You are not only one if you have ever thought that is may be cool to run the B1k but few just say lets go for it and make it happen. Maybe after reading this ride report you'll say why the hell not and go for it. Pics to follow but I have to get them from our pit crew first. Earlier this year my wife told me that I should try desert racing as I had talked about the Baja races and she wanted me to start with a small local race. I entered a local Hare and Hound and was hooked. She agreed to let me ride the Baja 500 in the spring. That was until I found out that this years B1k was a loop and started and finished in Ensenada. I thought now that is much easier to support not ending up 1000 miles from the boarder. All I had to do is find a team. I asked Yogoi if he'd be interested. It took a couple of days to get a yes but I did and we got started making plans and trying to find another rider. We found another local guy and the madness of preping and getting all the logistics handles begun. I'm not going to go into all that as it's pretty boring and long but if you are a 1st timer and need help pm me and I'd be glad to let you know what we did wrong and right. So that brings us to the day we leave. Our third rider had to back out for good reason so we left with a team of two and ready to give it hell. Three of us (the two racers and one of our pit crew) crossed in Mexicali and headed to RM130 to begin prerunning. Our support truck would meet us at rm 190. WE were prerunning on KTM 950's and 1 990 so we would not have to worry about gas, at least thats what we thought. It went smooth for awhile until I got us lost and ran about 20 miles out onto a dry lake bed. We truned around and headed for RM190. It was slower then we thought on the big bikes but a lot of fun and it was going well until I ran out of gas at RM180. Now before you freek out and say how could you do that consider that I had 120 miles on a full tank and was bone dry. My 990 was running like crap. We bummed some gas from a few riders going by and went on our way. So after day one of prerunning we had run 60 miles of the coarse and another 40 miles of a very nice scenic lake bed. WE fueled up and camped in the desert and planned on running from RM220-RM350 the next day. We awoke and got started. Our support crew would meet us at RM280 and refuel us and off we would go. About 30 miles into the trip I went over the bars in a silt bed and bent my already weakend headlight bracket and we did some on trail alignment and off we went. We got to RM280 fueled had some food and took a break. Our pit crew that was riding with us had had enough and would head out with the truck and meet us in Sand Whoop Felipe. Yogoi and I headed out and found that the fisrst part had some whoops then turned into a really fast road where we could haul ass in the triple digits. A few miles into that we ran into another prerunner with a single digit # plate going slower (I won't tell you what # but it was a low one ) he appeared to be trying to find short cuts as he would go off the road and pop back on a few miles down the road. After a few miles of this, Yogoi decided that he didn't want to be in the dust anymore and thought he would just pass this low number guy. Now I'm not sure if you have ever ridden a 950 but one with Akkra's is pretty loud and they have quite a bit of power. We were cruising about 75mph and before I new it there was a large roost and roar from the bike in front of me and off went Yogoi. I think it supprised the hell out of the other guy because I'm not sure he knew we were there and I really don't think he expected to be passed by a 950cc bike doing about 100mph. WE rode on and into the whoops and deep sand. At about RM350 I once again ran out of gas. This thing was beginning to piss me off. Once again I bummed gas and made it out. We meet our pit crew at a resturant in San Felipe and that was day 2. More to come and lots of pics but thats it for now. Next time you'll hear about another 990 break down.:eek1 Silt hills of fun. Then we begin the race and the real fun starts.
Hey it's desert racing and it's legal so I don't blame him but we slow guys look for the easy route and keep it close to the arrows.
Hey, I have used plenty of "Honda lines" that were .... ummm... lets just say they were within 50ft of something, just not the race course....
Here's a couple of quick pics. I'm sure nobody had any problems before the race but how about doing a fork seal with vice grips, pvc tube as a seal press, on a shower curtain in front of our house in Ensenada. We did have a full 24hrs before the race so no pressure. Heres a little motivation to keep on the throttle. they look fairly friendly sitting there don't they. And the last on for tonight. It's us trying to figure out where the starting line is the morning of the race. And that picture brings us to our team modo. "Shoulda Woulda Coulda" Have a good turkey day.
:eek1 That's a pretty cool idea to mount that satellite dish on YOGOI's left shoulder.....is that how we managed to track your progress?
So, Milena had been telling me I should do the race for years, so when Matt offered his bike up for the sacerfic it was real hard to turn down. I still wasn't sure, but I could tell Milena was really wanting me to do it so I agreed. Right off the bat I new I mad the right choise as the excitment overwelmed me and I had no more thoughts wondering if I should really be doing the race. Cheers to Matt and Milena for getting me to do something that I wanted to do but didnt really know it. Now for the pre-run (thats were all the pics are). After driving for 12 hours we camped at Glamis and listened to quads and buggys camp ride all night; Oh, and throw in some fire works and a good steddy wind that had us all covered in sand in the morning. In the morning we woke up to more camp riders, and decided to get the hell out-a there. We decided to run our pit crew through a little test, and got the truck stuck trying to get out of camp. They did good, and 1/2 an hour later we were on the road to EL Centro. We jumped un the bikes (3) and had the truck (2) follow us west out of Mexicalli to were the corse ran under the road. We had the truck turn around and what for us at the dry lake bed while we hit the corse on the 950s. It was real deep sand with whoops, and I was thinking ''oh shit, what have we got'n out selfs into on these 950s". Fano finally make'n it to some hard ground.
