusive of C1, C2, and C3). He starts a minute behind Jeff Fredette tomorrow. I told him to follow the legend around and learn a few things. I know he is really happy to have a day under his belt and ready for another. The Trophy Team is doing fairly well. Charlie Mullins is top U.S. rider but Taylor Robert is really putting down some impressive scores. I think Caselli went down hard in one of the Enduro tests (judging from the mud on his back). All US riders finished the day and that is important and impressive.
Thanks for the updates, they are fantastic as always... Will be following via live tracking tomorrow, here's hoping josh and everyone has a good second day and it stays dry... That muddy section in the second test looked like it could swallow bikes and riders whole
Bridger and I are obviously glued to this. First thing he asked me today when he got home from school was how Josh had done. I've been looking at the results all day. It's a major topic of conversation for us around the house. Thanks for the great posts so we all can follow along. Give Josh our best. All his friends are highly interested and watching closely! Keep riding safe and we all look forward to the next post.
keep checkin off the tests ! go Josh! wish I knew if the ISDE was being broadcast on sky sport or eurosport perhaps it could be on a streaming channel like http://mypremium.tv/ or others..