One Noob, a vintage Honda Twin, and the 2011 Mexican 1000

[oregoncoast]

....preparing to write race report. I don't have any pictures or videos from anything other than the last day of the race, due to a problem getting them transferred from Paul Jr.'s computer. He promises to send me them asap...

Originally Posted by JeffS77

Thanks for that photo..I've never seen that one!!



I guess I should add a disclaimer as there seems to be some who still think we went down there to win the event.

**DISCLAIMER**
So, as a reminder - I set out to enter a vintage race down the Baja Peninsular on a 40-year-old bike. My goal was to get the bike across the finish line, preferably under its own power. None of us had ever raced or even ridden in Baja..nor have any of us ever chase crewed a Baja race.

If it was our goal to win the event, we would have entered a newer XR and hired a professional racer like Joe Desrosiers or Chilly White to pilot it

As a freshman effort, Team Outta Sight did an amazing job!

* We had the oldest bike in the rally.
* We probably had the noobiest crew and rider.
* Even with confusing instructions concerning their GPS files, we were mostly on course and reached the destination each time.
* Even when the bike was essentially out of the race..our team did not give up...got to work and pushed through in true Baja fashion to cross the finish line.
* 1/3 of those who started the race did not finish the race. And a number of those who did finish were towed or trailered across the finish line in La Paz. We cruised across the finish line with the SL running great (albeit leaking a bit of oil )
* We had no injuries or crashes....that's right, the bike never fell to the ground in all of Baja.

The true adventure is in the stories and people we met surrounding any navigation issues, mechanical issues and/or logistical issues. While some seem to want to point out the things we did wrong, pardon me if I focus on the things we did right. The thing about Baja is that you never give up...and we never did...even when we wanted to Our story is about overcoming obstacles, and those who helped us do that.

I am so damn proud of my team and what we accomplished! Stay tuned for all the details in full technicolor!!

Oh, and by the way, the Tubliss tire system and Tyre Shield were the bomb more on that later....

[Ladybug0048]

Thanks for the start of the updates Jr. and Sr. and as I've said more than once I'm looking forward to more.

I for one am I'm impressed that you did what you did, you got the SL over the finish line. I sure hope someone got a picture of that, unlike me missing the photo op at the Desert 100 .

Now about that oil leak - look at the engine, it's a Honda not a Harley so stop that.

Ok, I'll shut up now but probably only for a short while.

[Strong Bad]

I think you guys did a great job. Please don't take my posts as saying you did something wrong or that I'm being critical of your efforts, there is always more than one way to skin a cat (some are just easier than others ). My comments are always made so you might have an easier time of it the next time, or at least give you some insight and some stuff to think about. Again good job getting to La Paz.

[Garthe]

OK already...lets see some pictures...

[liv2rydktms]

Waitin.

Oh Yeah, atta boys for everyone who was involved!

[Kootenai Rider]

Goin' to get a USB stick drive so I can transfer pics from my laptop to my parents computer..... you'll have some pics later tonight.

Besides... Its not like anything interesting happened down there that you'd want to see anyway.

[crazybrit]

Originally Posted by Kootenai Rider

Besides... Its not like anything interesting happened down there that you'd want to see anyway.

Is there an EPA in Mexico. I'm sensing there was some oil pollution, might want to keep those under wraps

[ArthDuro]

Tease!!!!

[Kootenai Rider]

Originally Posted by crazybrit

Is there an EPA in Mexico. I'm sensing there was some oil pollution, might want to keep those under wraps

We're stashing it for next year. Its part of the pre-race prep strategy Strongbad was telling us about.

[LC Garage]

OC, my one and only hope for you and the team, especially while you were out of touch (lots of nail biting during that time!) was that no matter what you would finish (and of course everyone come home in one piece!). You have exceeded all reasonable expectations and you know that most of us are checking every few hours for any tid bits of the story. Congratulations to all of you on a job well done.

Originally Posted by oregoncoast

....preparing to write race report. I don't have any pictures or videos from anything other than the last day of the race, due to a problem getting them transferred from Paul Jr.'s computer. He promises to send me them asap...



Thanks for that photo..I've never seen that one!!



I guess I should add a disclaimer as there seems to be some who still think we went down there to win the event.