Alright almost done with the prerun fun. We decided to skip the sand whoops near San Felipe. Not too much fun on a 450lb bike. We ran up to mile 400 and got on the course. It was going well and we were having fun untill I went to stop at the Fines Double pit because they were waving and I thouhgt they needed something. I went to turn left and the bike died. Fano asked If I was okay and I said yeah. He pulled away, I started up my bike and went to get back on the trail and it died. :huh AFter a couple times I figured out that when I turned the bars the bike would turn off. The guys at Fines double came over and helped me push the bike to their pit and we started to diag it. After awhile we found that the wires to the ignition had broke so we hotwired the bike. I contacted Fano and Yogoi and let them know I would jump on the road and meet them at the truck. They showed up and we decided to run out to rm490 and meet the truck in Ensenada. Everything went well and we made it to the house. The next day we went out to run from rm560-600. We decided to cut out the beach section and I would later kick myself in the ass for that. Other then silt hills that are really fun on th 950's this section was a lot of fun on the big bikes. So with the prerunning not done but out of time we decided to go run the race bike on the start to dial the suspension and get used to it. The bike had other plans and we awoke to a leaking fork seal. Yogoi and Fano went to run the start while me and the pit crew changed the seal. So this brings us to race day. We dropped Yogoi at the start and hightailed it over to RM145 for the first rider switch. We had mounted a spot and Yogoi would hit the Okay button when he started so we would know when to expect him. With no I'm okay on the sat phone at 8:30 we got a little worried and called my wife back in the states. She was able to pull up the IRC tracker and let us know what mile he was on. We all looked at each other and said shit he'll be here soon we have to get to the rider switch. We ran over, setup our sign, and I pulled out the lawn chair and rest while my pit crew did their magic to make sure he stopped. My way of getting ready to ride. I don't think he'll confuse us for another team. Our trusty pit crew at work. Yogoi showed up and was just smiling and saying how much fun it was. You judge for yourself if he had fun. I didn't know I teamed up with a made scientist. Yogoi jumped off the bike and our trusty pit crew went to work. WE had trained them the night before on how to change the air filter, check the oil and all the other stuff we wanted them to do. The performance was flawless. One holding the bike, the other on the filter, one checking the oil. On I hopped and off I went. The first few miles I was mellow and just got used to the bike. I pulled into the pit to get fueled up. They sent me on my way and by this time I was warmed up and was pretty free with the amount of throttle I used. I was still in pretty deep sand which is not my best terran. I Caught a few bikes and was just cruising along. We went from the lake bed into a much more rocky section which is my terrain and I love it. I opened her up and just started to catch a bike in front of me. It was pretty dusty and I would get close and was not able to see the dips in the trail. After a few big dips I backed off a bit. I knew that there was a spot ahead that I could go off the trail and pin it and more then likely go by. It was hard to wait the next few miles but I knew that if I tried to pass in the dust I would be risking our chance of finishing. We came up out of the giant pee gravel and on to the spot that I was planning on passing the guy. I went about 20 feet off the trail and just pinned it.
Now we were already cruising in 3rd gear and I grabbed a couple more passing this guy. At the end of this 100 yard section there was a big dip that I remembered. As soon as I got around him I braked hard then bottomed hard in the dip. I was around him in clean air. I relaxed and started cruising again. The really cool part of this section was the helicopters that would show up next to you, fly along side then dissapear and go check on the next rider. Now as I said I love rocky fast stuff and this part of the trail was exactly that. For the next 30 miles or so I was just smiling, laughing and singing a long to my music and enjoying the great ride. I did almost get caught by another dip, it came up quick and I bottomed so hard that the gps fly out of it's mount.:eek1 More to come. Next we travel on to the dry lake bed and try not to melt the rear bib mouse and keep it under 100.