**DISCLAIMER**
So, as a reminder - I set out to enter a vintage race down the Baja Peninsular on a 40-year-old bike. My goal was to get the bike across the finish line, preferably under its own power. None of us had ever raced or even ridden in Baja..nor have any of us ever chase crewed a Baja race.

If it was our goal to win the event, we would have entered a newer XR and hired a professional racer like Joe Desrosiers or Chilly White to pilot it

As a freshman effort, Team Outta Sight did an amazing job!

* We had the oldest bike in the rally.
* We probably had the noobiest crew and rider.
* Even with confusing instructions concerning their GPS files, we were mostly on course and reached the destination each time.
* Even when the bike was essentially out of the race..our team did not give up...got to work and pushed through in true Baja fashion to cross the finish line.
* 1/3 of those who started the race did not finish the race. And a number of those who did finish were towed or trailered across the finish line in La Paz. We cruised across the finish line with the SL running great (albeit leaking a bit of oil )
* We had no injuries or crashes....that's right, the bike never fell to the ground in all of Baja.

The true adventure is in the stories and people we met surrounding any navigation issues, mechanical issues and/or logistical issues. While some seem to want to point out the things we did wrong, pardon me if I focus on the things we did right. The thing about Baja is that you never give up...and we never did...even when we wanted to Our story is about overcoming obstacles, and those who helped us do that.

I am so damn proud of my team and what we accomplished! Stay tuned for all the details in full technicolor!!

Oh, and by the way, the Tubliss tire system and Tyre Shield were the bomb more on that later....

[DireWolf]

Paul, my mancrush on you could not be more intense than right now.

[Luke]

A bit about navigation.....

For those not familiar with the area or the race, here are the maps that NORRA put together of the race.

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

About a week before the race NORRA published a GPS track of the entire course, with waypoints added at the start of each section. The GPS track didn't quite match the maps above, but we figured we'd sort that out when we got the roadbook at signup.

When we were at signup on the 4th, we were assured that the printed maps were out of date and that the new GPS tracks (just published that day) were what we should follow. There were supposedly some changes to the start of the first special, but the two tracks were identical. There didn't seem to be much change to the roadbook either, so we figured that we'd just go with it. If nothing else, the end of the route was supposed to be the same, so if he just followed the route he'd end up in the right place. In retrospect, this would have been a good time to talk to the officials.

[Kootenai Rider]

A few pics. There are hundreds more...


Team Photo with Gary Preston and Eric Bergquist, son of Larry Bergquist, Gary's co-rider on their 1968 winning race, with Larry's bronzed helmet.


For Ladybug


This couple lives in Loreto and did the race... cute little couple in their late 60's/early 70's, just happen to have a race buggy.




Pulling the clutch side cover off to fix the bike 10 minutes before leaving for the start.


Alex helping Leo from the Snortin' Nortin' team do a once over of their Nova as it came in after the first Special Day 1. Leo was especially helpful in the advice he gave us about not going through CoCo's corner with the Sprinter, amongst other helpful tidbits. W/O him, we'd probably still be stuck out there.


Paul finally arriving at the end of the first Special, Day 1, hot, tired, and in good spirits all things considered.


Mike (back turned) and Ted "The Dude" these guys really give meaning the the never say die spirit of Baja, and keep coming back every year. The dude abides.



Entering the last special, Day 3. Go team Outta Sight!


This guy carried a folding stand with him that he would set up in the sand to get a good footing for kick starting the big Husky. Now that is being prepared....he didn't carry it Day 1 by the way. :)










I think this is what I'm entering next year.


Our rider, finished with the final special test. Just an 80 mile hwy transit to go to the finish.

[Luke]

While the other guys are figuring out their good pictures, here are my crappy ones.



Prepping the bike in Santa Monica. We were told that the race would be really fast, so we figured the bike would need high gearing than what was used at the Desert 100 . This turned out to be terribly wrong.







Checking out the bike just prior to a test ride.







The starting lineup, bikes in the middle.



Start line powwow. Check out the pork chops on Paul Jr.



A few pictures of the ceremonial start in Mexicali:












Paul, Alex, and Leo (L-R) helping out the Snortin Nortin buggy at the end of the first special:

[HogWild]

Originally Posted by Luke

A bit about navigation.....

I'm doing my best to help them get it right, but they still have room for improvement. Similar things happened last year. Great job finding your way even with confusing information! Next year I hear they'll have one or more sections with no GPS tracks, so everyone will have to use the roadbook, at least in those sections.