Matt's in race mode, but there is some good pre-run stuff to get out of the way first. Pre-Run: We meat up with the truck at the start of the dry lake bed (MP 150 or so). figured out our next meeting point and were off. Fano heads out. Then Frog and I. Frog takes off across the lake bed and just follow his dust. My 950 speedo is reading 130+ kph (which is dead on) and Frog is getting further and further away. I'm think'n "good hell, were going to blow the race bike up with this long-a strait away". Then the lake bead ends right into a silt bed and bout kills me. Frog was waiting on the other side. Frog: "holey shit, did you hit that silt bed"? Frog: "where the hell is Fano"? Frog looks at his GPS: "oh shit were way off course. Where the hell is Fano"? We turn around and go all the way back to were we left the truck and find that the course went left, and we had jetted strait out through the middle of the lake bed. We took off through silt beds and then into hard pack dirt and rocks were every thing seemed to have a square edge. After a while I stopped and whated for Frog. and waited, and waited. Then suddenly I heared a 950 start up and then die again. I carfully went back and found him out of gas. He had been milk'n it the last few miles, but was know done. A group of motos came by and stopped. They were on XRs and had big tankes so they took a few turns giving us gas and we were on our way again. I dont remember what # they were but thanks guys. Right after we got on the trail again I got a flat front. Frog was ahead of me so I figured I'll just ride it so he wont have to wonder what happend to me when he stops. The 606 did pretty good flat and after a bit we were in real soft sand so it was even better. Close to the road I saw Frog off in the bushes, I blew on buy and luckally there was a truck at the road waiting for his rider to come in. He gave me some gas and I went to fill Frog up again. This time it was a guy on a quad, Thanks. We jumped off the coarse and and headed back north. I had gotten a text from Milena and they were waiting for us at the intersection to Darango. We met up with them, and I found a spot to change out my front tube as the sun whet down. Frog: "where the hell is Fano"????? Frog: "where going to have to jump back out the coarse and have the truck bump up the road to find him. As I finnish bolt'n up the wheel under head lamp light, Fano poles up to the truck with a sigh of releave. We grab a bite to eat in Darango and then head out close to the course and throug out the tents. Love it when a plan comes together!!!!!!!!!
Here's some more photos: First pit stop. The locals gather around to watch Fano change the air filter.
Team Garage Sale looking for their rider in pit 2. Frog hands off the bike at pit #2. It took a bit to get the light put on right Yogoi, ready to head into the big 'ole sand whoops. [/COLOR][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#ffff00]Think you're too old? This guy's over 40. There was a guy over 70 too![/COLOR][/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#ffff00][IMG]https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/m/meberg801_Baja%2520Mil_garagesale072.jpg Good thing all Fano had to change for these guys was the air filter! Some guys had Pit stops just a little more fancy than ours. More photos to come. Some video too. Keep telling the story you two.
Ok, so after day one of pre-running, we had some time to make up. We had planned to have made it down to San Felipa the first day, and we only made it half way. We dicided to skip the 30 miles that Fano did on his own last evening as he filled us in on what it was like. We jumped on the coures at the second dry lake bed were it runs right next to the road. It was strait and fast for a while then into sand dune type terrain. There was a big silt section and then more roley sand. I stoped after a bit and waited. ...and waited ...and waited Finaly Frog and Fano came around together. Frog had gone over the bars in the silt and bent his light brackett to where he couldn't turn the bars. So we took a minute to strait'n the bike. First attempt. . https://yogoi.smugmug.com/gallery/6665875_2Qdoe#425570630_sYrtp-A-LB Second attempt: http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n223/fano1/Baja 1000 - 08/?action=view¤t=MVI_0409.flv Well, thats not work'n so you can see the second video on this thread untill Fano pipes in and fixes it. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220132&page=19 Look at post #274
With the bike ale to steer again we got back onto the trail. We went through an amazingly deep and soft pee-gravel wash. It was like gravels version of silt. Fano was having a bit of a tough time with the real soft stuff, and when we finally made it out to the road were we met the truck for gas, he decided to hang with the truck in route to Rice and Beans while Frog and I did the first half of the bottom loop. We filled Frogs bike up and then gave me the rest and off we went. The first part of the loop was soft sand woops. We were making our way through them as 3x would come onto the coures infront of us for a while and then disappear. Then all of a sudden jump right infront of us again (without look'n) ride for a while and disappear. The thiredtime he jumped infront of me, I had had enough. I hit the throttle brought the RPMs up to around 8000+. With the roar of thoughs open Ackra pipes he must have thought a tophy truck was baring down on him. He looked over shoulder and and gave me room to blow on by. I grabbed another gear held on tight and probably sent a roost 100 feet back. I held the line and prayed that I wouldnt wadd it up. The sand gave way to a road so I left it in fast gear and on my mary way. Id love to here what he thought of being past by a 950 in the sand whoops. We made it down to the deep sand were the DA pit was and into the big sand whoops going into San Felipa. Frog again ran out af gas and had to bum some off another rider. We made it to Rice and Beans, had a taco and beer and then stayed the night at Pete's Camp. Another good day for the books.
Photos and movies, I'll fill in with words later https://yogoi.smugmug.com/gallery/6665875_2Qdoe#425589615_ANoLr-A-LB https://yogoi.smugmug.com/gallery/6665875_2Qdoe#425589825_hMmdu-A-LB https://yogoi.smugmug.com/gallery/6665875_2Qdoe#425589893_PA5sq-A-LB https://yogoi.smugmug.com/gallery/6665875_2Qdoe#425589998_e4APV-A-LB
